Ontario Notice Service Methods for Landlords: How to Serve and Prove Delivery

The Six Lawful Service Methods

Section 191 of the Residential Tenancies Act, 2006 and LTB Rule 3 set out how a landlord can serve a notice of termination (rules as at October 2026).

1. Personal delivery — Hand the notice directly to the tenant or to another adult person in the rental unit. This is the cleanest method. You know the tenant (or a household member) physically received the document, and you can note the exact date and time for the Certificate of Service.

2. Mailbox or door slot — Place the notice in the tenant's personal mailbox or slide it through a mail slot or under the door of the rental unit. Deemed served on the day you do it.

3. Regular mail — Send the notice by Canada Post regular mail to the tenant's address. This adds 5 calendar days to your timeline — the notice is deemed served 5 days after you mail it, and the statutory notice period starts from that deemed service date.

4. Courier — Send via a tracked courier service. The notice is deemed served the day after you give it to the courier, or the next day that is not a holiday.

5. Fax — The notice is deemed served on the date shown on the fax confirmation receipt.

6. Email — Permitted if the tenant has consented in writing to service by email. It is deemed served on the day it is sent.

What Doesn't Count

Serving by text message, WhatsApp, or any other messaging app is not an approved service method. Taping the notice to the exterior of the apartment door doesn't count. Leaving it in a common area, handing it to a neighbour, or posting it on a bulletin board doesn't count. Under Section 191(2) of the RTA, a notice may still be deemed valid if its contents actually came to the intended person's attention within the required time.

If service cannot be established and the Section 191(2) actual-attention exception does not apply, the LTB may dismiss the application.

The 5-Day Mail Rule

If you choose regular mail, you must add 5 calendar days before the notice period starts counting. This is the deemed-service buffer under LTB Rule 3.

Example for an N4 (7-day notice):

• You mail the notice on October 1
• Deemed served: October 6 (5 days later)
• Day zero of the notice period: October 6
• The 7-day notice period runs from October 7 to October 13
• Termination date: October 13
• Earliest L1 filing date: October 14

Example for an N12 (60-day notice, monthly tenancy, rent due on the 1st):

• You mail the notice on October 1
• Deemed served: October 6
• Count 60 days from October 6 = December 5
• Adjust to the last day of the rental period: December 31
• Termination date: December 31

Forgetting the 5-day addition is one of the most common notice-period errors. The Board counts from the deemed service date, not the mailing date.

Certificate of Service: The Proof Document

When you file an L1 or L2 application, the LTB requires a completed Certificate of Service to show how and when you served the notice.

The Certificate of Service records:

• The name of the person served
• The address of the rental unit
• The date of service
• The exact method of service (personal delivery, mail, mailbox, courier, fax, or email)
• The time of service (for personal delivery)
• The signature and name of the person who carried out the service

If you had someone else serve the notice — a friend, a property manager, a process server — that person must sign the Certificate, because they're the one attesting to the method and timing.

Complete the Certificate soon after service while the details are fresh. Filling it out weeks later from memory invites inaccuracies that a tenant's representative will challenge at the hearing.

Choosing the Right Method for Your Situation

Personal delivery is the strongest method for evidence purposes but requires a face-to-face encounter that some landlords prefer to avoid. Mailbox or door-slot delivery is nearly as strong (no additional days) and avoids direct contact. Regular mail is the most common method but costs 5 extra days on every notice timeline. Courier creates a tracking record but costs money and adds one business day.

For time-sensitive notices — especially an N4 where the tenant might void the notice by paying during the cure period — personal delivery or mailbox delivery keeps the timeline tight. For an N12 where the notice period is 60 or 120 days, the 5-day mail addition is less painful.

Our Ending a Tenancy in Ontario guide includes the service method comparison chart, deemed-service date calculator, and a step-by-step Certificate of Service walkthrough.

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