LTB Forms
L5 Above Guideline Increase: How to File an AGI
The L5 is how you ask the LTB for a rent increase above the guideline. The three grounds, the 90-day deadline, the mandatory RUI spreadsheet, and the three ways to file. The portal is not one of them.
Since July 1, 2026: 7 Days to Serve an AGI Order
When the LTB directs you to serve tenants with an AGI order, you have 7 days from the date it was issued, down from 14. File the certificate of service within 5 days after serving. The rules for serving the application itself did not change.
Read the LTB operational updateWhat Changed on November 1, 2025
The RUI Is Mandatory
The Rental Unit Information spreadsheet must go with every L5, as an Excel file
Email Filing
Send the L5 to AGIpayments@ontario.ca. Before this, it was paper only
Updated L5 Form
The form and instructions were revised. The current form is marked 2025/09
What is an L5 Application?
The L5 (Application for a Rent Increase Above the Guideline) is the form Ontario landlords use to ask the Landlord and Tenant Board (LTB) for a rent increase above the annual guideline. The guideline is 2.1% for 2026 and 1.9% for 2027.
You can base an above guideline increase (AGI) on one or more of three grounds:
- Municipal taxes and charges: an extraordinary increase, meaning more than the guideline plus half of it, using the guideline for the year of the first effective date. For 2027 that is anything over 2.85%.
- Security services: costs that are new or have gone up, for security provided by people who are not your employees.
- Capital expenditures: a significant renovation, repair, replacement or new addition, with an expected benefit of at least five years. Routine maintenance and cosmetic work do not count.
A unit whose tenancy began after you finished the capital work cannot be included for that work.
How Much You Can Get
An increase for capital expenditures or security services is capped at 3% above the guideline a year. If more is justified, the rest can be taken over up to two more years, at 3% each. Increases for municipal taxes have no cap. When the useful life of the capital work runs out, the rent of a tenant still in the unit goes back down by the same percentage.
The RUI Spreadsheet: What You Need to Know
Since November 1, 2025, every L5 must include the Rental Unit Information (RUI) spreadsheet. The LTB refuses an application without it.
RUI Key Facts
Excel Only
Send it as an Excel file, not a PDF
Always Emailed
Even if you file the L5 on paper, email the RUI to AGIpayments@ontario.ca
Every Unit for Capital Work
Include vacant units and units the application does not cover
Name It Clearly
Put the building address and the FED in the file name
What the RUI Asks For
One row per unit, with these columns:
- Tenant first and last name, for every tenant in the unit
- Unit number and full street address
- Total current rent, including anything paid separately such as parking ($0.00 for a vacant unit)
- How often rent is paid
- The date the tenancy began, only where it began less than 18 months before your filing deadline
- Whether the unit is covered by the application
Download the Official Forms
Get the current L5, its instructions and the RUI from Tribunals Ontario.
Download from tribunalsontario.caCan't Get the RUI to Download?
Here is a copy of the LTB's RUI template, last updated by the Ministry on September 26, 2025. If the LTB has posted a newer version, use theirs.
Download RUI Form (.xltx)No Excel? The LTB helps by email at AGIUnit@ontario.ca.
How to File an L5 Application (Step-by-Step)
Check the deadline
File no later than 90 days before the first effective date (FED) of the increase. Capital work counts only if it was completed and paid for within the 18 months that end on that filing deadline, going by the date of full payment. A Construction Lien Act holdback can still be owing.
Download the current L5
Get the L5 and its instructions from the LTB forms page. The current form is marked 2025/09 in the footer and has been in use since November 1, 2025.
Complete the RUI spreadsheet
List the units with tenant names, unit and address, whether each unit is covered, total current rent (including separate charges such as parking) and rent frequency. For capital work, include every unit in the building, vacant ones too. Keep it in Excel.
Gather evidence of each cost
Include evidence of every cost you claim and proof that you paid it: tax bills, security invoices, invoices for capital work. A quote or estimate does not show a paid cost.
Complete the L5 and its schedules
Fill in every part of the form and the schedule for each reason you claim. For capital work that means Schedule 2, plus a Capital Expenditures: Additional Details form for each item.
File the application
Email everything, with the RUI as an Excel file, to AGIpayments@ontario.ca, with the building address and the FED in the subject line. Or mail or courier it to an LTB office, or file at a ServiceOntario centre that takes LTB applications, and email the RUI separately. A capital expenditure application filed on paper also needs one extra photocopy of the application and of all supporting documents, plus an electronic copy of the supporting documents (by email with the RUI, or on a USB stick).
Pay the fee
By email: the LTB sends you a secure payment link, which expires after three calendar days. Never put card details in the email. By mail or courier: money order, certified cheque, or a credit card using the Credit Card Payment Form.
Serve the tenants and share your evidence
Once a hearing is scheduled, the LTB usually orders you to serve the application and Notice of Hearing on the affected tenants: at least 30 days before an oral hearing, or within 20 days after a notice of written hearing. File a Certificate of Service within 5 days of serving. Give the tenants copies of your evidence yourself, because the LTB does not serve evidence.
If you must serve the AGI order
If the LTB directs you to serve its AGI order, you have 7 days from the date it was issued (14 before July 1, 2026), and 5 days from the day you serve it to file the certificate of service.
Sources: the L5 instructions, the LTB Rules of Procedure (rules 5.6, 5.7 and 5.15 for serving), and the LTB operational update of June 30, 2026 for the AGI order deadline.
Three Ways to File an L5
The L5 cannot be filed on the Tribunals Ontario Portal. Pick one of these:
- Send to AGIpayments@ontario.ca
- Building address and FED in the subject line
- Pay through the link the LTB emails you
Mail or Courier
- Send to the nearest LTB office
- Money order, certified cheque or credit card
- Email the RUI separately
- Capital work: one extra copy of everything
ServiceOntario
- Only centres that take LTB applications
- Pay in person
- Email the RUI separately
- Capital work: one extra copy of everything
Common Mistakes That Get Applications Refused
Filing too late
The L5 is due at least 90 days before the first effective date. Miss it and you need a Request to Shorten Time, or a later FED.
Leaving out the RUI
Every L5 filed since November 1, 2025 needs the Rental Unit Information spreadsheet. The LTB refuses an application without it.
Sending the RUI as a PDF
It has to be an Excel file. If you file on paper, email it to AGIpayments@ontario.ca anyway.
Claiming work that is not paid for
Capital work counts from the date it was paid in full (a Construction Lien Act holdback aside), and that date must fall inside the 18-month window. A quote does not count.
Missing proof of payment
Each cost needs evidence and proof you paid it: tax bills, security invoices, capital work invoices.
One CEAD form for several items
Each capital expenditure needs its own Capital Expenditures: Additional Details form.
L5 Application Checklist
Frequently Asked Questions
Related Resources
OntarioLandlord app
Keep rent increases and records in order
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