Every seasoned real estate investor will tell you to serve an N4 notice asap, if you have a tenant who is not paying rent. Yes, you don't want to create a hostile environment, but this is nothing personal. It should plain simply, be business norm.
Under the Residential Tenancies Act, tenants are widely protected by the law. The only actual legal obligation of the tenant is to pay rent. If they fail this obligation, you have to take action in order to protect yourself. With serving the N4, the tenant still has a reasonable amount of time to come up with the rent, or if they choose so, to move out.
The following is important when filling out the N4:
- Follow the steps as outlined on the LTB website; any mistakes can render the form void
- Make sure you enter the rent periods correctly, e.g. 01.01.–31.01. (not 01.01.-01.02.)
- Do not enter any rent deposits on the form
You can serve the N4 as early as one day after rent becomes due (and remains unpaid). You have to give the tenant a deadline of at least 14 days to pay or to move out. This date is called the termination date. In case they do not pay or move out by the termination date, your option is to file a form L1 or L9 with the LTB.
If you decide to file an
L1 in order to collect rent and evict your tenant, you will have to
include form N4 as well as the certificate of service. Processing an L1
can take several months and an application fee is due. With the current
situation, where evictions are mostly impossible, you may want to think
about filing an L9 instead of an L1. The L9 is for collecting the rent
only, not asking for any eviction. You may be able to achieve a judgement
against the tenant forcing them to pay.
You can find deeper insights here: L9 Article