When a tenant pays part of the rent, two questions get mixed up: how much is still owed, and where the notice and application stand. Taking a partial payment does not change the second one by itself.
When an N4 becomes void
RTA s.59(3): the N4 is void only if, before the landlord applies to the LTB (the L1), the tenant pays the rent in arrears and the rent that would have come due by the date of payment. A partial payment does not meet that test.
The amount on the N4
An N4 is for rent lawfully owing that has not been paid (s.59(1)). It must set out the rent due and say the tenant can avoid termination by paying that amount, plus any rent that has since come due, on or before the termination date (s.59(2)). Money that is not rent, such as a deposit or damage, does not go on an N4.
Which month a partial payment covers
The Act does not say which period a partial payment must be applied to first. This is where most disputes start: both sides have the same e-Transfers but disagree about which month each one paid. A steadier approach:
- record each payment’s date, amount and the period it is applied to;
- keep a ledger that shows, for every period, what was due, what was paid and what is left;
- make sure the N4 amount and the balance when you prepare the L1 can both be traced line by line to that same ledger;
- subtract every payment received after the N4 when you work out the L1 balance.
A verbal payment plan
Put it in writing: how much, on which dates, what happens if a payment is missed, and whether you agree to hold off on applying while the plan runs. Both sides keep a copy, and each payment is recorded against it.
Source: Residential Tenancies Act (RTA) s.59, checked against the e-Laws version current to 2026-10-01.