“I emailed it” and “I uploaded it to the portal” do not always mean the document was served. Here is when each method counts under the Act and the LTB Rules of Procedure.
Methods in the Residential Tenancies Act
RTA s.191(1): hand it to the person; hand it to an apparently adult person in the rental unit; leave it in the mailbox where mail is ordinarily delivered (or, with no mailbox, where mail is ordinarily left); mail it to the last known address where the person lives or does business; or any other means allowed in the LTB Rules. Mail is deemed given on the fifth day after mailing (s.191(3)).
Email needs written consent
LTB Rule 3.1: email is a valid way to serve only if the person receiving it has consented in writing to service by email. Consent can be given in writing at any time and withdrawn in writing at any time. Email is served on the day it is sent (Rule 3.9).
Uploading to the portal is not serving the other side
Uploading to the Tribunals Ontario Portal (TOP) counts as service only if the other party has consented in writing to accept service through TOP (Rule 3.1), and then it is served on the day it is uploaded (Rule 3.9). Without that consent, uploading gives the document to the LTB; you still need to serve the other party another way.
Proof of service
LTB Rule 3.8: where the Rules require it or the LTB directs, service must be confirmed with a Certificate of Service signed by the person who served the document and filed with the LTB within 5 days of service.
Write these down every time you serve
- which document, and which version;
- who it went to (everyone named on the notice);
- the method and the date, and, for email or the portal, where their written consent is;
- who served it, and whether the proof of service was filed on time.
s.191(2): a document not given in one of these ways is still treated as valid if it is proven that its contents actually came to the person’s attention within the required time. That is a fallback after the fact, not a plan.
Sources: RTA s.191 (e-Laws, current to 2026-10-01); LTB Rules of Procedure, Rule 3 (updated 2026-09-21).