← All guidesLandlord Guide · Updated October 2026
Unpaid rent: how an N4 works
What happens when rent is late, how the N4 notice works under the 7-day rule, and where the landlord takes over.
Most late rent is sorted out with a reminder. When it isn't, the N4 (Notice to End your Tenancy Early for Non-payment of Rent) is the formal first step. IRep serves the N4; anything at the Landlord and Tenant Board is the landlord's to take forward.
The timeline
| When | What happens | Who |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | Rent is due. | Tenant |
| 1st to 7th | Grace period. We remind anyone who hasn't paid. | IRep |
| On or around the 8th | If rent isn't paid in full, we prepare the N4 and email it to you to sign. | IRep |
| As soon as it arrives | Sign the N4. It can't be served until you do, so watch your email that week. | Landlord |
| Within about 3 days of signing | We deliver the N4 to the tenant. That's the date of service. | IRep |
| 7 days after service | The N4's termination date. Since September 21, 2026 the tenant has at least 7 days from service (it used to be 14) to pay in full or move out. | |
| Before the termination date | If the tenant pays everything owed, the N4 is void and the tenancy carries on. | Tenant |
| After the termination date | You decide whether to file an L1 application with the Board. We can connect you with a paralegal. | Landlord |
| Hearing | The Board usually orders the rent paid, often on a payment plan, or ends the tenancy if it isn't. | Landlord and tenant |
Good to know
- An N4 doesn't make the tenant leave. Only a Board order, enforced by the Sheriff, can do that.
- Since September 21, 2026, a tenant who wants to raise their own issues at a non-payment hearing must first pay half of the rent owed, at least 7 days before the hearing.
- Even after an eviction order, a tenant can usually void it by paying everything owed plus costs before the Sheriff enforces it.
- You can't lock a tenant out, cut off utilities or keep their belongings to collect rent.
- Missed rent is reported to the credit bureaus through FrontLobby, which motivates many tenants to pay.
- The N4 is signed by you, then served by us. IRep delivers it and gives you the rent ledger. We don't file Board applications or attend hearings.
General information, not legal advice. The rules changed on September 21, 2026; notice periods can be longer when a notice is mailed.
More: Landlord and Tenant Board: N4 and L1
Want us to handle this for you?IRep prepares and serves notices and handles rent increases for the landlords we manage for, and can connect you with a paralegal for anything at the Board.