Ontario tenancy rules and the LTB
Renting in Ontario runs on one law and one tribunal. This guide walks through both, plainly, for tenants and for landlords: what the rules actually say, what a notice can and cannot do, what Bill 60 changed in late 2025, and one point that is genuinely unsettled right now.
Most renting in Ontario is governed by one statute and refereed by one body. Get comfortable with those two, and almost everything else makes sense. This guide is written for both sides of the lease, because the rules cut both ways, and knowing them protects a tenant and a landlord equally.
The law and the board that run the show
The Residential Tenancies Act, usually just called the RTA, governs most rentals in Ontario. It sets the rights and the responsibilities on both sides. When there is a dispute, it goes to the Landlord and Tenant Board, the LTB, which is the tribunal that hears these cases and issues binding orders.
The RTA is the rulebook. The LTB is the referee. Neither side gets to be the referee themselves, and that is the single most important idea on this page.
The LTB is not a landlord's tool or a tenant's tool. Both sides can apply to it. Tenants often use forms T2 or T6, for example when their rights have been interfered with or maintenance has been ignored, and the filing fee is $53. Landlords have their own set of forms for their own applications. The point is that the door is open to everyone, and the board decides.
What an eviction actually is, and is not
This is where the most costly mistakes happen, so read it slowly. A landlord cannot change the locks, cannot remove a tenant's belongings, and cannot shut off the utilities. None of those are legal ways to remove someone, no matter how far behind the rent is or how sour the relationship has become.
Only the LTB can order an eviction, and only the Sheriff can enforce one. That is the whole chain, and there are no shortcuts around it.
Handing a tenant a notice is only the first step. It is a formal warning, not a removal. Nobody has to leave because a piece of paper says so. An actual eviction requires an LTB order, and carrying it out requires the Sheriff, the court officer who enforces those orders.
The notices you will hear about
Landlords start most formal processes with a numbered notice, an N-form. Three come up again and again:
- N4, for non-payment of rent.
- N12, for the landlord's or their family's own use of the unit.
- N13, for demolition or major renovation.
A notice on its own does not end a tenancy. If the tenant does not agree or does not leave, the landlord's next step is to apply to the LTB, and the board decides whether an eviction is warranted. Serving the right form correctly is a requirement, not a formality.
What Bill 60 changed
Bill 60, passed on November 24, 2025, made two changes that matter here:
- The N4 non-payment notice period was shortened from 14 days to 7 days.
- The window to appeal an eviction order was shortened from 30 days to 15 days.
For a tenant, that means less time to catch up on rent after an N4 and less time to challenge an order, so acting quickly matters more than it used to. For a landlord, the timelines are tighter but the same rules still apply: the notice is a step, not the end, and the board still decides.
The N12: moving in yourself, or your family
The N12 is the notice a landlord uses to reclaim a unit for their own use or a family member's use. It carries real conditions, and they exist to stop it from being misused.
- The tenant is entitled to one month's rent as compensation.
- The person named on the notice must genuinely move in.
- A bad-faith N12, one where nobody actually moves in, can be penalized by up to 12 months' rent.
So for a landlord, an N12 is legitimate only when the intention is real. For a tenant, an N12 that turns out to be a pretext is not something you simply have to accept, because the board can penalize it heavily.
When a landlord can enter the unit
The unit is the tenant's home, and entry is limited. A landlord must give 24 hours written notice and can only enter between 8am and 8pm. The one exception is an emergency, where those limits do not apply.
A text or a note counts, a verbal heads-up on the way in does not. The 24 hours and the 8am to 8pm window are both requirements, not suggestions, outside of a genuine emergency.
Two short situations, one for each side
A tenant comes home to find the locks changed and the landlord saying the tenancy is over. It is not. The landlord cannot lawfully change the locks, and no eviction has happened, because there is no LTB order and no Sheriff. Knowing that the landlord actually needs both is what turns a frightening moment into a solvable one.
A new investor buys a tenanted unit and tells the tenant, in person, that they need the place back next month. Nothing has actually happened. A verbal notice means nothing on its own. Without the proper N-form served correctly, and an LTB order if the tenant does not agree, there is no legal path to possession. Learning this early saves a great deal of time and money.
Everything above is the shape of the system, not advice on your particular lease. The rules are strong, but they only help if you use the right form, the right timeline, and the right forum. When something feels urgent or unclear, the fastest safe move is to get it confirmed by someone qualified rather than to act on a hunch.
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