Ontario RTA Changes 2026: New Rules in Force for Landlords
Bill 60 and Bill 97 rewrote parts of the Residential Tenancies Act in two waves, on July 1 and September 21, 2026. Both are now in force. This is the one-page operational checklist: every change, what is still undated, and exactly what to adjust in your process.
The two waves at a glance
- Wave 1 (in force since July 1, 2026): 15-day LTB order review deadline (was 30), 7-day service of AGI orders plus a 5-day certificate of service (was 14), the mandatory LTB Payment Agreement Form for repayment plans, the tenant right to install a window/portable A/C with written notice, and doubled maximum fines ($100,000 individuals / $500,000 corporations).
- Wave 2 (in force since September 21, 2026): the 7-day N4 (down from 14) on the mandatory N4 (2026/09) form, the waiver of one month's N12 personal-use compensation on an N12 given 120 or more days' notice instead of the usual 60 (N13 compensation is untouched), a new 60-day N12 occupancy deadline, new N13 right-of-first-refusal duties, a half-arrears condition for tenants raising other issues at an N4 hearing, and the official persistent-late-rent definition. A third proposal, ending fixed-term auto-conversion, was withdrawn from the bill and is not law.
- No date yet: only the mandatory pre-hearing evidence disclosure timeline remains unproclaimed.
Where the Changes Come From
Two statutes drive the 2026 changes. Bill 60, the Fighting Delays, Building Faster Act, 2025, shortens LTB timelines and notice periods. Bill 97, the Helping Homebuyers, Protecting Tenants Act, 2023, adds the tenant air-conditioning right and doubles maximum RTA fines. On June 30, 2026, Tribunals Ontario published an operational update confirming a two-stage rollout: one set of amendments effective July 1, 2026, a second effective September 21, 2026. A handful of items had no date then, and one still has none. The July 1 items trace back to that announcement; the September specifics come from the bill text and the official texts linked in the sources section below.
Before and After: The Rules Since July 1, 2026
Five rules changed on July 1. Here is the old rule next to the rule that applies today:
Deadline to request a review of an LTB order
Old rule (before July 1)
30 days from the date the order was issued.
Rule since July 1, 2026
15 days from the date the order was issued.
Serving an AGI order the LTB directs you to serve
Old rule (before July 1)
Within 14 days of the date the order was issued.
Rule since July 1, 2026
Within 7 days of the date the order was issued, with the certificate of service due within 5 days of serving.
Repayment plans filed with the LTB
Old rule (before July 1)
Informal payment-plan letters and emails were accepted.
Rule since July 1, 2026
Must use the mandatory LTB Payment Agreement Form (RTA s. 206).
Tenant window/portable air conditioners
Old rule (before July 1)
No standalone statutory right; often governed by lease terms.
Rule since July 1, 2026
Tenants may install with written notice (RTA s. 36.1); landlord may charge a seasonal electricity amount when hydro is included.
Maximum RTA fines
Old rule (before July 1)
$50,000 for individuals / $250,000 for corporations.
Rule since July 1, 2026
$100,000 for individuals / $500,000 for corporations (Bill 97).
Fixed-term auto-conversion
Status: proposed in October 2025, withdrawn before passage. Not law, and not scheduled.
The section that would have ended the automatic month-to-month continuation of a fixed-term lease was removed from Bill 60 after public opposition. A fixed-term lease still continues month-to-month at the end of the term. Listed here because 2025 coverage of the original bill is still circulating.
1. LTB Order Reviews: You Now Have 15 Days, Not 30
Since July 1, 2026, a request to review an LTB order must be filed within 15 days of the order being issued, half the previous 30-day window. If a hearing goes against you and you believe the Board made a serious error, the clock for challenging it is now two weeks, and it starts the day the order issues, not the day you get around to reading it.
What to change in your process
The day any LTB order arrives, calendar the 15-day review deadline before you do anything else, even if you have no immediate plans to challenge it. A missed deadline means the order stands. If you use property management software, set the reminder at day 10 so you have time to prepare the request.
2. Serving an AGI Order: 7 Days, Then a 5-Day Certificate
If you file above-guideline increase (L5) applications, the LTB sometimes directs the landlord to serve the tenants with the AGI order it issues. Since July 1, 2026 you have 7 days from the date the order was issued to serve it, down from 14. The certificate of service for an AGI order is due no later than 5 days after you serve it. Nothing changed about serving the application itself.
What to change in your process
When an AGI order arrives, check whether it directs you to serve it. If it does, diarize the service deadline the same day (the order date plus 7 days), then file the certificate within 5 days of the day you actually serve it. Our L5 AGI guide walks through the full application.
3. Repayment Plans Must Use the LTB Payment Agreement Form
Since July 1, 2026, any repayment plan filed with the LTB must use the Board's official Payment Agreement Form under section 206 of the RTA. The informal route (a signed letter or an email chain setting out a payment schedule) no longer satisfies the requirement.
What to change in your process
Download the official Payment Agreement Form (PDF) and keep it in your templates folder. Any arrears deal you intend to file with the Board goes on this form from now on. Our Payment Agreement Form guide walks through it section by section. Use exact arrears figures. Our arrears calculator gives you a number you can defend at a hearing.
4. Tenant A/C Installations: Written Notice Is Enough
Under new section 36.1 of the RTA (added by Bill 97 and in force since July 1, 2026), a tenant may install a window or portable air conditioner after giving the landlord written notice. Where electricity is included in the rent, the landlord may charge a seasonal amount for the additional electricity. The LTB has published a brochure, Rules for Air Conditioners in Rental Units, explaining how the rule operates. For the electricity-charge math and a sample acknowledgment letter, see our tenant air conditioner guide.
What to change in your process
Set up a simple intake for A/C notices: acknowledge the tenant's written notice in writing, and if hydro is included in the rent, state the seasonal electricity amount at the same time rather than raising it mid-summer. Do not refuse a compliant installation. The right now sits in the statute, not in your lease.
5. Doubled Fines: Redo Your Risk Math
Since July 1, 2026, the maximum fine for an RTA offence is $100,000 for individuals and $500,000 for corporations, double the previous maximums, courtesy of Bill 97. Offences such as bad-faith evictions and illegal lockouts now carry twice the downside they did in June.
What to change in your process
Rerun the numbers on any shortcut you were tempted to take. Skipping one month's N12 compensation to save, say, $2,200 now risks a fine of up to $100,000, a 45-to-1 downside before you count legal costs and a bad-faith finding on the record. Compliance was already the cheaper path; it is now twice as clearly so.
In Force Since September 21, 2026: The Second Wave
Several more changes came into force on September 21, 2026, and they don't all turn on the same trigger. The N4 and the N12 compensation waiver turn on the day the notice is served (a notice served before that date is governed by the old rule and stays valid). But the half-arrears N4 hearing condition turns on the day the landlord files the arrears application, and the N13 right-of-first-refusal duties turn on the tenant's written notice and the renovation's completion date.
N4 termination period: 14 → 7 days
Status: In force (September 21, 2026)
Every N4 served on or after September 21, 2026 uses the 7-day termination date and the N4 (2026/09) form. Mail adds 5 deemed-service days on top, so a mailed N4 needs 12. See our step-by-step N4 guide.
N12 compensation waived at 120 days notice (N12 only)
Status: In force (September 21, 2026)
Waived on an N12 where you give at least 120 days notice instead of the usual 60. Give less and the month is still owed. Separately, every N12 must end on the last day of a rental period under RTA s.48(2) whatever the notice length, and missing that voids the notice. The waiver itself does not cover N13 compensation, which stays at three months rent in a building of five or more units.
New: N12 60-day occupancy deadline
Status: In force (September 21, 2026)
Effective September 21, 2026 (the LTB states this without a service-date qualifier), you or the family member or caregiver named in the notice must normally take occupancy within 60 days of the termination date on the notice. Miss it and a T5 application triggers a bad-faith presumption, which you can rebut at the hearing. Does not apply to a purchaser’s-use N12.
New: N13 right-of-first-refusal duties
Status: In force (September 21, 2026)
If a tenant gives written notice on or after September 21, 2026 that they want to move back in, you owe written updates on the completion date, and 60 days’ notice to reoccupy if the work finishes on or after that date. The T5 deadline is now two years after move-out or six months after the renovation finishes, whichever is later.
New: half-arrears N4 hearing condition
Status: In force (September 21, 2026)
For arrears applications filed on or after September 21, 2026, a tenant must pay half the claimed rent arrears at least 7 days before the hearing, directly to the landlord, to raise other issues.
New: official persistent-late-rent definition
Status: In force (September 21, 2026)
Rent received more than 7 days late, at least 3 times within any 6-month period, unless the landlord applied the payment to another amount owed.
New: several LTB forms replaced
Status: In force (September 21, 2026)
The N5, N6, N8, N12, N13, L1, L2, L9, L10 and T5 were all replaced. Previous versions are accepted until November 29, 2026 and rejected as of November 30, 2026.
New: narrower grounds to cancel or delay an eviction order
Status: In force (September 21, 2026)
The LTB can only cancel an order issued without a hearing (based on a landlord/tenant agreement to end the tenancy, or a tenant’s own termination notice) if doing so would not be unfair, and cannot weigh circumstances that changed after that agreement or notice. To delay an eviction where a hearing was held, it needs your agreement, or must be satisfied a delay would not be unfair to you or other tenants AND that there are compelling reasons; for an N12 or N13 case, only the not-unfair test applies.
What to do differently since September 21
Diarize the 60-day occupancy deadline on every own-use N12 you serve
The clock starts on the termination date in the notice, not the day you filed anything. If you or the family member won’t be in the unit within 60 days, be ready to explain why at a T5 hearing: the LTB now presumes bad faith, and it is on you to rebut it.
Put N13 completion updates in writing, every time
If a tenant tells you in writing, on or after September 21, 2026, that they want to move back in, you owe them a written estimated completion date, written notice of any change to it, and written notice when the unit is ready. If the work finishes on or after September 21, 2026, you also owe 60 days’ notice to move back in. Skip any of that and the LTB presumes you denied the right of first refusal, which you can rebut at the hearing.
Update your N4 hearing prep for arrears applications filed on or after September 21
A tenant can no longer raise maintenance or other issues at the hearing for free: they have to pay you half the claimed rent arrears at least 7 days before, directly to you. Flag this in your hearing brief so you can point it out if they try to raise issues without paying.
Check your N8 evidence against the new fixed count
The official definition is rent received more than 7 days late, at least 3 times within 6 months, unless you applied the payment to another amount owed. Evidence that meets it is the simplest case. A pattern below that count can still support an N8 under the LTB’s case-by-case standard, so check which one your evidence fits.
Track the November 30, 2026 old-form cutoff
The N5, N6, N8, N12, N13, L1, L2, L9, L10 and T5 were all replaced September 21, 2026. You can still use the previous versions until November 29, 2026, and they are rejected as of November 30, so switch over well before then.
Going deeper: read how to issue an N4 (the 7-day rule and the deemed-service math), the N12 personal-use guide (to model whether a 120-day notice beats a 60-day notice plus compensation), and the fixed-term lease changes guide (how they actually work, and what Bill 60 left alone).
The mistakes that still void a notice
Serving on the retired 01/04/2022 N4, or counting 7 days without adding the deemed-service days for how you delivered it. Either one voids the notice and you start over. And the N12 waiver only applies at 120 or more days notice: skipping the month below that is bad-faith exposure with fines up to $100,000.
Still Unproclaimed: Pre-Hearing Evidence Disclosure
One item is left. The mandatory pre-hearing evidence disclosure timeline has no confirmed date, and the current evidence practice direction continues to apply until it does. The two items this page used to list beside it, the half-arrears hearing condition and the official persistent-late-rent definition, both came into force on September 21, 2026 and are in the list above.
Official Sources
Every change on this page traces to an official publication:
- LTB Operational Update: Legislative Changes at the LTB (Tribunals Ontario, June 30, 2026): sets out the July 1, 2026 changes and says the rest of Bills 60 and 97 take effect in September 2026; it does not itemize the September items.
- LTB Operational Update: Legislative Changes at the LTB, Effective September 21, 2026 (Tribunals Ontario, September 21, 2026): the source for the September items on this page, including the N12 60-day occupancy deadline, the N13 right-of-first-refusal duties and T5 deadline, the half-arrears condition, the persistent-late-rent definition, the narrower eviction set-aside and delay grounds, and the November 30, 2026 old-form cutoff.
- LTB Payment Agreement Form (PDF) (Tribunals Ontario): the mandatory form for repayment plans under RTA s. 206.
- LTB Brochure: Rules for Air Conditioners in Rental Units (Tribunals Ontario): the new s. 36.1 tenant A/C right in plain language.
- Residential Tenancies Act, 2006 (ontario.ca): current consolidated text.
- Bill 60, Fighting Delays, Building Faster Act, 2025 and Bill 97, Helping Homebuyers, Protecting Tenants Act, 2023 (Legislative Assembly of Ontario).
Frequently Asked Questions
Related Resources
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