Bill 60 and Your Tenancy: What's Changing for Ontario Renters and Landlords (and What Hasn't Yet)
If you rent your home in Ontario — or you rent one out — you may have seen headlines about "Bill 60" and faster evictions. There is real change coming, but there is also a lot of confusion about what applies right now. The short version: the most talked-about rental rules in Bill 60 have been passed into law but are not yet in force. Until the government formally proclaims them, the old rules still govern. Here is a plain-language breakdown.
What Bill 60 actually is
Bill 60, the Fighting Delays, Building Faster Act, 2025, received Royal Assent in late November 2025. It is an "omnibus" bill — it amends many different statutes at once, mostly about housing construction and development approvals. Schedule 12 is the part that touches renters: it amends the Residential Tenancies Act, 2006 (the law behind the Landlord and Tenant Board).
The catch is in the fine print. Schedule 12's tenancy changes come into force "on a day to be named by order of the Lieutenant Governor in Council." In plain terms, the Legislature wrote the rules down, but a separate step — proclamation — is needed before they apply. As of early June 2026, that proclamation has not happened, and Tribunals Ontario is still updating its forms and procedures.
The changes to watch
When the rental provisions are proclaimed, several practical things are expected to shift. Treat these as coming, not current:
- Shorter non-payment notice (the N4). Today, when rent is unpaid, a landlord
serves an N4 giving the tenant 14 days to pay or move out before an application can be filed. Bill 60 would shorten that to 7 days.
- Less time to ask for a review. The window to ask the Board to review an
order is expected to drop from 30 days to 15 days (the Board may still have discretion to extend it in some cases).
- A deposit to raise repair issues. If a tenant wants to argue that
maintenance or repair problems should offset rent they owe, they may first have to pay 50% of the claimed arrears into the Board before that argument is heard at a non-payment hearing.
- Own-use evictions. Where a landlord gives long enough advance notice (a
longer notice period is contemplated), the usual one-month compensation for certain landlord's-own-use (N12) situations may not apply.
These are significant for both sides — faster timelines help landlords pursue unpaid rent, but they leave tenants far less room to respond.
What this means for you today
The single most important point: do not act on rules that aren't in force yet. A landlord who serves a 7-day N4 today, before proclamation, risks having the notice thrown out. A tenant who assumes they only have 15 days to seek a review could miss the current 30-day window if the timing differs. Use the current forms and timelines until the Landlord and Tenant Board officially announces the switch.
N4 = 14 days, review = 30 days] B -- "Once proclaimed" --> D[New rules apply going forward
N4 = 7 days, review = 15 days] C --> E[Confirm current forms on the LTB website] D --> E E --> F[Unsure? Get advice before serving
or responding to a notice]
A few things that have not changed
Bill 60 does not scrap the basics of rent regulation. For many rent-controlled units, increases are still limited to once every 12 months at the provincial guideline, with proper written notice. Tenancies still generally continue month-to-month after a fixed term ends unless something specific applies. And the requirement to use the correct, Board-approved forms remains — in fact, that is partly why the rollout is slow: every form has to be rewritten to match the new timelines before the rules can take effect.
Where to confirm the current rules
Because the in-force date can change, always check the official sources rather than social media or older articles:
- The Landlord and Tenant Board publishes current forms, rules and decisions:
- The Ontario rent increase guideline page explains the current annual cap:
ontario.ca/page/residential-rent-increases.
- The full text and status of Bill 60 is on the Legislative Assembly site:
- A clear tenant-focused explainer comes from the **Canadian Centre for Housing
Rights**: housingrightscanada.com.
Get in touch
Notice timelines are the part of a tenancy dispute where small mistakes cost the most — a notice served too early, or a deadline missed by a day, can decide a case. If you have received an N4, N12 or other LTB notice, or you are a landlord unsure which timeline applies right now, JSR Legals can help you understand your options. Reach us at info@jsrlegals.ca.
This article is general information about Ontario law, current as of June 2026, and is not legal advice for any specific situation. Rules and in-force dates can change — confirm the current requirements before you act.
Immigration & paralegal practitioner at JSR Immigration & Legals, helping newcomers and Ontario residents with their cases.
This post is general information about Canadian immigration and Ontario paralegal matters and is not legal advice. Rules change and every case is different — confirm current requirements for your own situation.