Almost every residential tenancy in Ontario is governed by one statute: the Residential Tenancies Act, 2006 (RTA). Every Landlord and Tenant Board (LTB) case, no matter which side filed it, is decided under it. Details the Act leaves to be "prescribed" mostly appear in O. Reg. 516/06, its main regulation. Below is a finder, sorted by subject, for the sections people rely on most, each linked to the official consolidated text. Use it to find the right section, then read that section itself.
Quick summary
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Statute chapter | S.O. 2006, c. 17 |
| General regulation | O. Reg. 516/06 |
| Also relevant | Standard lease: O. Reg. 9/18. Suite meters: O. Reg. 394/10. Maintenance standards: O. Reg. 517/06 |
| Current version | Consolidated from September 21, 2026; latest amendment S.O. 2025, c. 14, Sched. 12 |
| Decision-maker | The LTB, subject to appeal on legal questions to the Divisional Court |
| Procedure | RTA Part XII, plus the Board's Rules of Procedure and the Statutory Powers Procedure Act |
Does the Act apply? (Part I)
| Topic | Section |
|---|---|
| The Act covers rental units in residential complexes, whatever another Act or an agreement says | s. 3 |
| Lease terms inconsistent with the Act are void, so no one can contract out of it | s. 4 |
| Exemptions; one example is a room whose occupant must use the bathroom or kitchen of an owner (or close family member of the owner) who lives there | s. 5 |
| No guideline, and no related rent sections, for units first lived in after November 15, 2018; see the rent increase guideline guide | s. 6.1 |
| Either side may apply on an A1 for a ruling on coverage | s. 9 |
The lease (Part II)
- Standard lease. Prescribed tenancies have to use the standard form, with the classes listed in O. Reg. 9/18: s. 12.1.
- Void clauses. "No pets" and acceleration clauses have no effect: s. 14 and s. 15.
- Mitigation. A party seeking damages for breach has to act reasonably to limit them: s. 16.
Duties on both sides (Parts III and IV)
Landlord's side
- Keep the complex in good repair and meet health, safety, housing and maintenance standards: s. 20.
- Do not cut off vital services, interfere with reasonable enjoyment, harass, or change the locks without giving the tenant new keys: s. 21 through s. 24.
- Entry rules: s. 26 and s. 27. Entries needing notice require it in writing at least a day (24 hours) before, naming the purpose, the date, and an entry time between 8 in the morning and 8 at night.
Tenant's side
- Keep the unit ordinarily clean, and repair damage caused by the tenant or their guests beyond normal wear: s. 33 and s. 34.
- Since July 1, 2026, tenants without landlord-supplied AC can install a portable or window unit, on conditions, unless prescribed circumstances let the landlord say no: s. 36.1.
- Tenant applications about the landlord's conduct or maintenance (T2, T6) rest on s. 29.
Ending a tenancy (Part V)
Rules that apply to every termination
- The Act controls how tenancies end. Unless the tenant leaves after a notice or agreement, getting the unit back takes a Board order carried out by the Sheriff: s. 37 and s. 39.
- When a fixed term ends without renewal or termination, it becomes month to month: s. 38.
- After the Sheriff enforces, the former tenant can retrieve belongings for 72 hours, between 8 in the morning and 8 at night (s. 46 of O. Reg. 516/06): s. 41.
- Every termination notice: approved form, the unit identified, a termination date, a signature. Landlords' notices add reasons and details: s. 43.
- Minimum notice for notices ending at a period or term: s. 44.
- Thirty days after its termination date, a notice is void unless the tenant has moved out or the landlord has applied. Notices for unpaid rent are the exception: s. 46.
No-fault grounds
| Ground | Sections |
|---|---|
| N12 for the landlord's own use, one month's compensation, and the new 120-day no-compensation option from September 21, 2026 (below) | s. 48, s. 48.1 |
| Purchaser's own use, limited to complexes of three residential units or fewer, or a condo unit | s. 49, s. 49.1 |
| Demolition, conversion, repairs and renovation (N13), the right of first refusal, compensation | s. 50, s. 52, s. 53, s. 54 |
| T5 bad-faith claims by former tenants, including when bad faith is presumed (s. 57) and when a right to return is deemed denied (s. 57.1(1.1)) | s. 57, s. 57.1 |
| N8 grounds at the end of a period or term, chronic late rent among them; one version of chronic lateness is now spelled out in s. 8.1 of O. Reg. 516/06 | s. 58 |
Fault grounds
- Unpaid rent (N4): s. 59. A week's notice minimum; full payment ahead of the landlord's filing cancels it.
- Other conduct (N5, N6, N7): s. 60 to s. 68 deal with lying about income, illegal acts, damage, disturbing others, making the place unsafe, too many occupants, and what happens on a second notice.
Going to the LTB
- Filing window: eviction applications need a termination notice behind them and a filing date within a month of that notice's termination date (rent notices excepted): s. 69.
- Remedy periods: no application may be filed while one is running: s. 70.
- Own-use extras: the affidavit, disclosure of earlier notices, and proof compensation was paid: s. 71.1 through s. 73.1.
- Rent applications (L1): earliest filing date, voiding an order by payment, and the tenant's one post-enforceability motion: s. 74.
- No-hearing applications (L3, L4) and the tenant's motion to set them aside: s. 77 and s. 78.
- Order expiry: six months after it takes effect, an eviction order not yet filed with the Sheriff is dead; the Enforcement Office guide explains the process: s. 81.
- Tenant issues at an arrears hearing: what the tenant must do first: s. 82.
- Relief from eviction: the Board's power to refuse or delay, and where it must refuse: s. 83.
- Money claims on L1, L2, L9 and L10 applications (arrears, use and occupation, utilities left unpaid, interference, damage): s. 86 through s. 89.
Rent (Part VII)
| Rule | Section |
|---|---|
| Deposits: only a rent deposit is lawful, it cannot exceed a single month or period of rent, and it earns yearly interest at the guideline | s. 105, s. 106 |
| Tenants cannot be forced into post-dated cheques or auto-debit, and can ask for a free receipt (contents: s. 9 of O. Reg. 516/06) | s. 108, s. 109 |
| Increases need 90 days' notice in writing on an approved form, a 12-month gap, and must respect the guideline, which tops out at 2.5% | s. 116, s. 119, s. 120 |
| Agreed above-guideline increases (N10), at most the guideline plus 3% | s. 121 |
| Applications for above-guideline increases (L5) | s. 126 |
| Key money and other illegal extras; the permitted exceptions, such as a $20 maximum NSF administration fee, are in s. 17 of O. Reg. 516/06 | s. 134 |
| Rent or an increase not challenged within a year is deemed lawful | s. 136 |
How the Board works (Parts XI and XII)
- Fees: what applications cost, low-income waivers, and getting the review fee back when the order is varied, suspended or cancelled (see LTB filing fees): s. 181, s. 181.1, s. 182.
- Approach: the Board uses the most expeditious method that is fair, and the Statutory Powers Procedure Act applies: s. 183, s. 184.
- Applications: approved form plus the required fee: s. 185.
- Time limits: the power to extend or shorten time, which O. Reg. 516/06, s. 56 restricts (termination notice periods cannot be altered): s. 190.
- Service: the ways notices and documents may be given: s. 191.
- Substance over form: the Board looks at what a transaction really is: s. 202.
- Arrears settlements: agreements resolving an arrears application, which since July 1, 2026 must use the LTB's Payment Agreement form: s. 206.
- Money limit: the higher of $10,000 and Small Claims Court's monetary jurisdiction: s. 207.
- Finality, review and appeal: orders are final; review requests for orders issued from July 1, 2026 are due within 15 days; appeals on a question of law go to the Divisional Court within 30 days: s. 209, s. 210.
- Substantial compliance: enough to satisfy form requirements: s. 212.
Offences (Part XVI)
Prosecutable offences appear in s. 233 through s. 238: unlawful lockouts, cutting off vital services, a bad-faith termination notice and more. Since July 1, 2026, individuals face fines of up to $100,000 and corporations up to $500,000. A court imposes these after a prosecution; they are separate from the LTB's administrative fines.
Key sections of O. Reg. 516/06
| What it deals with | Where |
|---|---|
| Chronic late rent: at least three over-a-week-late payments in a six-month span, not counting ones the landlord diverted to other debts; other facts may also qualify | s. 8.1 |
| Setting aside an L3 order: allowed only if not unfair, and the tenant's later change of circumstances is ignored | s. 8.2 |
| Deadline for the half-arrears payment under s. 82: a week before the hearing at the latest | s. 8.3 |
| Postponing eviction over the landlord's objection: compelling grounds plus no unfairness, except that N12 and N13-type notices (ss. 48, 49, 50) face the no-unfairness test alone | s. 8.4 |
| Required contents of rent receipts | s. 9 |
| Charges that escape s. 134, for example replacement key costs and the $20 NSF administration fee | s. 17 |
| Retrieval hours, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., for property left after an eviction | s. 46 |
| Time limits the Board has no power to change | s. 56 |
| L5 above-guideline rules | Part III |
What changed in 2026 (Bill 60 and Bill 97)
Two statutes amended the RTA, and Tribunals Ontario rolled the changes out in two stages: Bill 97 (Schedule 7 of the Helping Homebuyers, Protecting Tenants Act, 2023) and Bill 60 (Schedule 12 of the Fighting Delays, Building Faster Act, 2025).
Stage one: July 1, 2026
- Reviews: under s. 209(3), orders issued from July 1, 2026 can be reviewed only if requested within 15 days (older orders keep 30 days); O. Reg. 178/26 now lists the grounds.
- Payment agreements: the LTB's form is mandatory for s. 206 agreements.
- Air conditioners: tenants may install window or portable units (s. 36.1); where electricity is included in the rent, a seasonal increase is possible.
- Fines: s. 238 maximums doubled.
Stage two: September 21, 2026
- N4: the minimum dropped from 14 days to 7 for N4s given from this date (s. 59).
- Half-arrears rule: for rent applications (L1, L9, L10) filed since then, tenants wishing to raise their own issues must first pay the landlord, directly, half the claimed arrears, a week or more ahead of the hearing (O. Reg. 516/06, s. 8.3; ss. 82 and 87(2)).
- Chronic late rent: a regulatory definition now exists (s. 8.1 of O. Reg. 516/06).
- Harder to set aside an L3 order or postpone an eviction (ss. 8.2 and 8.4 of O. Reg. 516/06).
- N12 compensation: none, and no alternative unit, where a landlord's own-use notice is served from September 21, 2026 with 120 days' notice or more and a period-end or term-end date (s. 48.1(2)). This does not extend to purchaser's own-use notices.
- N12 move-in: for T5s filed from that date, the landlord (or the family member) has 60 days from the termination date, or from the actual move-out if later, to move in; otherwise bad faith is presumed (O. Reg. 240/26; s. 57(6.1), (7)). It is a rebuttable presumption, and purchaser's own-use notices are outside it.
- N13: new written-notice duties for the right of first refusal, 60 days to reoccupy, and a later T5 deadline.
Common questions
Where is the official version?
The province's e-Laws service has it: ontario.ca/laws/statute/06r17. The version now in force is consolidated to September 21, 2026. Before relying on a printed copy, check its consolidation date.
I rent a room in someone's house. Does the RTA cover me?
Not if you share a kitchen or bathroom with the owner, or with the owner's spouse, child or parent, or a child or parent of the owner's spouse, and that person lives in the building (s. 5, clause (i)). If it is unclear, an A1 lets either side ask the Board.
Can a lease take away RTA rights?
No. Section 4 voids any term that conflicts with the Act, and s. 3 makes the Act apply regardless of agreement.
How is the RTA different from the LTB Rules?
The Act is legislation. Practice Directions, Interpretation Guidelines and the Rules of Procedure come from the Board itself, to guide procedure and interpretation. Separate guides cover the Interpretation Guidelines and the Rules of Procedure.