Ontario's Residential Tenancies Act, 2006 Explained: Where to Find the Rules That Affect You

Ontario's Residential Tenancies Act, 2006 (RTA) is the law behind most rental housing in the province, and the Landlord and Tenant Board (LTB) applies it in every case, whoever started it. Many details the Act calls "prescribed" sit in its main regulation, O. Reg. 516/06. Below, the sections people turn to most are grouped by topic with links to the official text. Treat this as a map, and always read the section itself before acting.

How to use this map

1. Find your topic in the headings below: coverage, the lease, everyday duties, ending a tenancy, rent, or Board process.
2. Open the linked section on e-Laws and read its exact wording.
3. Check the date. The version in force is consolidated from September 21, 2026, and several rules changed in 2026 (see the last main section).
4. Match it to a form. Many sections lead to a specific notice or application with its own page.

The RTA in one table

Step 1: Check whether the Act covers the unit (Part I)

• It beats contrary deals. Rental units in residential complexes are governed by the Act whatever another statute or an agreement says (s. 3).
• No contracting out. A lease term in conflict with the RTA is void (s. 4).
• Exemptions. For example, the Act does not reach a room whose occupant must use the same kitchen or bathroom as a resident owner or the owner's immediate family (s. 5).
• Post-2018 units. First residential occupancy after November 15, 2018 takes a unit out of the rent increase guideline and related sections (s. 6.1); for more, read the rent increase guideline guide.
• Still unsure? Either side may file Form A1 asking the Board to rule on coverage (s. 9).

Step 2: Know what the lease can and cannot say (Part II)

• Some tenancies have to be on the standard lease; O. Reg. 9/18 names the classes (s. 12.1).
• A "no pets" clause is void, and so is an acceleration clause, meaning one that makes all future rent payable at once after a breach (s. 14 and s. 15).
• Anyone claiming money over a breach must take reasonable steps to limit the loss (s. 16).

Step 3: Understand each side's everyday duties (Parts III and IV)

What the landlord owes

• Keeping the complex in good repair and up to the applicable health, safety, housing and maintenance codes (s. 20).
• No withholding of vital services, no interference with reasonable enjoyment, no harassment, and replacement keys whenever locks are changed (s. 21 to s. 24).
• Before entering on notice, a written notice at least 24 hours ahead giving the reason, the day, and an entry time no earlier than 8 a.m. and no later than 8 p.m. (s. 26 and s. 27).

What the tenant owes, and can claim

• Ordinary cleanliness, and repair of undue damage the tenant causes (s. 33 and s. 34).
• Tenant applications such as the T2 and T6, which landlords have to answer (s. 29).
• Starting July 1, 2026, if no air conditioning comes with the unit, the right to install a window or portable one, subject to conditions and to a landlord prohibition in prescribed cases (s. 36.1).

Step 4: Learn how a tenancy ends (Part V)

Ground rules for every ending

• Tenancies end only as the Act permits. Unless the tenant leaves under a notice or agreement, the landlord needs a Board order, enforced by the sheriff, to get the unit back (s. 37 and s. 39).
• When a lease term expires and nobody renews or ends it, the tenancy simply continues month to month (s. 38).
• After the sheriff enforces an eviction, the tenant has 72 hours to collect belongings, during daytime hours set by regulation (s. 41; O. Reg. 516/06, s. 46).
• Every termination notice needs the approved form, the unit's identity, an end date and a signature; landlords must also state reasons with details (s. 43).
• How much notice is needed to end a tenancy when a period or term finishes: see s. 44.
• If the tenant is still there and the landlord has not applied within 30 days of the termination date, the notice lapses; non-payment notices are the exception (s. 46).

No-fault endings

• When the landlord wants the unit for personal use (N12), the tenant is compensated with a month's rent, except for the 120-day notices allowed from September 21, 2026 (see below) (s. 48 and s. 48.1).
• Purchaser's own use, limited to condominium units and to complexes of no more than three residential units (s. 49 and s. 49.1).
• Demolition, conversion, and repairs or renovations (N13), together with compensation and the tenant's first-refusal right (s. 50, s. 52, s. 53 and s. 54).
• A former tenant's T5 claiming bad faith, with s. 57's presumptions of bad faith and, under s. 57.1(1.1), a landlord deemed not to have respected a first-refusal right (s. 57 and s. 57.1).
• Grounds that end a tenancy at the end of the term, for example a pattern of paying late (N8), (s. 58); the regulation's s. 8.1 now spells out one form of it.

Endings based on the tenant's conduct

• Unpaid rent (N4): the end date can be no sooner than 7 days after the notice is given, and a tenant who pays in full before an application is filed cancels the notice (s. 59).
• Income misrepresentation, illegal acts, damage, interfering with others' reasonable enjoyment, impaired safety and overcrowding, plus how second notices work (N5, N6, N7) (s. 60 to s. 68).

Going to the Board

• A landlord's eviction application must rest on a termination notice and, apart from unpaid rent, reach the Board inside 30 days of the termination date (s. 69).
• No filing while a remedy period is open (s. 70).
• Own-use applications need an affidavit, disclosure of prior notices and proof the compensation was paid (s. 71.1 to s. 73.1).
• For the L1: when it can be filed, how paying can void the order, and the tenant's one-time set-aside motion after enforceability (s. 74).
• L3 and L4 orders issued without a hearing, and how tenants can challenge them by motion (s. 77 and s. 78).
• An eviction order not filed with the sheriff expires six months after it takes effect (s. 81); the Enforcement Office guide explains enforcement.
• What a tenant has to do before raising other issues at an arrears hearing (s. 82).
• The Board's power to refuse or delay eviction, and the situations where refusal is mandatory (s. 83).
• Money claims for use and occupation, arrears, interference, utilities left unpaid and damage (L1, L2, L9, L10) (s. 86 to s. 89).

Step 5: Get rent right (Part VII)

• Only a rent deposit is allowed, no larger than a single month's or rental period's rent, with yearly interest at the guideline rate (s. 105 and s. 106).
• A tenant cannot be forced to pay by post-dated cheque or automatic withdrawal, and is entitled to a receipt at no cost (contents set by s. 9 of the regulation) (s. 108 and s. 109).
• Increases require a year between them and three months' (90 days') written notice using the approved form, and are limited by the guideline, which can never exceed 2.5% (s. 116, s. 119 and s. 120).
• An agreed above-guideline increase (N10) is capped at 3% over the guideline (s. 121).
• Landlord applications for an above-guideline increase use the L5 (s. 126).
• Key money and similar extra charges are illegal; O. Reg. 516/06, s. 17 lists the exceptions, including an NSF cheque fee capped at $20 (s. 134).
• Rent or an increase that goes unchallenged for a year is deemed lawful (s. 136).

Step 6: Know how the Board works (Parts XI and XII)

• Filing fees and low-income waivers, plus getting the review fee back when the order is varied, suspended or cancelled (s. 181, s. 181.1 and s. 182); the LTB filing fees page has the amounts.
• The Board must choose the fastest fair method, and the Statutory Powers Procedure Act governs (s. 183 and s. 184).
• Applications need the approved form and the right fee (s. 185).
• Time can be extended or shortened, but O. Reg. 516/06, s. 56 freezes the notice periods for ending a tenancy (s. 190).
• Methods for giving notices and documents (s. 191).
• Labels do not control; the Board examines what a transaction actually is (s. 202).
• An arrears case can settle by agreement, and since July 1, 2026 that agreement must be on the LTB Payment Agreement form (s. 206).
• Monetary awards reach the higher of $10,000 or the Small Claims Court limit (s. 207).
• Orders are final. For orders issued from July 1, 2026, ask for a review within 15 days; appeals, on questions of law only, go to the Divisional Court within 30 days (s. 209 and s. 210).
• Substantial compliance with a form's requirements is enough (s. 212).

Step 7: Be aware of offences (Part XVI)

Illegal lockouts, cutting off vital services and bad-faith termination notices are among the offences in s. 233 to s. 238. Since July 1, 2026, a court may fine an individual up to $100,000 and a corporation up to $500,000 after a prosecution. Those are distinct from administrative fines ordered by the LTB.

The regulation: O. Reg. 516/06 sections that come up most

What changed in 2026

Tribunals Ontario rolled out two sets of amendments in two waves: Bill 60, the Fighting Delays, Building Faster Act, 2025 (its Schedule 12), and Bill 97, the Helping Homebuyers, Protecting Tenants Act, 2023 (its Schedule 7).

Wave 1 (effective July 1, 2026)

• [ ] Reviews: 15 days to ask for review of an order issued from July 1, 2026 onward, 30 days for older ones (s. 209(3)); review grounds are now listed in O. Reg. 178/26.
• [ ] Payment agreements: the LTB Payment Agreement form is required for s. 206 repayment deals.
• [ ] Air conditioning: tenants gained the right to window or portable units (s. 36.1); if electricity is part of the rent, a seasonal increase may be possible.
• [ ] Fines: s. 238 maximums were doubled.

Wave 2 (effective September 21, 2026)

• [ ] N4: s. 59 now gives 7 days, down from 14, for any N4 given from September 21, 2026.
• [ ] Other issues at rent hearings: for L1, L9 and L10 applications filed from September 21, 2026, a tenant raising other issues must pay half the arrears claimed straight to the landlord, 7 or more days before the hearing (ss. 82 and 87(2); s. 8.3 of the regulation).
• [ ] Persistent late payment: the regulation now defines it (s. 8.1).
• [ ] Harder tests: ss. 8.2 and 8.4 of the regulation tighten L3 set-asides and eviction delays.
• [ ] N12 with 120 days' notice: an N12 served from September 21, 2026 that gives 120 or more days and ends on a period's or term's last day requires no compensation or alternative unit (s. 48.1(2)); this option is not open on a purchaser's-own-use notice.
• [ ] N12 move-in: for T5 applications filed from September 21, 2026, the Board presumes bad faith where the person named in the N12 has not moved in 60 days after the termination date (or after the tenant left, if later) (s. 57(6.1), (7); O. Reg. 240/26). The landlord can rebut it, and it does not cover a buyer's own use.
• [ ] N13 first refusal: landlords take on new duties to notify in writing, tenants get 60 days to move back in, and the T5 deadline moves later.

Questions landlords and tenants ask about the RTA

Where can I read the official RTA?

On e-Laws, at ontario.ca/laws/statute/06r17. Today's consolidation starts September 21, 2026; check that date on any printed copy before relying on it.

I rent a room in the owner's home. Am I covered?

Not if the kitchen or bathroom is shared with an owner who lives there, or with that owner's spouse, child or parent, or the spouse's child or parent (clause (i) of s. 5). When in doubt, the landlord or the occupant can file an A1.

Can a signed lease take away RTA rights?

No. A term that clashes with the Act is void under s. 4, and under s. 3 no agreement can switch the Act off.

How do the RTA and the LTB Rules differ?

The RTA is the law. The Board's own documents, meaning its Rules of Procedure, Practice Directions and Interpretation Guidelines, explain how it runs cases and reads the law. Two guides go deeper: the Interpretation Guidelines guide and the Rules of Procedure guide.

Official sources

• Residential Tenancies Act, 2006
• O. Reg. 516/06 (General)
• O. Reg. 517/06 (Maintenance Standards)
• LTB Law, rules and decisions
• Operational Update, July 1, 2026
• Operational Update, September 21, 2026

Last reviewed October 31, 2026. General information, not legal advice for your situation. Always use the current version of the form from the LTB.