Ontario landlords and tenants have heard a lot about Bill 60 — the Fighting Delays, Building Faster Act, 2025. Passed in late November 2025, it is an omnibus statute touching transit, planning, development charges, and more. For most renters and rental housing providers, the important part is Schedule 12, which amends the Residential Tenancies Act, 2006 (RTA) and the procedures at the Landlord and Tenant Board (LTB).
The political messaging is straightforward: shorten delays, tighten procedures, and give both sides clearer rules. Tenant advocates, including the Advocacy Centre for Tenants Ontario (ACTO), argue the balance tilts toward faster evictions and narrower defences. Landlord groups welcome shorter notice periods and more predictable outcomes. Both perspectives contain truth — but neither headline tells you what to do at your kitchen table when rent is late or an N12 arrives in the mail.
This guide explains what Bill 60 actually changes, when those changes take effect, and how landlords and tenants should prepare. It is general information, not legal advice. Because Bill 60 uses staged proclamation, always confirm the current status of a specific RTA section on Ontario e-Laws before serving a notice or filing an application.
What Bill 60 Is — and What It Is Not
Bill 60 received Royal Assent on November 27, 2025 as Chapter 14 of the Statutes of Ontario, 2025. It does not abolish the LTB, end rent control for pre-2018 tenancies, or remove security of tenure. Toronto City Council staff confirmed in a November 2025 background report that the government had dropped a prior proposal to allow fixed-term leases to expire without renewal — a change that would have fundamentally altered Ontario renters' right to remain. Bill 60's RTA amendments focus on procedure and timing, not on eliminating that core protection.
What Bill 60 does attempt:
- Compress certain eviction timelines (especially non-payment)
- Add preconditions before tenants raise maintenance or harassment issues at arrears hearings
- Shorten the window to request an internal LTB review
- Adjust N12 landlord's-own-use compensation when longer notice is given
- Replace open-ended adjudicator discretion with regulation-bound criteria in several areas
The catch: unlike a single "in force" date, many RTA amendments come into effect only when Cabinet proclaims them. As of May 26, 2026, most housing-related changes are not yet active. Acting on Bill 60 rules before proclamation can invalidate your notice or application.
Implementation Timeline: Check Before You Act
Bill 60's RTA amendments roll out in stages. Published implementation schedules indicate:
| Approximate effective date | Key RTA provisions |
|---|---|
| On Royal Assent (Nov 27, 2025) | Certain technical and procedural items tied to immediate commencement |
| July 1, 2026 | Section 209(3): 15-day LTB review deadline; section 43(1): approved/prescribed notice forms; expanded regulation-making powers |
| September 21, 2026 | Section 59(1): 7-day N4 minimum; section 48.1(2): N12 compensation waiver with 120-day notice; section 82(2): 50% arrears pay-in for tenant issues; section 83(1)(b): prescribed limits on eviction discretion; section 58(1.1): regulated definition of "persistent" late payment |
Until each date passes, the prior RTA text governs. A landlord who serves a 7-day N4 in May 2026 is serving a defective notice. A tenant who assumes they no longer have 30 days to request review may forfeit a right they still possess.
Practical rule: open e-Laws, locate the RTA section you rely on, and read the commencement footnote. If it says "on proclamation" or a future date, the old rule still applies.
Change 1: Faster N4 Non-Payment Timelines (Effective September 21, 2026)
Under the current RTA, a landlord who serves an N4 notice for non-payment must set a termination date no earlier than 14 days after the notice is given. Bill 60 replaces section 59(1) with a 7-day minimum.
What this means in practice
For landlords, the amendment is meant to let you file an L1 application sooner after rent goes unpaid. For tenants, the window to void an N4 by paying all arrears (plus any lawful charges) before the termination date shrinks by a week — though section 74 voiding rights remain once the provision is in force.
Context matters: even under today's 14-day rule, an L1 rarely leads to a hearing within weeks. LTB backlog has pushed many non-payment cases months out. Bill 60 addresses the front end of the process, not necessarily how quickly a member hears the case. Tenants who pay in full before a hearing on a first arrears application often receive a conditional section 78 order rather than eviction — that dynamic is unlikely to disappear overnight.
For a detailed walkthrough of current N4 requirements, see our N4 notice filing guide.
Change 2: Section 82 "Pay-In" Before Tenant Counter-Issues (Effective September 21, 2026)
At arrears hearings, tenants have long been able to raise issues that could support their own applications — maintenance failures under section 20, harassment, illegal entries — under section 82 of the RTA. Bill 60 keeps that right but adds a financial gate: unless regulations say otherwise, a tenant must pay half of the rent arrears claimed in the L1 when it was filed before the hearing, and within any prescribed timeline.
Why both sides care
Landlords argue some tenants raised section 82 issues primarily to delay eviction on unrelated grievances. Tenants and clinics counter that conditioning a defence on partial payment punishes renters who withhold rent precisely because conditions are uninhabitable — a classic maintenance standoff.
The statute leaves room for regulations to modify the rule — including allowing payment into the Board rather than to the landlord. Until those regulations appear, the plain text of Bill 60 points toward a substantial procedural shift. Tenants with legitimate T6 claims may need to file separately rather than rely solely on section 82 at an L1 hearing.
If maintenance is your concern, our T6 application guide covers how to bring those issues directly.
Change 3: Shorter LTB Review Deadlines (Effective July 1, 2026)
Before Bill 60, parties dissatisfied with a final LTB order generally had 30 days to request an internal review under section 209. Bill 60 adds section 209(3), cutting that window to 15 days, though the Board may extend time where "just and appropriate."
Practical impact
Reviews are not re-hearings. Under Guideline 8, the LTB looks for serious error, serious procedural defect, or inability to participate reasonably. Still, 15 days is tight — especially for self-represented parties trying to retain counsel, gather transcripts, and draft submissions.
Important distinction Bill 60 does not change: the 30-day statutory appeal to Divisional Court on a question of law under section 210 remains. Nor does it eliminate judicial review in appropriate cases after Yatar. Reviews, appeals, and judicial review serve different functions with different deadlines — missing the wrong one ends your challenge.
Change 4: N12 Compensation and 120-Day Notice (Effective September 21, 2026)
When a landlord serves an N12 for landlord's own use, the RTA requires one month's compensation before the termination date (section 48.1) or an offer of another acceptable unit. Bill 60 adds subsection 48.1(2): if the N12 gives at least 120 days' notice and terminates on the last day of a rental period (or fixed term), the compensation requirement does not apply.
Reading this fairly
Landlords gain flexibility on timing and cost when they plan far ahead. Tenants lose a guaranteed cash payment in that scenario — though good-faith requirements, affidavit rules, and bad-faith remedies under section 57 remain. A landlord who serves a long-notice N12 but never moves in can still face a T5 application and substantial penalties.
Unpaid compensation on standard-notice N12s continues to be a common dismissal ground at L2 hearings. Our N12 notice guide walks through current requirements.
Change 5: Narrower Eviction Discretion (Section 83) and "Persistent" Late Payment (Section 58)
Two areas where LTB members historically exercised broad judgment are now bounded by regulations yet to be fully seen.
Section 83(1)(b) lets the Board refuse or delay eviction after considering "all the circumstances." Bill 60 subjects that power to prescribed limitations and conditions — meaning future regulations will define when relief is available rather than leaving it almost entirely to member discretion.
Section 58(1.1) similarly requires that "persistent failure" to pay rent on time — the basis for an N8 notice — be determined in accordance with regulations. Today, one member may find three late payments "persistent" while another demands a longer pattern. Standardization cuts both ways: predictability helps landlords plan; tenants lose the occasional sympathetic application of broad discretion.
Watch for regulations under new paragraph 13.0.5 of section 241 — they will shape eviction outcomes as much as the headline statutory text.
Change 6: Tighter Rules on Review and Set-Aside Orders
Bill 60 amends section 209(2) and clause 77(8)(b) so the Board's power to review its own decisions and set aside termination orders depends on prescribed circumstances, conditions, or tests — not the wider discretion members sometimes exercised under non-binding Guideline 8 suggestions.
Proponents say this improves fairness: parties will know the grounds for challenge in advance. Critics worry rigid tests will leave no remedy when an adjudicator errs in ways the regulations did not anticipate — especially for interim orders that are difficult to review because they are not "final."
What Landlords Should Do Now
- Do not assume Bill 60 is fully in force. Verify each section on e-Laws before changing notice periods or review strategy.
- Until September 21, 2026, use the 14-day N4 and existing voiding framework. Defective notices remain the fastest route to a dismissed L1.
- Calendar the July 1 review deadline change. If you receive an unfavourable order after that date, treat the 15-day review window as immovable unless you qualify for an extension.
- If planning an N12 with long notice, model compensation obligations under both the current rule and the September 21 amendment — and document good-faith occupancy intentions regardless.
- Keep rent ledgers meticulous. Shorter timelines and pay-in rules leave less room for arithmetic disputes at hearing.
What Tenants Should Do Now
- Treat every notice seriously, even if a landlord cites Bill 60. An invalid shortened N4 is a defence worth raising.
- Separate maintenance and harassment claims from arrears defences. If section 82 pay-in rules apply after September 21, consider filing a T2 or T6 promptly rather than waiting for an L1 hearing.
- Mark review deadlines immediately when you receive an order — 15 days after July 1, 2026 passes quickly.
- Do not surrender N12 compensation on long-notice notices until you confirm the amendment is proclaimed and all statutory criteria are met.
- Seek help early. Shorter windows punish last-minute scrambling more than they punish prepared parties.
Getting Professional Help
Bill 60 compresses timelines across the LTB process. That compression raises the cost of procedural mistakes — for both landlords and tenants. Whether you need help serving a valid notice, responding to an L1, or requesting review within a shrinking window, working with someone who practices at the Board regularly can be the difference between an order that stands and one that is dismissed on a technicality.
Browse licensed professionals in our paralegal directory to find representation suited to your file and budget. To see how the Board has applied similar issues in real disputes — arrears, N12 good faith, maintenance, section 83 relief — explore anonymized outcomes in our case study library.
For a broader look at when representation pays for itself, see our cost-benefit guide to lawyers and paralegals at the LTB.
The Bottom Line
Bill 60 is neither a wholesale dismantling of tenant protections nor a complete fix for LTB delay. It is a package of procedural amendments, activated in stages, that will change how non-payment evictions, arrears defences, reviews, and N12 files unfold once proclaimed. Until each provision is in force, Ontario's prior RTA rules control.
Landlords and tenants who verify commencement dates, adjust practices to match the stage that applies to their case, and seek timely advice will navigate the transition more safely than those relying on headlines alone.
Sources consulted: Bill 60, Fighting Delays, Building Faster Act, 2025 — Legislative Assembly of Ontario; Bill 60 Royal Assent PDF, Schedule 12; City of Toronto — Impacts of Provincial Legislation (Bill 60 background); ACTO statement on Bill 60; Residential Tenancies Act, 2006 — e-Laws; LTB Guideline 8 — Review of an Order. Implementation dates for staged proclamation are based on published Ontario government commencement schedules as of spring 2026; confirm current status on e-Laws before relying on any specific provision.
