Publication date: September 12, 2026
Effective date: September 21, 2026
Area affected: Ontario, including Durham Region
Verified against: Ontario e-Laws and Tribunals Ontario on September 12, 2026
Ontario residential tenancy rules change on September 21, affecting rent-arrears notices, persistent late payments, landlord-own-use notices, renovation-related return rights and what tenants may raise at some Landlord and Tenant Board hearings.
The changes come mainly from the Fighting Delays, Building Faster Act, 2025 (Bill 60), related regulations, and selected provisions of the earlier Helping Homebuyers, Protecting Tenants Act, 2023 (Bill 97).
Here is what Durham tenants and landlords should know, based on the official legislation.
N4 non-payment notice period becomes seven days
For monthly and yearly tenancies, the earliest termination date on an N4 notice for non-payment of rent will move from 14 days after the notice is given to seven days.
Daily and weekly tenancies already use a seven-day period. Beginning September 21, section 59 of the Residential Tenancies Act, 2006 will use the same seven-day minimum for all covered tenancies.
An N4 is a notice, not an eviction order. A landlord must still apply to the Landlord and Tenant Board and obtain an order before a legal eviction can be enforced. The notice is also void if the tenant pays the required rent before the landlord files the application, as set out in the Act.
Persistent late payment gets a regulatory benchmark
New section 8.1 of Ontario Regulation 516/06 says persistent late payment includes a tenant failing to pay within seven days of the due date on at least three occasions within any six-month period.
The regulation includes an exception where each failure was solely caused by the landlord applying a payment to another amount owing, such as earlier rent arrears. It also says the three-in-six-month benchmark is not exhaustive, meaning other circumstances may still be considered persistent late payment.
N12 notices: the 60-day minimum remains
A key distinction is important: the general statutory minimum for a landlord-own-use N12 notice remains 60 days. Bill 60 does not replace that minimum with a universal 120-day notice period.
Instead, a new compensation exception takes effect September 21. A landlord who gives an N12 notice with a termination date at least 120 days after the notice is given will not have to pay the usual one month of rent or offer another acceptable unit, provided the termination date is also the end of a rental period or the end of a fixed term.
For notices that do not meet those conditions, the usual compensation requirement continues to apply. The landlord must still require the unit in good faith for an eligible person’s residential occupation, and an eviction still requires an LTB order.
Renovation return-right notices become more detailed
Selected Bill 97 amendments also begin September 21. When a tenant leaves for major repairs or renovations and has given written notice that they want to exercise their right of first refusal, the landlord must:
- provide an estimated date when the unit is expected to be ready;
- provide written updates when that estimate changes;
- notify the tenant when the unit is ready; and
- give the tenant at least 60 days after the unit is ready to exercise the right to return.
A landlord’s failure to meet those notification requirements will be deemed, for the relevant LTB application, to be a failure to afford the former tenant the right of first refusal.
The filing deadline for that type of application will become the later of two dates: two years after the former tenant left the unit, or six months after the repairs or renovations were completed.
Not every Bill 97 renovation provision has been proclaimed. In particular, the separate provision requiring an N13 renovation notice to be accompanied by a qualified person’s report is still shown by e-Laws as not in force as of September 12.
New conditions for raising tenant issues at rent-arrears hearings
At an LTB hearing arising from a landlord’s non-payment application, a tenant may raise an issue that could have been the subject of a tenant application only if the statutory requirements are met.
The September 21 rules add payment conditions. Unless the regulations provide otherwise, the tenant must pay half of the rent arrears claimed when the application was filed, along with any other prescribed amount, to the landlord or into the Board where permitted. Ontario Regulation 516/06 sets the payment deadline at no later than seven days before the hearing.
Existing advance-notice and evidence requirements also remain important. Anyone involved in an LTB matter should review the current Act, regulations, forms and hearing directions rather than relying on an older checklist.
Where Durham residents can check the official rules
- Residential Tenancies Act, 2006
- Fighting Delays, Building Faster Act, 2025 — Bill 60
- Ontario Regulation 516/06, including the September 21 notes
- Ontario Regulation 241/26, which adds several new procedural rules
- Helping Homebuyers, Protecting Tenants Act, 2023 — Bill 97
- Landlord and Tenant Board forms, filing and fees
Important: This article is general information, not legal advice. The facts, timing and transitional rules can change the result in an individual case. Tenants and landlords should consult the current official materials or obtain legal advice for their situation.
Image: Mississauga residential buildings. Photo by CGXL MEDIA on Unsplash.
