A further set of amendments to the Residential Tenancies Act, 2006 (the RTA) came into force on September 21, 2026, changing a number of the rules and procedures that residential landlords encounter most often at the Landlord and Tenant Board (LTB).

The amendments, introduced through the Fighting Delays, Building Faster Act, 2025 (Bill 60) and the Helping Homebuyers, Protecting Tenants Act, 2023 (Bill 97), follow an earlier set of changes that took effect on July 1, 2026. The LTB has also updated its forms, Rules of Procedure, Practice Direction on Evidence and several Interpretation Guidelines to reflect the new requirements.

For landlords, the changes affect more than LTB procedure. They may influence when an application can be started, the cost and timing of obtaining vacant possession, how renovation projects involving occupied units are managed, and how quickly an LTB order needs to be reviewed.

We have summarized below the principal changes and some practical considerations for landlords.

1. Rent arrears proceedings can start earlier

For an N4 Notice to End a Tenancy Early for Non-payment of Rent given on or after September 21, 2026, the minimum notice period has been reduced from 14 days to seven days. Bill 60 amended section 59 of the RTA to provide that the termination date may be no earlier than the seventh day after the notice is given or deemed to be given.

This does not mean that a landlord can obtain an eviction seven days after serving an N4. The tenant can still void the notice by paying the required arrears, and where the arrears remain outstanding, the landlord must still file an L1 application and proceed through the LTB process.

The practical difference is at the front end of the process: a landlord can now become eligible to commence its L1 application approximately one week earlier than under the former rules. For landlords managing significant portfolios, that difference may be meaningful where arrears are accumulating across multiple units.

2. Persistent late payment

The regulations now also provide a clearer benchmark for persistent late payment. Persistent late payment includes circumstances where a tenant fails to pay rent within seven days after it becomes due on at least three occasions within a six-month period, provided that the lateness was not solely the result of the landlord applying a payment to another amount owing. Other circumstances may also constitute persistent late payment.

This makes consistent payment records particularly useful. Landlords considering an N8 based on persistent late payment should ensure their rent ledgers identify the due date, date received, amount received and allocation of each payment.

3. Rent arrears hearings may be more focused

A tenant responding to an L1 rent-arrears application can, in certain circumstances, raise issues that could otherwise form the subject of a tenant application, including maintenance concerns. For landlord applications filed on or after September 21, 2026, however, a tenant wishing to do so must generally pay the landlord 50% of the rent arrears claimed in the landlord's application at least seven days before the hearing. The payment is currently required to be made directly to the landlord rather than into the LTB.

The existing requirement that a tenant provide the landlord and the LTB with a written description of the issues at least seven days before the hearing continues to apply.

For landlords, the new payment requirement may provide greater certainty about the issues that will actually be before the LTB at an arrears hearing. Landlords should nevertheless continue to maintain records relevant to any tenant issues that have been properly raised and keep an accurate account of payments received after the L1 was filed.

4. N12 strategy now involves a choice between additional notice and compensation

Where a qualifying N12 is given on or after September 21, 2026 and provides the tenant with at least 120 days' notice, the landlord is no longer required to pay one month's rent as compensation or offer the tenant another acceptable rental unit. If the landlord provides less than 120 days' notice, the existing compensation requirements continue to apply.

The change does not apply to an N12 given because a purchaser requires the rental unit for residential occupation.

For landlords, this creates a practical decision to make before the N12 is served. If there is no urgency to obtain possession, providing 120 days' notice may avoid the compensation payment. If vacant possession is required sooner, the value of obtaining the unit earlier may outweigh the cost of one month's rent.

That assessment may be particularly important where an N12 is connected to a sale, financing arrangement or other transaction with a required possession date.

5. An N12 file should not be closed when the tenant leaves

Where the tenant vacates on or before the termination date specified in the N12, the landlord or other specified person must normally occupy the unit within 60 days after the termination date stated in the notice. Where the tenant vacates after that date, the prescribed period runs for 60 days from the date the tenant actually vacates.

If occupation does not occur within the applicable period and the former tenant subsequently brings a T5 bad-faith application, there is a presumption that the N12 was given in bad faith. The landlord has an opportunity to rebut that presumption at the hearing.

For that reason, landlords should consider their record-keeping obligations to continue after possession is obtained. Records showing when the intended occupant moved into the unit, together with evidence explaining any delay where appropriate, may become important in a later T5 proceeding.

6. Renovation projects now carry additional post-vacancy obligations

The amendments are particularly relevant to landlords contemplating substantial repairs or renovations that require vacant possession.

Where a tenant who receives an N13 has exercised the statutory right of first refusal to return after the work is completed, the landlord now has continuing obligations to keep that tenant informed.

For tenant notices given on or after September 21, 2026, the landlord must notify the tenant in writing, without delay, of the estimated date on which the repairs or renovations are expected to be completed; notify the tenant if that estimated completion date changes; and notify the tenant in writing when the work has been completed and the unit is ready for occupancy.

If the unit becomes ready for occupancy on or after September 21, 2026, the landlord must also provide the former tenant with at least 60 days to exercise the right of first refusal and return to the unit.

These requirements should be considered as part of the construction schedule rather than after the work is complete. A landlord may need to continue corresponding with a former tenant throughout a lengthy renovation and account for the tenant's return rights when determining when the unit will be available for leasing.

There may therefore be consequential carrying and administrative costs associated with the new requirements, particularly where construction completion dates change or the landlord had otherwise expected to re-lease the unit immediately upon completion.

Failure to comply can also have consequences in a later T5 proceeding. The RTA now provides that failure to satisfy the applicable notification or reoccupancy requirements is treated, for purposes of the statutory remedy, as a failure to afford the former tenant the right of first refusal.

7. N13 records may need to be kept for longer

The deadline for a former tenant to bring the applicable T5 claim is now the later of two years after the former tenant vacates the rental unit; and six months after the repairs or renovations are completed.

The distinction matters most for longer construction projects. If a renovation takes two years or more to complete, the landlord's potential exposure can continue beyond the second anniversary of the tenant's departure.

N13 notices, tenant correspondence, construction schedules, completion records and evidence concerning the tenant's right of first refusal should therefore be retained accordingly.

8. There are tighter limits on delaying an eviction

The September 21 amendments also affect the LTB's discretion to delay enforcement of an eviction order.

Where the landlord does not agree to the delay, the LTB may generally delay eviction only where it is satisfied that the delay would not be unfair to the landlord or other tenants in the residential complex and there are compelling reasons for the delay.

For N12 and N13 proceedings, the applicable test differs: the LTB must be satisfied that delaying the eviction would not be unfair to the landlord or other tenants.

Where additional time is requested, landlords should be prepared to provide evidence of the consequences of a delay where relevant. Depending on the circumstances, that could include continuing arrears, construction commitments, impacts on other tenants or a time-sensitive need for possession.

9. Landlords now have less time to challenge an LTB order

An important procedural amendment has been in effect since July 1, 2026. The deadline for requesting an LTB review of a decision or order was reduced from 30 days to 15 days after issuance. The LTB retains discretion to extend the deadline where it considers an extension just and appropriate.

Fifteen days does not leave much time to identify a potential error, obtain advice and prepare a review request. For larger landlords, it may be worthwhile to establish an internal process which identifies LTB orders to be reviewed or escalated promptly upon receipt rather than waiting until the order is being implemented.

The July amendments also shortened certain service and filing deadlines relating to Above Guideline Increase orders, which landlords with pending AGI applications should review carefully.

10. Forms and internal precedents should be updated now

The LTB replaced a number of forms on September 21, including the N5, N6, N8, N12, N13, L1, L2, L9, L10 and T5.

Previous versions will no longer be accepted after November 30, 2026.

Landlords should update forms saved to shared drives, property-management systems and local precedent folders. This is particularly important for organizations in which notices are prepared by multiple property managers or offices.

The LTB has also updated its Rules of Procedure, Practice Direction on Evidence and Interpretation Guidelines addressing relief from eviction, rent arrears, personal use, renovations and bad-faith applications.

What do the changes mean for LTB timelines?

Several of the amendments are intended to move particular stages of the LTB process more quickly.

Most notably, the N4 period has been reduced by seven days and the review period has been reduced by 15 days. The amendments also impose additional requirements on tenants seeking to raise other issues during rent-arrears hearings and place further limits on when eviction can be delayed.

They do not, however, establish a fixed period within which the LTB must schedule a hearing or issue an order.

The distinction is important when budgeting for arrears or planning for vacant possession. A shorter statutory notice period allows the next procedural step to be taken sooner, but landlords should continue to account for LTB scheduling, the hearing itself, the time required for an order and, where necessary, enforcement.

Practical steps for landlords

  • Arrears procedures: update N4 practices for the seven-day notice period and maintain complete rent-payment records.
  • N12 planning: before serving an N12 for landlord's own use, consider whether 120 days' notice or a shorter period with compensation better fits the landlord's timing requirements.
  • Post-N12 records: retain evidence showing when the intended occupant actually takes possession.
  • Renovation planning: incorporate N13 notification and right-of-return requirements into construction schedules and leasing plans.
  • Document retention: retain N12 and N13 records for the period during which a T5 application may still be brought.
  • LTB decisions: establish a process to review orders promptly in light of the 15-day review deadline.
  • Forms and precedents: replace outdated LTB forms before the November 30 transition deadline and update internal procedures to reflect the new Rules and Guidelines.

The applicable transition provisions should also be checked before acting. Depending on the amendment, the relevant date may be the date a notice was given, an application was filed, a tenant exercised a right of first refusal or an LTB decision was issued. Bill 60 itself contemplated that its RTA amendments would come into force on dates subsequently named by the Lieutenant Governor in Council. The September 21 commencement dates were subsequently established by Orders in Council.

How Gowling WLG can help

The recent amendments affect both LTB proceedings and the day-to-day administration of residential tenancies. For landlords with larger portfolios, they may warrant changes to arrears procedures, notice practices, internal escalation processes and record retention.

Gowling WLG advises landlords, developers, property managers and institutional property owners on residential tenancy matters, including rent arrears and persistent late payment, landlord's-own-use applications, renovation and redevelopment matters, repayment arrangements and proceedings before the LTB. We can also assist with reviewing existing forms and property management procedures to reflect the July 1 and September 21, 2026, changes.

For renovation or redevelopment projects involving occupied residential premises, early consideration of the RTA requirements can also assist in coordinating tenant notices and rights of return with construction schedules, transaction timelines and vacant-possession requirements. For more information, please view the following.