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Ontario's Residential Tenancies Act, Explained for Small Landlords

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For Ontario landlords, rules as of 2026.

This is general information, not legal advice. If your case is contested or unusual, talk to a paralegal or lawyer.

If you rent out a home in Ontario, the Residential Tenancies Act, 2006 is the main landlord and tenant law you work under. People call it the RTA. It sets the rules for leases, rent, repairs, entry and ending a tenancy, and the Landlord and Tenant Board decides disputes under it. (Source)

This post is a plain-English map of the Act for landlords with a few units. Each section links to the official text and to our more detailed posts. For what changed in September 2026, see What Changed for Ontario Landlords in 2026.

Who the RTA covers

The Act covers most residential rentals in Ontario: apartments, houses, basement units and rooms. Section 5 lists what it doesn't cover. The exemptions small landlords most often meet are:

  • Sharing a kitchen or bathroom with the owner. The Act doesn't apply if the occupant must share a bathroom or kitchen with the owner, or the owner's spouse, child or parent, and that person lives in the building. (Source)
  • Vacation and short stays, such as hotels, cottages, campgrounds, bed and breakfasts and vacation homes rented to the travelling public. (Source)
  • Some student residences provided by a school to its students or staff. (Source)

The kitchen-or-bathroom exemption is narrow. Renting a room in a house where you don't live, or where only a friend lives, is usually covered. If you're unsure, read section 5 itself before you rely on an exemption.

The Landlord and Tenant Board

The Landlord and Tenant Board (LTB) is the tribunal for disputes under the Act. The Act gives it "exclusive jurisdiction to determine all applications under this Act". (Source) In practice, that means you don't go to small claims court to evict a tenant or collect rent from a current tenant. You go to the LTB.

The LTB resolves disputes, ends tenancies, and holds mediations and hearings. It also has an online dispute resolution tool to help both sides reach an agreement. (Source) All its forms are on its forms page. Download them fresh each time, since several were replaced in 2026. See Old LTB Forms Stop Being Accepted November 30.

The standard lease

The standard lease is required for most residential tenancy agreements signed on or after April 30, 2018. It doesn't apply to care homes, mobile home parks and land lease communities, most social and supportive housing, and co-operative housing. (Source)

If a tenant who should have one asks in writing, you must give it within 21 days. If you don't, the tenant can withhold one month's rent. (Source) Our post Ontario's Standard Lease: What Landlords Need to Know covers what you can and can't add.

Rent

Deposits. The only security deposit you may collect is a rent deposit. It can't be more than one month's rent, or one rent period if that's shorter, and you must ask for it on or before signing the lease. (Source) You pay the tenant interest on it every year at the rent increase guideline, and you apply it to the last rent period of the tenancy. (Source)

No post-dated cheques required. Neither you nor the lease can require post-dated cheques or automatic payments. (Source)

Receipts. You must give a free receipt for any rent, deposit or other payment when the tenant asks. A former tenant can ask for up to 12 months after the tenancy ends. (Source)

Rent increases. You can raise the rent once every 12 months, with at least 90 days' written notice on the LTB's form. Without proper notice the increase is void. (Source) For most units the increase can't exceed the yearly guideline, which is 1.9% for 2027. (Source) Some newer units are exempt from the guideline. Our step-by-step post, Raising Rent in 2027: The 1.9% Guideline and the N1, shows the dates and the maths.

Maintenance and vital services

You must keep the building and units "in a good state of repair and fit for habitation" and meet health, safety, housing and maintenance standards. That applies even if the tenant knew about a problem before moving in. (Source)

You can't withhold, or deliberately interfere with, a vital service you're responsible for under the lease. Vital services are hot or cold water, fuel, electricity, gas and, for part of the year, heat. Not paying a utility bill so that the supply is cut off counts as withholding it. (Source) For the heating rules, see Heat in Winter: What Ontario Landlords Must Provide.

Entering the unit

You may enter with written notice given at least 24 hours ahead, for reasons the Act lists, such as repairs or an inspection of the unit's condition. The notice must give the reason, the day and a time between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. (Source) You may enter without written notice in an emergency, or if the tenant agrees at the time. (Source)

Ending a tenancy

"A tenancy may be terminated only in accordance with this Act." (Source) A lease ending doesn't end the tenancy: a fixed-term lease that isn't renewed or ended becomes month to month on the same terms. (Source) For a landlord, ending it means giving the right notice on the LTB's form for a reason the Act allows. If the tenant doesn't leave, you apply to the LTB. Only an LTB order can authorize an eviction. (Source) You and the tenant can also simply agree to end it. (Source)

These are the notices small landlords use most, and the application that follows each one:

Notice Reason Application
N4 Non-payment of rent L1
N5 Interfering with others, damage or overcrowding L2
N8 End of the term, for example for persistent late payment L2
N12 The landlord, a purchaser or a family member needs the unit L2
N13 Demolition, repairs or conversion to another use L2

The form titles are on the LTB's forms page. The L2 instructions list the N5, N8, N12 and N13 among the notices that come before an L2, and say the L2 is for any reason except non-payment of rent, which uses the L1. (Source)

Our guides to each step:

What landlords can't do

The Act draws a hard line around self-help. You can't:

  • Take back the unit yourself. You can't recover possession unless the tenant has moved out or abandoned the unit, or an LTB eviction order authorizes it. (Source)
  • Change the locks without giving the tenant replacement keys. (Source)
  • Seize belongings for unpaid rent or any other breach, without legal process. (Source)
  • Cut off vital services to pressure a tenant, up until an eviction order is enforced. (Source)
  • Harass, obstruct, coerce or threaten a tenant, or substantially interfere with their reasonable enjoyment of the unit. (Source)
  • Charge more than the lawful rent, or take a damage deposit. (Source)

A tenant can apply to the LTB about most of these, including vital services, harassment, interference, locks and illegal entry. (Source)

Where to get help

The Act itself is long, but it's free to read on Ontario's e-Laws site. The LTB's contact centre can give information, but not legal advice. (Source) If you need legal advice on renting property, such as a contested eviction or an unusual tenancy, talk to a licensed paralegal or a lawyer.

Keeping good records makes every part of the Act easier. Rentingwell's rent ledger records what was due and what was paid. The property logbook keeps photos and notes for each property, and each unit holds its lease and tenants. When rent goes unpaid, the N4 page fills in the Board's form from the ledger, and your first N4 is free. You can track Board cases too. Start free