Ontario Landlord Compliance
Everything you're responsible for as a landlord in Ontario
Rent control, just-cause eviction, deposits, entry, repairs and recordkeeping, written for people who own or manage a few units, checked against the official sources, and kept current when the rules move.
Jurisdiction
key details
Rent cap · Detail
Annual guideline (Ontario CPI, max 2.5%): 2.1% for 2026, 1.9% for 2027. Exempt: units first occupied for residential purposes after Nov 15, 2018 (s.6.1), vacant-unit turnover, community housing; above-guideline increases by LTB order (s.126).
Deposit cap · Detail
The only permitted security deposit is a rent deposit collected at or before signing, capped at the lesser of one rent period and one month's rent; damage deposits are prohibited. Refundable key deposits allowed under O. Reg. 516/06.
Rent increase notice · Detail
At least 90 days' written notice on the LTB-approved form (N1/N2) or the increase is void; no more than one increase per 12 months. Applies to periodic and fixed-term tenancies alike.
City rules · Detail
Rent rules are provincial: the RTA applies to residential rental units despite any other Act or agreement (s.3(1)), and municipalities have no rent-setting or tenancy-termination power. Some cities (e.g., Toronto, Hamilton) license renovations to deter renovictions, but these do not set rents or add grounds.
Just cause · Detail
A tenancy may be terminated only in accordance with the Act; landlord notices must rest on listed grounds (own use s.48, purchaser s.49, demolition/repair s.50, tenant fault ss.58-66) and eviction requires an LTB order. Fixed terms roll into month-to-month.
Return deadline · Detail
No return deadline: the landlord must apply the rent deposit to rent for the last rent period before the tenancy ends (s.106(10)) and pay annual interest at the guideline rate (s.106(6)). Not a refund-or-claim regime.
Nonpayment notice · Detail
N4 notice effective no earlier than the 14th day after service (7th day for daily/weekly). From Sept 21, 2026, 7 days for all tenancies (2025, c. 14, Sched. 12, s. 4). Notice is void if tenant pays all arrears before the landlord applies to the LTB (s.59(3)).
What are you trying to do?
Start from the task. Each route gathers the guides, checklists and forms that apply to it in Ontario.
Essential local guides
If you're new to owning here, these five cover most of what will come up in your first year.
View All GuidesWhen a Tenant Breaks Condo Rules in Toronto, Is the Landlord Responsible?
A Toronto owner gets a letter saying their tenant's dog has triggered three noise complaints, and the first question is usually whether the board can just fine the tenant and move on. It can't, not in the way that word implies elsewhere. Ontario condos work through compliance orders and cost chargebacks, and the difference changes who ends up paying and how fast.
Guide
Renting a Condo in Toronto: What Move-In Rules Can the Condo Corporation Require?
A Toronto owner books the elevator for a tenant's move-in day, gets handed a $300 deposit requirement from the condo corporation, and assumes the easiest move is folding that cost into the lease as a line item. That move is exactly the one Ontario's tenant-protection law blocks, and it catches more landlords than almost anything else on a move-in checklist.
Guide
Can a Toronto Condominium Corporation Require Tenant Approval or Registration?
A Toronto owner finishes screening a tenant and assumes the board still has to sign off before the lease is final, the way a board might in some other markets. In an Ontario condo, that assumption is backwards. The corporation isn't a gatekeeper for who moves in; it's an address on a notification form the owner is legally required to fill out.
Guide
Can a Toronto Condominium Corporation Restrict Long-Term Rentals?
A Toronto condo owner wants to rent out a unit long-term and worries the board will simply vote to ban it next year. That fear usually doesn't match how Ontario condo law works. Banning long-term leasing takes more than a board vote, and the one real lever a corporation has sits behind a threshold most buildings never clear.
Guide
Hamilton Renovation Licence and Relocation By-law: What Landlords Must Do When an N13 Is Served
A Hamilton landlord who serves an N13 because a unit needs renovations that require the tenant to leave now has a week to file something else: an application for a City renovation licence. Hamilton's Renovation Licence and Relocation By-law, in effect since January 1, 2025, adds a municipal layer to a process the province otherwise controls, and it comes with fees, paperwork and duties to the tenant.
Guide
Recent changes
Only substantive changes, not copy edits.
1 Jan 2026
2026 rent increase guideline set at 2.1%
Ontario’s guideline for most covered rent increases taking effect in 2026 is 2.1%.
Checklists, templates and official forms
Turn reading into preparation. Checklists are ours; forms come straight from the agency that issues them.
Checklists
5Templates
5Full Ontario collection
Filter by what you're doing or by the kind of resource you need.
| Resource | Type | Task | Reviewed |
|---|---|---|---|
Rent-change amount and date planner Ontario guideline maximum, earliest effective date and serve-by date for a Toronto rent increase, with the N1 or N2 route. | Tool | Raise the rent | 7 Oct 2026 |
Prepare a rent increase in Toronto Six stages to prepare an Ontario rent increase: Act coverage, guideline coverage, history, amount and dates, the N1 or N2 notice, and the evidence file. | Guides | Raise the rent | 7 Oct 2026 |
Rent increase preparation checklist Twelve things to have in hand before serving an Ontario N1 or N2 rent increase notice in Toronto. | Checklist | Raise the rent | 7 Oct 2026 |
Ontario 2026 Rent Increase Guideline Is 2.1%: What Landlords Can Charge and How to Give Notice A landlord with a tenant paying $1,800 a month and a lease anniversary coming up has one number to work from: 2.1%. For any rent increase taking effect between January 1 and December 31, 2026, that is the most an Ontario landlord can ask for without applying to the Landlord and Tenant Board, which works out to $37.80 on that rent. | Guides | Raise the rent | Oct 6, 2026 |
Ontario Rent Increase Guideline 2027: Maximum Increase Without LTB Approval Is 1.9% An Ontario landlord calculating a 2027 rent increase for a rent-controlled unit works from a guideline of 1.9%, a slight dip from 2026's 2.1%. That figure comes from a formula tied to provincial inflation data, capped by law regardless of how high actual inflation runs, and it applies only to the subset of Ontario rentals still subject to rent control at all. | Guides | Raise the rent | Oct 4, 2026 |
Toronto Tenant Laws | Rent, Evictions, and Legal Protections This comprehensive guide breaks down Toronto tenant laws, outlining how rent controls, eviction procedures, and legal protections operate under Ontario’s Residential Tenancies Act and the City’s RentSafeTO program. | Guides | Raise the rent | Mar 23, 2026 |
Landlord Laws in Ontario | Rules Every Property Owner Must Know In this article, we explain the key landlord laws in Ontario in clear terms: rent increases, eviction grounds, required notices... | Guides | Raise the rent | Mar 7, 2026 |
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Rent increase dates and notice
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Move-in and move-out photos
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Repair requests and responses
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