Ontario's New Rental Rules (Sept 21, 2026): What Markham Landlords and Tenants Need to Know

Where These Rules Come From

• Bill 60, the Fighting Delays, Building Faster Act, 2025. Royal Assent on 27 November 2025. The rental changes sat in a schedule that needed a separate proclamation, so none took effect when the bill passed.
• Bill 97, the Helping Homebuyers, Protecting Tenants Act, 2023. Royal Assent on 8 June 2023. It supplied the air conditioning, fines and some N12 and N13 changes.

The Landlord and Tenant Board published an operational update for each phase: one on 30 June 2026 and one on 21 September 2026.

Michael John Lau, a REALTOR® with the Kaizen Real Estate Team, among the most active real estate teams in Markham and York Region, works with many Markham owners who rent out a condo, a basement suite or a second property. For those owners, these changes affect everyday practice, not just edge cases.

Phase One: In Force Since 1 July 2026

Phase Two: In Force Since 21 September 2026

1. The N4 notice is now 7 days

The notice period for non-payment of rent drops from 14 days to 7 for notices given on or after 21 September 2026. Daily and weekly tenancies did not change: they were already 7 days. The practical detail is covered in the N4 guide.

2. Half the arrears before raising other issues

At a hearing on unpaid rent, tenants have often raised other matters, such as repairs. Now, for arrears applications filed on or after 21 September, the tenant must pay the landlord half the claimed arrears at least seven days before the hearing to do that. The payment goes directly to the landlord and cannot be paid to the Board in trust. The old provision that let a tenant explain why they could not meet this requirement has been removed.

3. "Persistent late payment" now has a definition

It means rent received more than seven days after the due date, at least three times within six months. A payment the landlord applied to another amount the tenant owed, such as arrears, does not count as late.

4. N12 compensation can be skipped with 120 days' notice

For N12 notices served on or after 21 September, a landlord who gives at least 120 days' notice no longer has to pay compensation or offer another acceptable unit. Two conditions come with it:

• The landlord or intended occupant must normally move in within 60 days of the termination date. If they do not, bad faith is presumed when the former tenant files a T5 application.
• Neither rule applies to an N12 served for a purchaser's own use.

5. N13 renovation rights got firmer

When a tenant has a right of first refusal after renovations, the landlord must give the estimated completion date and any changes to it in writing. The landlord must also give 60 days' notice to reoccupy once work finishes on or after 21 September. If the landlord skips these steps, it is presumed they denied the right of first refusal.

6. Harder tests to cancel or delay an eviction

• An eviction order made without a hearing, based on an agreement or a tenant's own notice, can be cancelled only if doing so would not be unfair. The Board cannot consider changes in the tenant's circumstances after the agreement.
• Without the landlord's consent, delaying an eviction now requires that the delay would not be unfair and that there are compelling reasons. For N12 and N13 evictions, only the "not unfair" test applies.

7. New forms, with a deadline

The N5, N6, N8, N12, N13, L1, L2, L9, L10 and T5 forms were replaced. Previous versions will not be accepted after 30 November 2026. An updated N4 is also available.

What Did Not Change

• Month-to-month tenancies still continue automatically when a lease term ends. The government said in October 2025 it would not proceed with changing that.
• Rent control still applies to units first occupied on or before 15 November 2018. Units first occupied after that date remain exempt from the guideline.
• A tenant can still void an N4 by paying in full by its termination date, and can still stop an eviction by paying everything owed before it is enforced.
• Rent deposit rules: no change was found in either phase.

The Rent Increase Guideline

• 2026: 2.1%
• 2027: 1.9%, already announced. This matters now for anyone serving a notice for an increase that takes effect in 2027.

Two Sides of the Argument

The government says the changes restore balance and rebuild confidence in Ontario's rental market.

Landlord advocates welcomed the clear definition of persistent late payment. But one landlord group noted that shorter notices do not make hearings happen any sooner.

Tenant advocates argue the shorter timelines will produce more hearings and a larger backlog. They also say the half-arrears rule strips tenants of a defence when a landlord has neglected repairs. The Ontario Human Rights Commission warned that the persistent-late definition could limit the Board's discretion in disability-related cases.

Both concerns are fair. The rules shorten the front end of the process, but the hearing wait is where time is actually lost.

How Long the Board Actually Takes

Tribunals Ontario's own figures for the first three quarters of fiscal 2025-26:

Only about half of cases finish within 90 days. A 7-day notice does not change that.

The Market Landlords Are Operating In

• Purpose-built rental vacancy in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area: 6.8% in Q2 2026. That is down from 7.9% in Q1, but up from 5.5% a year earlier.
• Asking rents: down 4.8% nationally year over year in August 2026, the 23rd straight monthly decline. Ontario was down 3.5% and Toronto 1.4%.
• Incentives: about 64% of purpose-built projects in the region offered them, averaging about $377 a month.

In a softer market, the rules that make eviction faster matter less than the ones that keep a good tenant in place.

What Michael Suggests

For landlords

• Switch to the new forms now. Old versions stop being accepted after 30 November.
• Plan any N12 at 120 days if you want to avoid compensation, and be ready to move in within 60 days.
• Keep clean payment records. The persistent-late rule depends on dates.
• Budget for the 2027 guideline of 1.9% on rent-controlled units.

For tenants

• An N4 now gives you 7 days. Paying in full by the date on the notice still voids it.
• If you have repair issues, raise them early and in writing, not at an arrears hearing, where you now need to pay half the arrears first.
• Get advice quickly. Community legal clinics and tenant organizations can help, and the review window is now 15 days.

If you own a rental condo or are thinking about one, detached versus condo as an investment works through the numbers. New purpose-built rental coming to Markham covers the supply side.

Next Steps

• Markham investment property guidance — how the numbers work on a rental today.
• Get a free property evaluation — for any landlord weighing whether to hold or sell.
• Talk through a rental property question — before you serve a notice, not after.

Michael John Lau, REALTOR® · Markham, Ontario · (416) 700-0286
Disclaimer. Michael John Lau is a licensed REALTOR® serving buyers and sellers in Markham, Ontario and the Greater Toronto Area. Details reflect Landlord and Tenant Board operational updates dated 30 June and 21 September 2026 and published provincial material. Michael John Lau is not a lawyer or paralegal, and this article is general information rather than legal advice. Landlords and tenants should get advice from a lawyer, a licensed paralegal or a community legal clinic before serving or responding to any notice.