Bill 60: What Actually Changed for Ontario Landlords

The Quick Version

Bill 60 rewrites the rulebook on how eviction proceedings work in Ontario. The changes tilt toward landlords - shorter timelines, stricter hearing procedures, and fewer ways for tenants to delay proceedings. Whether you think that is fair depends on which side of the lease you are standing on.

For landlords who have spent months (sometimes over a year) waiting for LTB hearings while tenants accumulated arrears they would never be able to repay, these reforms address real frustrations. For tenant advocates, they raise concerns about housing stability. Both perspectives have merit, but this guide focuses on what you, as a landlord, need to understand and do differently.

Five Changes That Matter Most

1. The N4 Timeline Just Got Tighter

This is the headline change. Before Bill 60, you had to wait 14 days after serving an N4 before filing your L1 application. That waiting period is now 7 days.

Think about what that means in practice. Tenant misses rent on the 1st. You serve the N4 on the 2nd. Under the old rules, you could not file with the LTB until the 16th at earliest. Now? You can file on the 9th. That is a full week shaved off the process before you even get to the hearing backlog.

2. No More Counter-Claims Without Skin in the Game

Here is where things get interesting - and controversial.

Under the old system, a tenant could show up to a non-payment hearing and raise maintenance issues, harassment claims, or other complaints. Sometimes legitimate, sometimes a delay tactic. The adjudicator would have to wade through all of it before reaching a decision on the arrears.

Bill 60 changes the dynamic. Tenants must now pay at least 50% of the outstanding arrears before they can introduce unrelated issues at a non-payment hearing. Cannot pay 50%? The hearing stays focused strictly on the rent owed.

This does not mean tenants lose the right to file their own applications about maintenance or other issues. They absolutely can - just separately, not as a defense against eviction for non-payment.

3. Evidence Rules Got Stricter

Gone are the days of surprise evidence at LTB hearings. Bill 60 requires both parties to disclose their evidence ahead of time. Show up with something new that was not shared in advance? The adjudicator can refuse to consider it.

This cuts both ways. Tenants cannot pull out unexpected documents or witnesses to derail a hearing. But you cannot either. If you have been casual about preparing evidence bundles, that approach will not fly anymore.

The upside: hearings should be more predictable. You will know what you are walking into, and so will the tenant. Fewer adjournments because someone needs time to respond to surprise evidence.

4. Appeals Move Faster

The appeal window dropped from 30 days to 15. If a tenant (or you) wants to challenge an LTB decision, there is half the time to do it.

Practically speaking, this means faster finality. An eviction order that is not appealed within 15 days is done. No more waiting a full month to know whether you are heading to Divisional Court.

5. Personal Use Evictions: No More Compensation

This one is straightforward but significant. If you are evicting a tenant because you or a family member needs to move in (N12 notice), you no longer have to pay the tenant one month rent as compensation.

Before you get too excited: bad faith evictions are still illegal and still carry serious penalties. If you evict someone claiming personal use and then re-rent the unit, you are looking at fines up to $50,000 for individuals. Bill 60 did not change that. It just removed the upfront payment requirement for legitimate personal use situations.

What This Means Day-to-Day

Let us talk about how these changes affect your actual workflow.

Your N4 Process Needs to Be Tight

With only 7 days before you can file, there is no room for sloppy paperwork. An N4 with the wrong termination date or incorrect arrears calculation can void the notice - and now you have lost a week of a timeline that used to be two weeks.

Double-check everything: tenant names match the lease exactly, the rental unit address is complete, your arrears math is airtight. Small errors that might have been annoying before are now genuinely costly.

Evidence Organization Is Not Optional Anymore

The new disclosure requirements mean you need a system for organizing evidence. Rent ledgers showing payment history. Communication records. Photos with timestamps if there is property damage involved. All of it needs to be ready to share before the hearing.

If you have been keeping records in a shoebox or a random email folder, now is the time to get organized. The LTB will specify disclosure deadlines, and missing them could mean your evidence does not get considered.

Know Your Arrears Numbers Cold

That 50% threshold for tenant counter-claims means both sides will be scrutinizing arrears calculations. If you say the tenant owes $3,000 and they say it is $2,400, the entire hearing dynamic changes depending on who is right.

Maintain a running rent ledger that tracks every payment, every NSF, every credit applied. Not just for hearings - for your own sanity. You should be able to produce an accurate arrears statement at any moment.

Adapting Your Process

Where OntarioLandlord Fits In

Bill 60 raises the stakes on getting paperwork right and staying organized. That is exactly what we built OntarioLandlord to handle.

The evidence bundle feature compiles everything into the format the LTB expects, ready to disclose when required. Rent history, payment records, notice documentation - organized and timestamped without you manually assembling PDFs.

None of this replaces knowing the law or making judgment calls about your properties. But the administrative burden of Bill 60 compliance is real, and automating the repetitive parts lets you focus on the decisions that actually matter.

The Bigger Picture

Bill 60 did not happen in a vacuum. The LTB backlog has been a crisis for years. Landlords waiting 8, 10, sometimes 12+ months for hearings while tenants accumulated arrears they would never be able to repay. Properties stuck in limbo. Small landlords forced to sell because they could not survive the cash flow hit.

These reforms aim to speed things up by reducing the procedural delays that clogged the system. Whether they will actually clear the backlog remains to be seen - that depends on LTB staffing and resources as much as procedural rules.

Critics worry about tenants facing faster evictions without adequate time to find alternative housing or mount defenses. Those concerns are not unreasonable. The housing market is brutal right now, and losing a home is devastating regardless of the circumstances.

What is not debatable: the rules have changed, and landlords who do not adapt will find themselves at a disadvantage. The landlords who thrive under Bill 60 will be the ones with tight processes, accurate records, and the ability to move quickly when issues arise.

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