Bill 60: The Race to Eviction and the Shifting Balance of Power in Ontario Tenancy
The passage of Ontario's Bill 60, the Fighting Delays, Building Faster Act, 2025, marks a pivotal moment for the province's rental housing system. While the bill is an omnibus piece of legislation intended to streamline planning and development across the board, its amendments to the Residential Tenancies Act (RTA) have ignited controversy, with critics arguing the changes prioritize the speed of evictions over tenant protection.
The government's stated goal is to reduce the persistent backlog at the Landlord and Tenant Board (LTB) and restore confidence in the rental market. However, the changes introduce significant procedural hurdles and dramatically shorten timelines, placing an immediate burden on tenants and altering the established legal balance between renters and property owners.
The New Reality at the Landlord and Tenant Board
Bill 60's RTA amendments focus heavily on accelerating the eviction process, particularly in cases of rent arrears and landlord "own use."
Accelerated Eviction Timelines
The most immediate and critical change is the reduction of grace periods for non-payment of rent:
Shorter Notice Period for Arrears: The time a landlord must wait after giving a tenant an N4 Notice (Non-Payment of Rent) before applying to the LTB for an eviction order is cut from 14 days to just 7 days for most monthly tenancies. This drastically limits the time a tenant has to secure funds, access legal counsel, or apply for emergency financial assistance before the formal eviction application (L1) is filed.
Halved Appeal Period: The time a party has to request a review (or internal appeal) of an LTB order is slashed from 30 days to 15 days. This change speeds up the finality of eviction orders, leaving vulnerable tenants with far less time to seek advice or prepare a substantive appeal.
Financial Barriers to Defence
In non-payment of rent hearings, tenants often raise issues like maintenance and repair failures (T6 applications) or harassment (T2 applications) as part of their defence. Bill 60 fundamentally changes this:
The 50% Arrears Hurdle: Tenants who wish to raise an issue unrelated to the rent arrears (such as major maintenance concerns) at the L1 hearing are now generally required to pay 50% of the rent arrears claimed into the LTB first. For low-income tenants, this financial barrier effectively silences a critical defence mechanism, forcing the hearing to focus exclusively on the arrears, regardless of the property's condition.
Reduced Landlord "Own Use" Compensation
The standard for "no-fault" evictions is also changing:
Compensation Requirement Eliminated: When a landlord ends a tenancy for their own use (N12 Notice), they are currently required to pay the tenant one month's rent as compensation. Under Bill 60, this requirement is eliminated if the landlord provides the tenant with at least 120 days' notice of termination. This removes a key financial safety net for tenants forced to relocate in an expensive housing market.
The Broader Impact on Housing Security
The legislative changes have drawn intense criticism from tenant advocacy groups and community legal clinics, who argue the measures will exacerbate Ontario's homelessness crisis.
The shortened timelines and the new 50% arrears payment requirement are seen as major barriers to access to justice, particularly for tenants who are unrepresented or rely on over-burdened legal aid services.
Proponents of the bill argue it will restore confidence among "small landlords" and encourage the creation of more rental supply by ensuring faster dispute resolution.
Critics counter that by weakening tenant protections, the bill will simply make it easier for corporate and large-scale landlords to evict long-term tenants from rent-controlled units, allowing them to dramatically increase the rent for new occupants—a practice known as "renoviction" or "bad faith" eviction.
Bill 60 fundamentally accelerates the mechanism of eviction, demanding that tenants and their legal representatives operate with unprecedented speed and financial means to defend their housing security. As the various schedules of the bill are proclaimed into law, the entire Ontario rental landscape will be forced to adapt to a system designed for speed, often at the expense of procedural fairness.
Disclaimer: This blog post is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. If you have a specific legal issue regarding the Residential Tenancies Act or Bill 60, you should consult with a qualified legal professional
