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Get My Free Estimate →From 21 September 2026, a landlord giving a notice for their own use under s. 48 of the Residential Tenancies Act does not owe the tenant one month’s rent if the notice is given on or after that date, gives at least 120 days, and ends at the end of a rental period or fixed term. It is a complete waiver, not a reduction. It does not apply to a purchaser’s own use notice under s. 49 — that still requires one month’s rent under s. 49.1 regardless of notice length — and it does not apply to any N13. Until 21 September 2026, compensation is owed on every qualifying notice.
From 21 September 2026, an Ontario landlord who gives a long enough notice for their own use will not have to pay the tenant one month’s rent. That is a real change and it is worth understanding precisely, because almost every summary I have read gets at least one of the four limits wrong — and the one most often missed is the one that matters most in a real estate transaction.
What the law says today
| Notice | Ground | Compensation now | RTA section |
|---|---|---|---|
| N12 | Landlord’s own use — landlord, spouse, child, parent, or a caregiver for one of them | One month’s rent, or another rental unit the tenant accepts | s. 48.1 |
| N12 | Purchaser’s own use — buyer or buyer’s close family will occupy | One month’s rent, or another rental unit the tenant accepts | s. 49.1(1) |
| N13 | Demolition or conversion, complex of five or more units | Three months’ rent | s. 52(1) |
| N13 | Demolition or conversion, complex of fewer than five units | One month’s rent | s. 52(2) |
| N13 | Repairs or renovations, five or more units, no right-of-first-refusal notice from the tenant | Three months’ rent | s. 54(1) |
| N13 | Repairs or renovations, five or more units, tenant gave a s. 53(2) notice | The lesser of three months’ rent and the rent for the repair period | s. 54(2) |
Under s. 55.1, whatever is owed must be paid no later than the termination date named in the notice. Not on move-out day if that is later, and not afterwards.
What changes on 21 September 2026
Bill 60, Schedule 12, s. 2(2) adds a new subsection 48.1(2) to the Act. Section 48.1(1) is amended at the same time to open with the words “Subject to subsection (2)”. The new subsection removes the compensation requirement where a notice under s. 48 meets three criteria:
- The notice is given on or after the day s. 2(2) of Schedule 12 comes into force — that is, on or after 21 September 2026.
- The termination date in the notice is at least 120 days after the notice is given.
- The termination date is the day a period of the tenancy ends, or, for a fixed term, the end of the term.
Meet all three and the landlord owes nothing — not one month’s rent, not an alternative unit. It is a full waiver rather than a reduction. The Ministry’s own technical briefing put it in plain terms: where notice of 60 to 119 days is given, “current compensation requirements would still apply”.
The four limits people are getting wrong
1. It does not apply to a purchaser’s own use notice. This is the one that matters in a sale. Bill 60 amends s. 48.1 only. Section 49.1, which governs compensation when the notice is given because a purchaser wants to occupy, is untouched. A purchaser’s own use N12 served on 1 October 2026 with 200 days’ notice still requires one month’s rent. If you are buying a tenanted property and someone tells you the compensation has been abolished, they have read the headline and not the section.
2. It does not apply to any N13. Sections 52, 54 and 55 are not amended. Demolition, conversion, renovation and severance compensation all stand exactly as they are.
3. It bites only on notices given on or after 21 September 2026. A notice served on 15 September 2026 with a 130-day termination date attracts one month’s rent. The trigger is the date the notice is given, not the termination date.
4. 120 days is a floor, not the notice period. Criterion 3 still requires the termination date to fall at the end of a rental period or fixed term. On a month-to-month tenancy that will usually push the real notice period past 120 days — sometimes well past. Count it properly before you plan a closing around it.
What this means if you are selling a tenanted property
Three practical points, and none of them is legal advice — they are the questions I ask before I list a tenanted unit.
A purchaser’s own use notice is only available in narrow circumstances. Under s. 49, it can be given where the agreement of purchase and sale is for a residential complex containing no more than three residential units, or where the seller is a condominium unit owner selling that unit. There is no purchaser’s own use notice for a unit in a four-plex that is not a condominium. That catches people out.
The notice period under s. 49(3) is at least 60 days and must end at a period or term end. The tenant may end the tenancy earlier on at least 10 days’ notice under s. 49(4) and (5).
Bad faith is expensive and the exposure has not shrunk. Under s. 57, if the Board finds the notice was given in bad faith and the tenant moved out because of it, the order can include general compensation of up to twelve months of the last rent charged, plus the difference in rent the tenant now pays, moving and storage costs, and an administrative fine. From 21 September 2026, O. Reg. 240/26 prescribes the limitation period in s. 57(6.1) as 60 days after the termination date, or after the tenant actually vacates if that is later.
What this means if you are the tenant
If you receive an N12 on or after 21 September 2026 with at least 120 days’ notice and a termination date at the end of a rental period, and it is a landlord’s own use notice, no compensation is owed. Check which box is ticked. If it is the purchaser’s own use ground, one month’s rent is still owed and it is owed by the termination date. If a notice does not meet the criteria and no compensation arrives, the notice is not automatically void, but the failure is a live issue at the hearing — and that is a conversation for a paralegal or a community legal clinic, not for me.
The single sentence version. From 21 September 2026, a landlord moving in themselves or moving in close family can avoid the one-month payment by giving 120 days or more. A buyer moving in cannot. That distinction is the whole change.
Buying or selling with a tenant in place?
The compensation rules, the notice grounds and the bad-faith exposure all turn on details that are easy to get wrong: how many units the complex has, whether it is a condominium, whose own use it is, and the exact date the notice is given. Send me the situation and I will tell you what I can and where you need a paralegal or a lawyer instead.
connect@jatindua.com · 437-987-1925 · Book a free consultation
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Frequently asked questions
Does the 120-day rule apply if I am buying the property and want to move in?
No. The waiver amends s. 48.1, which is the landlord’s own use ground. A purchaser’s own use notice is given under s. 49 and the compensation for it sits in s. 49.1, which Bill 60 does not touch. One month’s rent is still payable no matter how much notice you give.
Does it apply to an N13 for renovations?
No. Sections 52, 54 and 55 are unamended. N13 compensation is unchanged: generally three months’ rent in a complex of five or more units, one month’s rent in a smaller one, with variations where the tenant has given a right-of-first-refusal notice.
I want to serve an N12 next week. Do I still owe compensation?
Yes. The waiver applies only to notices given on or after 21 September 2026. The date the notice is given is the trigger, not the termination date, so a long notice served before that date does not qualify.
Is 120 days the notice period I have to give?
It is the minimum. The termination date must also fall at the end of a rental period or at the end of a fixed term, so in practice the notice period is often longer than 120 days. Count from the date the notice is given to the termination date and check that date lands correctly.
When does the compensation have to be paid?
Under s. 55.1, no later than the termination date specified in the notice. Not when the tenant actually moves out, if that is later.
What happens if a landlord gives a notice in bad faith?
Section 57 lets the Board order general compensation of up to twelve months of the last rent charged, plus the rent differential, moving and storage costs, and an administrative fine. The 21 September 2026 amendments come with a prescribed limitation period of 60 days after the termination date or after the tenant vacates, whichever is later.
Where is this written down?
Bill 60, Schedule 12, s. 2(2) creates RTA s. 48.1(2). The e-Laws consolidation of the Act carries the commencement note “2025, c. 14, Sched. 12, s. 2 (1, 2) – 21/09/2026” at the foot of s. 48.1. Both are linked in the sources.
Related reading
- Bill 60 and Ontario tenancy law: the in-force tracker
- Your unit is listed for sale: showings, notice, and what a new owner can do
- Do Ontario fixed-term leases become month-to-month?
Sources
Every figure on this page traces to one of these, and each was read on 30 August 2026. Primary sources only — statute, regulation, and the government or agency that administers the rule. Where I could not verify something from a primary source, the page says so instead of guessing.
- Residential Tenancies Act, 2006, S.O. 2006, c. 17 — e-Laws consolidation. Official consolidation. Consolidation period stated on the document: from July 1, 2026. Last amendment: 2025, c. 14, Sched. 12. Accessed 30 August 2026.
- Bill 60 as passed (PDF). The Royal Assent print. Schedule 12 amends the Residential Tenancies Act; s. 15 of that Schedule sets commencement by order of the Lieutenant Governor in Council. Accessed 30 August 2026.
- Fighting Delays, Building Faster Act 2025 — MMAH technical briefing deck (PDF). Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing, 23 October 2025. Page 14 sets out the 120-day landlord’s-own-use compensation proposal; page 15 sets out the lease-expiry consultation. Accessed 30 August 2026.
- The Ontario Gazette, Volume 159, Issue 32 (PDF). Published 8 August 2026. Carries O. Reg. 240/26 and companion regulations under the Residential Tenancies Act, commencing on the latest of 21 September 2026 and the commencement of the related Schedule 12 provisions. Accessed 30 August 2026.
- Bill 60, Fighting Delays, Building Faster Act, 2025 — Royal Assent print. Legislative Assembly of Ontario. First reading 23 October 2025; Royal Assent 27 November 2025. Enacted as S.O. 2025, c. 14. Accessed 30 August 2026.
- Landlord and Tenant Board — forms and filing. Tribunals Ontario. The N-series notices and L/T-series applications, in their current approved forms. Accessed 30 August 2026.
- Landlord and Tenant Board. Tribunals Ontario. The tribunal with exclusive jurisdiction over most residential tenancy disputes in Ontario. Accessed 30 August 2026.
About the author — Jatin Dua, Etobicoke real estate agent
I’m the Broker of Record at RE/MAX Quantum Realty, 799 The Queensway in Etobicoke. I write these pages the same way I work a file: read the primary source, quote it, date it, and say plainly where the source is silent or where two sources disagree. If a figure on this page has no citation beside it, that is a mistake and I want to hear about it.
I work with buyers, sellers, renters and investors across Etobicoke, Mimico, Humber Bay Shores, New Toronto, Long Branch, Alderwood and Stonegate–Queensway. connect@jatindua.com or 437-987-1925.