Skip to main content

OHRC Submission on Bill 60 Regarding Amendments to the Residential Tenancies Act, 2006 (RTA) to Shorten the Period of Time Available to Request a Review of an LTB order

Resource Type
submission

November 21, 2025


Context

The Ontario Government has introduced Bill 60: Fighting Delays, Building Faster Act, 2025 and its Schedule 12, which proposes amendments to the Residential Tenancies Act, 2006 (RTA). The government is seeking feedback on four of the thirteen proposed housing regulatory changes: [1] 

  1. Seeking Feedback on Proposed Amendments to the Rules Related to Tenants Raising New Issues at a Landlord and Tenant Board (LTB) Rent Arrears Hearing (due November 22, 2025)
     
  2. Seeking Feedback on Proposed Amendment to the Residential Tenancies Act, 2006 (RTA) to Shorten the Period of Time Available to Request a Review of an LTB order (due November 22, 2025)
     
  3. Seeking Feedback on Proposed Amendments to Shorten the Rent Arrears Eviction Notice Period (due November 22, 2025)
     
  4. Seeking Feedback on Proposed Amendments to the Compensation Requirements for Landlord's Own Use Evictions (due November 22, 2025)

While the Government of Ontario has allowed submissions for some proposed changes, Bill 60 is advancing to its third reading on November 24, 2025.

The OHRC encourages the government to use a human rights based approach to assess how the proposed housing amendments may disproportionately affect tenants and landlords from people historically affected under Code-grounds, including persons with disabilities, Indigenous tenants, racialized communities, lone parents, newcomers with language barriers, and public assistance recipients.


Housing and human rights

Under the Code, every person has a right to equal treatment with respect to the occupancy of accommodation, without discrimination because of race, ancestry, place of origin, colour, ethnic origin, citizenship, creed, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, marital status, family status, disability or the receipt of public assistance[2]. The Code applies to processes for choosing or evicting tenants, occupancy rules and regulations, repairs, the use of related services and facilities, and the general enjoyment of the premises.

 In its work on housing, the OHRC has repeatedly heard that people who identify with certain Code grounds or combinations of grounds are more likely to be tenants, and are more likely to experience poverty or to have lower average incomes than the general population. The Code may be found to apply when low income is connected to grounds such as age, ancestry, disability, ethnic origin, family status, gender identity, place of origin, race, or being in receipt of public assistance.[3]

Housing is essential to human dignity. The Code, which holds primacy over provincial legislation in Ontario protects the dignity of every person by providing for equal rights and opportunities and freedom from discrimination. Housing has been recognized as a human right in international law and Canadian obligations, including the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR)[4]. Many groups identified under the Code are more likely to face precarious housing, including:

  • Persons with disabilities, including those with mental health and addictions disabilities who may face accessibility challenges and disproportionate eviction risks.
  • Public assistance recipients, who may struggle to meet tight rental deadlines due to administrative delays, are more likely to be denied housing, or only offered housing at higher rents.
  • Racialized individuals and newcomers, who may face systemic bias or discrimination in landlord-tenant interactions.
  • Indigenous peoples, who may encounter culturally insensitive policies and fewer community supports.
  • Students and younger adults, often with lower income and precarious tenancy arrangements.
  • Older adults and seniors, who may have limited income and mobility constraints.
  • Women who may experience sexual harassment in housing.
  • Lone-parent families, who often carry additional caregiving responsibilities that affect housing stability.

Regulatory changes that disproportionately affect these groups, directly or indirectly, may create or contribute to systemic discrimination.

The Landlord Tenant Board falls under the Code as a body providing services that affect housing. It is also required to consider and apply the Code when making decisions.[5] Government legislators, policymakers, planners, program designers, tribunals, and courts must ensure that their activities, strategies, and decisions address discrimination in housing. Organizational rules, policies, procedures, decision-taking processes, and culture should not create barriers or have discriminatory effects.


OHRC’s work in Housing

In addition to the OHRC’s policy on human rights and rental housing, the OHRC has previously provided commentary and guidance on housing issues and proposed changes in Ontario:

  1. On May 1, 2024, the OHRC issued a letter to the City of Kingston regarding encampments.
     
  2. On March 28, 2024, the OHRC issued a letter to the Town of Cobourg on their Emergency Care Establishment By-Law.
     
  3. On May 6, 2023, the OHRC provided a submission on: Proposed amendments to clarify and enhance rental rules related to air conditioning.
     
  4. On February 22, 2023, the OHRC issued a letter to the Town of Aurora on proposed emergency and transitional housing project and on March 21, 2025, the OHRC issued a follow-up letter to the Town of Aurora on proposed emergency and transitional housing project at 14452 Yonge St.
     
  5. On February 3, 2023, the OHRC issued a statement: OHRC statement on human rights and access to cold weather services.
     
  6. On November 14 and December 30, 2022, the OHRC filed submissions on several housing regulatory changes proposed in the More Homes Built Faster Act, 2022 (Bill 23).
     
  7. On August 19, 2022, the OHRC issued a statement: OHRC statement on human rights, extreme heat waves and air conditioning that called on the Government of Ontario to include air conditioning as a vital service, as with the provision of heat, under RTA regulations and to establish a provincial maximum temperature to protect the health and safety of vulnerable tenants.
     
  8. On February 17, 2022, the OHRC issued a letter and submission to the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing on proposed regulatory amendments under the Housing Services Act.


OHRC Submissions

https://www.regulatoryregistry.gov.on.ca/proposal/52309

The Ontario Human Rights Commission (OHRC) welcomes the opportunity to provide this submission on the proposed legislative amendments to the Residential Tenancies Act, 2006 (RTA) under Bill 60 that would shorten the period available to request a review of a Landlord Tenant Board (LTB) order from 30 to 15 days.

The proposed amendment raises significant concerns for tenants who rely on the review process to seek legal advice (often from overly stretched community legal clinics) correct serious errors, challenge procedural unfairness, or remedy barriers that prevented them from participating meaningfully in their hearing. Shortening this period will disproportionately disadvantage tenants based on certain Code-grounds who already face existing barriers to accessing legal support and information in a timely manner.


Background / Proposal

Currently under the RTA and Landlord Tenant Board Rules of Procedure:

  • The LTB has the discretion to review a final order where the order contains a serious error, or a party was not reasonably able to participate in the proceeding.[6]
  • A party may request a review of an order or amended order within 30 days of the order being issued.[7]
  • For requests made more than 30 days after the order or amended order was issued the requestor must also file a request for an extension of time and give reasons explaining the delay.[8]

The proposed changes would shorten the time available for parties to request a review to 15 days, with possible extension limited only to extenuating circumstances (e.g., hospitalization of a party). The rationale for shortening the time for requesting a review is that it would lead to faster resolutions and reduce the likelihood of landlords and tenants experiencing financial losses.


Concerns regarding proposed changes

The purpose of the review process is procedural fairness. A 15-day window significantly curtails tenants’ ability to request a review. Many marginalized tenants take longer to receive, understand, or act on decisions especially if they rely on legal advice, translation, or community support. Currently under Rule 26.9 the LTB will conduct a preliminary review of the request and may exercise its discretion to:

  1. Dismiss the request because it was not filed in time;
     
  2. Extend the time for making the request;
     
  3. Dismiss the request; or
     
  4. Direct a review hearing of some or all the issues raised in the request and, where appropriate, make any interim orders.

Provisions are already in place to streamline the resolution process and provide a mechanism to identify bad-faith requests.[9]

Short timelines may force tenants into eviction before they can challenge errors, assert defenses, or request accommodations. It also limits the LTB’s capacity to correct mistakes before enforcement, which could prevent unnecessary displacement. 


The OHRC’s recommendations

  1. The LTB’s processes must remain fair, accessible, and aligned with its obligations under the Code.
     
  2. The OHRC recommends that the LTB retain the 30-day period to request a review and retain the current standard for reasons for delay, as outlined in Rule 26 of the LTB Rules of Procedure, rather than moving to an “extenuating circumstances” standard to ensure tenants and landlords have meaningful opportunity to access justice.
     
  3. Ensure expedited processes comply with the Code.
     
  4. Define extenuating circumstances.


 

[1] There are several additional measures proposed in Bill 60 that are currently not receiving submissions:

Evict Persistent late payment cases, Allow the government to prescribe the contents of notices of termination, including the N4 form (Notice to End a Tenancy Early for Non-payment of Rent), Standardize postponement of an Eviction Order, Amend authority on setting aside an Eviction Orde, Increase enforcement resources to reduce wait times to enforce LTB eviction orders once filed and Tribunals Ontario to explore options for increasing access to final Landlord and Tenant Board (LTB) decisions and orders.

[2] Ontario Human Rights Code, R.S.O. 1990, c. H.19 s 2 (1). 

[3] Ontario Human Rights Commission, “Poverty POV – What We Are Hearing”. Ontario Human Rights Commission, online: https://www3.ohrc.on.ca/en/poverty-pov-what-we-are-hearing

[4] International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, 1966, art. 11

[5] Tranchemontagne v. Ontario (Director, Disability Support Program), 2006 SCC 14.

[6] Tribunals Ontario, Landlord and Tenant Board, Rules of Procedure, r 26.3: The LTB may review an order on its own initiative where it considers appropriate and will issue directions to the parties with respect to the conduct of the review. A party or a directly affected person cannot request an LTB initiated review of an order. https://tribunalsontario.ca/documents/ltb/Rules/LTB%20Rules%20of%20Procedure.html#r26

[7] Tribunals Ontario, Landlord and Tenant Board, Rules of Procedure, r 26.4, 26.5.

[8] Tribunals Ontario, Landlord and Tenant Board, Rules of Procedure, r 26.6 https://tribunalsontario.ca/documents/ltb/Rules/LTB%20Rules%20of%20Procedure.html#r26

[9] Tribunals Ontario, Landlord and Tenant Board, Rules of Procedure, r 26.9