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OHRC Submission on Bill 60 Regarding Proposed Amendments to the Compensation Requirements for Landlord's Own Use Evictions

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/52275

The Ontario Human Rights Commission (OHRC) welcomes the opportunity to provide a submission to the proposed legislative amendments to the Residential Tenancies Act, 2006 (RTA) to eliminate a renter’s right to one month’s rent when a landlord is evicting for the purpose of using the property for their own use, in cases where renters are given at least 120 days' notice of the eviction. 

The proposed change as drafted would remove a vital economic protection that helps tenants avoid displacement. Eliminating one-month compensation for own-use evictions undermines housing stability for the most vulnerable tenants. Such a change undermines protections that are critical to equal treatment under the Code. The OHRC strongly recommends rejecting this amendment, or, in the alternative, instituting safeguards to preserve fairness and human rights.
 

Background / Proposal

A landlord may apply to terminate a tenancy on the basis the rental unit is needed for use by the landlord, the landlord’s spouse, a child or parent of the landlord or the landlord’s spouse, or a person who provides or will provide care services to the landlord or landlord's family.[6]

Under the RTA, a landlord who gives a notice (N12) under section 48 must compensate the tenant in the amount equal to one month’s rent or offer another rental unit acceptable to the tenant.[7] The LTB will issue an order ending the tenancy and eviction after the landlord has satisfied this obligation. Under subsection 135(1.1) of the RTA, a landlord is deemed to have retained money in contravention of the RTA, if the landlord fails to pay the tenant the required compensation.[8]

The termination date in the landlord's notice of termination must be at least 60 days after the N12 notice is given and must be the last day of a fixed term tenancy, or if there is no fixed term, on the last day of a rental period.

In the proposed amendment the landlord would not have to provide compensation to the tenant or offer another unit acceptable to them if the notice of 120 days is provided. If the landlord provides notice of 60-119 days, current compensation requirements would still apply.
 

Concerns regarding proposed changes

Removing the one-month compensation (so long as 120 days’ notice is given) reduces a tenants’ ability to relocate, secure a new home, or absorb moving costs. Students, young adults, seniors, persons with disabilities, Indigenous tenants, social assistance recipients, lone parents and newcomers, particularly those facing language barriers are the most affected and may lack savings, support networks, or be priced out of comparable units. Compensation often acts as a check against bad-faith “own-use” evictions and its removal could incentivize misuse.
 

The OHRC’s recommendations

The OHRC recommends the government not apply this proposed amendment as drafted. If the proposed amendment is implemented as drafted, the OHRC strongly encourages safeguards be established to protect tenants’ housing stability, including financial support, relocation assistance, and monitoring for bad-faith evictions.
 

[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] Residential Tenancies Act, 2006, SO 2006, c 17, s 48.

[7] Residential Tenancies Act, 2006, SO 2006, c 17, s 48(1).

[8] Tribunals Ontario, Landlord and Tenant Board, Interpretation Guideline 12: Eviction for Personal Use, Demolition, Repairs and Conversion, online: https://tribunalsontario.ca/documents/ltb/Interpretation%20Guidelines/12%20-%20Eviction%20for%20Personal%20Use.html