Residential Tenancies Act
RTA
The provincial law that sets the rules for residential rentals, such as Ontario's Residential Tenancies Act, 2006.
A Residential Tenancies Act is the provincial law that governs the relationship between residential landlords and tenants. Housing is a provincial matter in Canada, so each province and territory has its own statute, and the name varies. Ontario's law is the Residential Tenancies Act, 2006, which took effect on January 31, 2007. British Columbia's equivalent is the Residential Tenancy Act.
These laws cover the full life of a tenancy. They set rules for leases, deposits, rent increases, maintenance, privacy and how a tenancy can legally end. In Ontario, for example, the Act limits rent deposits to last month's rent and requires 90 days' written notice of a rent increase. It also requires 24 hours' written notice before most landlord entries, between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m.
The Act is the reason a landlord cannot simply change the locks or evict at will. In Ontario, a landlord can end a tenancy only for reasons the Act allows, using the proper notice. If the tenant does not move out, the Landlord and Tenant Board decides. Lease terms that conflict with the Act cannot be enforced, even if the tenant signed them.
Coverage is broad but not universal. Ontario's Act applies to most rental housing, including apartments, houses, rooms in rooming houses, care homes and mobile home park sites. It does not apply where the tenant must share a kitchen or bathroom with the owner. Non-profit housing, public housing and student residences are exempt from most rent rules but still follow other parts of the Act.
Each province has its own decision-maker. Ontario disputes go to the Landlord and Tenant Board, and British Columbia disputes go to the Residential Tenancy Branch. The province where the rental unit is located decides which law applies.
Sources
- LTB: A Guide to the Residential Tenancies Act
- Guide to Ontario's standard lease (ontario.ca)
- Residential tenancies (gov.bc.ca)
Last reviewed October 16, 2026.
Related terms in Tenancy & Leases
- Residential Tenancy Branch The Residential Tenancy Branch runs British Columbia's tenancy dispute resolution and administers the Residential Tenancy Act.
- Standard Lease Ontario's mandatory government lease form for most private residential tenancies signed on or after April 30, 2018.
- Above-Guideline Increase An Ontario rent increase above the annual guideline, allowed only with Landlord and Tenant Board approval on set grounds.
- Assignment and Subletting Two ways an Ontario tenant can let someone else take over the unit: permanently by assignment, or temporarily by sublet.
General information only, not legal, tax, or financial advice. Rules change and vary by province; confirm the current details with the relevant authority before you rely on them.