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If a tenant asked to install a window air conditioner this summer, the rules around your answer changed on July 1, 2026. Here's exactly what's now required, what you can still charge for, and what you still can't do.

What Changed

As of July 1, 2026, tenants generally have the right to install and use a window or portable air conditioner in a unit where the landlord doesn't already provide cooling — a provision from the Helping Homebuyers, Protecting Tenants Act, 2023 that only came into force this summer. Landlords can no longer categorically prohibit this, provided the tenant meets the legal conditions.

The Conditions Tenants Must Meet

A tenant installing a new unit after July 1, 2026 must:

• Notify the landlord in writing before installation

• Provide details on the unit's energy efficiency and expected usage, if the landlord pays for electricity in the unit

• Install and use the unit safely, without damaging the rental unit or the building

• Comply with all applicable municipal bylaws and condominium or building rules

If a tenant already had a window or portable unit installed before July 1, 2026, two of these requirements don't apply retroactively — they don't need to provide written notice or efficiency/usage details for a pre-existing installation, even though the landlord's right to recover electricity costs still applies going forward.

What Landlords Can Still Charge

If you pay for the electricity in the unit, you may add a seasonal, electricity-based charge to recover the added hydro cost — but this has to be handled correctly, not as an arbitrary flat add-on. If you want to recover costs for a capital improvement instead — like installing central cooling — that requires a separate Above Guideline Increase (AGI) application through the LTB, a different and more formal process than a seasonal electricity charge. For context on how Ontario's standard rent increase guideline works separately from this, our recent coverage of the 2026 guideline walks through that mechanism in full.

What Landlords Still Cannot Do

• You cannot flatly refuse a compliant installation. As of now, neither the Residential Tenancies Act nor its regulations define specific circumstances where a landlord can prohibit an air conditioner outright — so don't assume you have blanket veto power just because you'd prefer not to deal with it.

• You cannot charge whatever you want for electricity. The seasonal charge has to reasonably reflect actual added cost, not function as a disguised rent increase.

A Separate Issue: Toronto's Own Cooling Bylaw

Worth knowing distinctly from the provincial A/C installation rules: there is no province-wide law requiring landlords to provide air conditioning, and no provincial maximum indoor temperature rule. However, Toronto and Mississauga both have their own municipal bylaws capping indoor temperatures at 26°C — but only in units where cooling is already provided by the landlord. If your unit has never had landlord-supplied cooling, this municipal cap doesn't create a new obligation to install it. The only true province-wide temperature rule concerns heat, requiring a minimum of 20°C from September through mid-June.

What Landlords Should Do Now

• Update your lease templates and tenant communications to reflect that outright prohibition of tenant-installed units is no longer a safe default position.

• Decide your seasonal electricity charge policy in advance, rather than negotiating it ad hoc with each tenant who asks.

• Confirm your specific building's condo or landlord rules don't create an additional layer of restriction beyond the provincial baseline — condominium corporations can still have their own reasonable rules about exterior-facing units, for instance.

• If you're managing multiple units, consider centralizing this policy so it's applied consistently — inconsistent handling of similar requests is exactly the kind of pattern that draws scrutiny if a dispute ever reaches the LTB.

The Bottom Line

Ontario landlords lost the ability to simply say no to a compliant air conditioner installation as of July 1, 2026 — but gained a clear, defined right to recover the added electricity cost when they're the ones paying the hydro bill. Getting your policy and paperwork aligned with the new rules now avoids friction with tenants and unnecessary risk at the LTB later.

Want help updating your lease policies to reflect this and other recent RTA changes? Contact our team — we help GTA landlords stay compliant without the guesswork.

This article summarizes general Residential Tenancies Act principles and is not legal advice. Consult a paralegal or lawyer for guidance specific to your situation.

Ontario's rental dispute system just became meaningfully more transparent. As of July 24, 2026, the Landlord and Tenant Board began publishing final orders through the Ontario Open Data Catalogue — a genuine shift in how landlords, tenants, and investors can access information about how the Board actually rules.

What Actually Changed

Starting with orders issued between January and May 2026, the LTB is now posting final decisions publicly through Ontario's Open Data Catalogue. This is a meaningful departure from how LTB outcomes have historically been accessed — previously limited largely to the parties directly involved in a given case, plus whatever made it into legal databases or media coverage of high-profile disputes.

This rollout follows a separate July 1, 2026 wave of procedural changes stemming from Bill 60 (the Fighting Delays, Building Faster Act) and Bill 97 (the Helping Homebuyers, Protecting Tenants Act), with additional changes still scheduled for September 2026.

Why This Matters for Landlords

You can now research how the Board actually rules on situations like yours. Rather than relying entirely on a paralegal's general experience or secondhand accounts, landlords preparing for a hearing can look at real, decided cases with similar fact patterns — a genuinely useful research tool ahead of filing an application or preparing a defence.

Your own case outcomes become part of a public record. This cuts both ways — a landlord who follows proper process and wins a well-documented case now has that outcome contributing to a visible public record, while a poorly handled application (an improperly served notice, for instance) is similarly visible.

It raises the bar on getting notices and applications right the first time. With more scrutiny possible on how similar cases have been decided, the cost of an avoidable procedural mistake — like the kind we've covered in our breakdown of N4, N8, N12, and N13 forms — is arguably higher now than when outcomes were harder to research and compare.

Why This Matters for Tenants

Tenants gain the same research advantage landlords do — the ability to look at how the Board has actually ruled on situations resembling their own, rather than relying solely on secondhand advice. This is likely to make tenants somewhat better informed going into hearings, which landlords should factor into how thoroughly they prepare.

What This Means for the Broader Rental Market

More visibility into LTB outcomes could gradually influence behaviour on both sides — landlords may become more careful about notice accuracy and documentation, and tenants may have a clearer sense of realistic outcomes rather than relying on rumour or worst-case assumptions. Over time, that kind of transparency tends to reduce the number of disputes that end up needing a full hearing in the first place, since both sides can better predict how a case is likely to go.

What Landlords Should Do Now

• Review your current notice and documentation templates against what's now become a more visible standard of what the Board considers properly executed.

• Don't assume old habits are safe just because they worked before. With the added scrutiny that public data can bring over time, this is a reasonable moment to double-check your process against current LTB requirements rather than relying on how things worked a few years ago.

• Keep thorough records on every tenancy. Public outcome data raises the general bar on documentation quality across the board.

The Bottom Line

This isn't a change to the rules landlords and tenants operate under — it's a change to how visible the outcomes of those rules become. For landlords who already run a tight, well-documented process, this is a low-risk shift. For anyone cutting corners on notices or documentation, the case for tightening up just got a bit stronger.

Want to make sure your tenant screening and documentation process holds up to this kind of scrutiny? Our 12-step verification process is built with exactly this level of diligence in mind — contact our team to learn more.

This article summarizes general Tribunals Ontario policy and is not legal advice. Consult a paralegal or lawyer for guidance specific to your situation.

A fixed-term lease ending doesn't automatically mean a tenant has to move out — and if you're a landlord expecting your unit back on a specific date, that surprise catches a lot of people off guard. Here's what "overholding" actually means under Ontario law, and what your real options are.

The Rule That Surprises Most Landlords

In Ontario, when a fixed-term lease ends and the tenant simply keeps paying rent and stays in the unit, the tenancy automatically converts to a month-to-month tenancy under the same terms — unless you and the tenant sign a new agreement, or the tenant gives proper notice to vacate. This is sometimes called overholding, and it is entirely legal on the tenant's part unless you've taken specific legal steps to end the tenancy.

The key point: a fixed-term lease ending is not, by itself, grounds for eviction. You cannot simply tell a tenant "your lease is up, please leave" and expect that to have legal force.

Why This Happens So Often

Many landlords assume a 12-month lease means the tenant must leave (or sign a renewal) at the 12-month mark. In reality, most standard Ontario leases are silent on this, and the Residential Tenancies Act fills the gap by defaulting to month-to-month continuation. If you want the unit back at lease-end for a specific reason, you need to plan for that well before the date arrives — not after.

Your Legitimate Options If You Want the Tenant to Leave

1. Personal use or sale (N12). If you, an immediate family member, or a purchaser genuinely intends to move into the unit, you can serve an N12 notice with the legally required notice period. This has strict good-faith requirements — the Landlord and Tenant Board has cracked down on landlords using N12 improperly, so this must reflect a genuine intended use, not a pretext to remove a tenant you simply want gone.

2. Renovation or demolition (N13). If you have a genuine, permitted need to renovate extensively or demolish the unit, an N13 notice applies — again with specific documentation requirements.

3. Negotiate a mutual end (N11). If the tenant is also open to leaving, a mutually signed N11 agreement is the cleanest, fastest path — often paired with a "cash for keys" arrangement to incentivize a smooth, fast move-out.

What You Cannot Do

• You cannot change the locks, remove the tenant's belongings, or shut off utilities to force a move-out — these are illegal "self-help" evictions and expose you to serious liability, including potential LTB penalties against you.

• You cannot simply refuse to accept rent to try to force the issue — refused rent doesn't end a tenancy, and can actually complicate your position at the LTB.

• You cannot treat a fixed-term lease's end date as automatically enforceable without a valid notice and, if contested, an LTB order.

If the Tenant Won't Leave Even After a Valid Notice

If you've served a valid, good-faith N12, N13, or other applicable notice and the tenant still won't leave, your next step is an application to the Landlord and Tenant Board for an eviction order. Given current LTB processing timelines, this is exactly the kind of process where patience and correct paperwork from day one matter enormously — an improperly filed notice can send you back to the start of the timeline.

How to Avoid This Situation Going Forward

• Decide your intentions before the lease term ends, not after — if you want the unit back at a specific date, start the notice process with enough lead time to meet the required notice period.

• Put your renewal intentions in writing early. If you're open to a month-to-month continuation, confirming that in writing avoids ambiguity later.

• Screen thoroughly at the start of the tenancy. Careful tenant screening reduces the odds you'll ever be in an adversarial overholding situation in the first place.

The Bottom Line

Overholding isn't a loophole tenants are exploiting — it's simply how Ontario's tenancy law defaults when a fixed-term lease ends without a new agreement or proper notice. If you want your unit back at a specific date, plan for it well ahead of time and use the correct legal notice, not an informal conversation.

Facing an overholding situation, or want help planning your next lease renewal properly? Contact our team for guidance specific to your property.

This article summarizes general Residential Tenancies Act principles and is not legal advice. Consult a paralegal or lawyer experienced in Ontario landlord-tenant law for guidance specific to your situation.