Living in Toronto is hard. No, not because it's frigid nine months out of the year. Or because apartments average 850 square feet in size. Ask anyone trying to make a living in the city and they'll tell you the hardest part is affordability. A long-standing, unresolved housing shortage has kept leases among Canada's most expensive for years. Politicians to the rescue; Doug Ford recently proposed legislation aimed at solving the problem through changes to rent control and landlord-tenant rights. It's called Bill 60, and opinions are split as to whether it's the best solution for everyone.
A Rundown On Bill 60
Bill 60, officially called the Fighting Delays, Building Faster Act, packs a serious punch for Ontario's rental landscape. The legislation dramatically shifts landlord-tenant dynamics by shortening eviction timelines and restricting tenant rights at hearings. Key changes include reducing rent non-payment eviction notices from 14 to just 7 days, and limiting tenants' ability to raise issues like maintenance problems or harassment at Landlord and Tenant Board (LTB) hearings unless they first pay 50% of claimed rent arrears.
The bill also removes landlords' obligation to compensate tenants when evicting them for personal use, trims the review request window for LTB orders from 30 to 15 days, and gives the government more power to control eviction postponements. To support these changes, the province is hiring eight new temporary enforcement staff to work with eviction sheriffs.
Who Bill 60 Will Affect, and How
All of the controversy surrounding Bill 60 lies around its split effects on tenants and landlords.
For Tenants: A Tougher Road Ahead
If you're renting in Ontario – and in Toronto, that's almost half the population – Bill 60 brings some serious challenges. Miss a rent payment? You'll now get just 7 days' notice instead of 14 to catch up. Dealing with maintenance issues or harassment from your landlord? You can't even raise those problems at an arrears hearing unless you first pay 50% of what your landlord claims you owe.
The bill also cuts your window to request a review of LTB orders from 30 days to just 15, and removes compensation when landlords evict you for personal use (as long as they give 120 days' notice). Families with children or tenants with disabilities may lose current protections that help postpone evictions. And here's the kicker: wait times for tenant applications at the LTB are already twice as long as landlord applications.
Tenant advocate Chiara Padovani put it bluntly: "Not a single one of these changes benefits tenants. Every single one is directed at landlords." The Advocacy Centre for Tenants Ontario warns these changes "restrict tenants' access to justice and will lead to increased evictions and displacement."
For Landlords: Faster, More Control
On the flip side, if you're a landlord, Bill 60 gives you more tools and speed. The shortened eviction timeline means you can move faster on non-payment cases. You're no longer required to compensate tenants when reclaiming your property for personal use, and you'll have more control over how hearings proceed. The government says this allows landlords "to adjust tenancy arrangements based on market conditions, personal needs, or business strategies"—essentially, more flexibility to run your rental business as you see fit.
Local Pushback
While surely well-intended, some claim Bill 60 won't work. Prime among them is Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow. She says it's the wrong way to build housing and "not how we build a caring city.”
That disapproval came with local action: a municipal motion to preserve rent control, which passed executive committee review in late October. The government has already backtracked on one controversial proposal to end indefinite leases. Bill 60 is at the second reading stage and remains subject to further debate, amendment, and approval before enactment and Royal Assent, according to Loopstra Nixon, LLP.
Should You Be Happy or Worried About Bill 60?
The Ford government says its new act would allow landlords “to adjust tenancy arrangements based on market conditions, personal needs, or business strategies.”
The easier eviction process and elimination of compensation for "personal use" could create a pathway for property owners to convert long-term rentals into short-term rentals like Airbnb or VRBO. The personal use clause, in particular, could be leveraged to reclaim properties without financial penalty, then pivot to the often more lucrative short-term rental market.
That's arguably good news for you if you lease property to the public - well, good news in the short-term. Although money and control are great, there's a risk to changing what has been the status quo for so long.
Increased conversion to short-term rentals could intensify Toronto's housing crisis by removing units from the long-term rental market precisely when they're needed most. This could trigger stronger regulatory crackdowns on short-term rentals and community backlash.
It also means more competition, which is the last thing existing short-term rental operators want. If Bill 60 makes it easier to convert long-term units, you'll be competing with a flood of new hosts for the same pool of tourists and business travelers.
The government says Bill 60 is about efficiency and clearing backlogs. But the gap between stated intentions and potential consequences is wide. Market instability, displacement, abuse of the personal use loophole – these aren't hypotheticals. They're predictable outcomes when you remove guardrails without adding new ones.
