This bill amends Ontario's Residential Tenancies Act, 2006 to designate January 1–December 31, 2025 as a rent-freeze/rent-freeze period and to add a statutory moratorium on tenant terminations under sections 48 and 49 for that same period, with a narrow exception for terminations to permit occupation by a person who provides care services. It also updates multiple statutory cross-references that previously pointed to a 2021 rent-freeze period and creates an express regulation-making head to manage transition issues and the application of the amendments to pending proceedings.
For practitioners and housing stakeholders, the measure repackages existing RTA mechanics (the 'rent freeze' framework) to apply in 2025 and temporarily suspends particular landlord-initiated termination routes. The bill leaves detailed implementation and many edge cases to Lieutenant Governor in Council regulations, shifting several consequential choices from statute to the executive branch and to whatever guidance the Landlord and Tenant Board issues under the new regime.
At a Glance
What It Does
The bill inserts section 49.1.1 to create a 'non-enforcement period' running the 2025 calendar year during which landlords cannot terminate tenancies under ss.48 or 49, except where the termination is for occupation by a care-service provider as specifically carved out. It also rewrites date references in ss.120(3.1) and 136.1 to move previously specified 2021 freeze language to 2025 and adds s.241.5 to authorize transition regulations.
Who It Affects
Residential tenants and landlords across Ontario are directly affected, as are landlords who rely on s.48/49 termination routes; the Landlord and Tenant Board and court parties handling pending termination claims will face new regulatory and procedural questions. Property managers, small landlords with cash-flow sensitivity, and tenant legal clinics will also see operational impacts.
Why It Matters
The bill does not invent a new enforcement regime but repurposes existing RTA rent-freeze mechanics for 2025 and creates a statutory eviction moratorium for specific termination grounds—shifting practical implementation into regulations and Board procedures. That combination creates immediate compliance and case-management questions for landlords, tenants and adjudicators.
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What This Bill Actually Does
The bill creates a defined 2025 "non-enforcement period" and ties two separate legal effects to that period. First, it updates the statute's internal definitions of the 'rent freeze' period so that the RTA's rent-freeze rules apply for January 1 through December 31, 2025.
In practical terms this re-activates the statutory construct that previously covered 2021 by replacing date references, rather than drafting a brand-new rent-control provision.
Second, the bill adds a new, standalone prohibition on landlord-initiated terminations under sections 48 and 49 during 2025. The text is narrowly framed: it forbids terminations under those two sections for the calendar year but explicitly preserves an exception where the landlord seeks to terminate so a person who provides care services can occupy the unit (the bill references clause-level subparts of 48 and 49 to draw that exception).Instead of spelling out how the changes interact with ongoing litigation or existing Board orders, the bill grants cabinet the authority to make transition regulations.
Those regulations may govern how the amendments apply to proceedings already before courts or the Landlord and Tenant Board. The combination of statutory change and broad regulatory authority means many operational choices—whether previously issued termination orders are stayed, how rent-freeze enforcement is handled, and specific procedural steps for the Board—will depend on regulations and administrative guidance that the lieutenant governor in council and the Board produce.
The Five Things You Need to Know
The bill adds section 49.1.1 to the RTA creating a 'non-enforcement period' from January 1, 2025 to December 31, 2025.
During that period the bill prohibits landlords from terminating tenancies under sections 48 or 49 of the RTA, subject only to a carve-out for occupation by a person providing care services.
It amends subsection 120(3.1) and 120(3.2) and the 'rent freeze period' definition in s.136.1 to replace 2021 date references with the 2025 calendar year, effectively activating the RTA's existing rent-freeze machinery for 2025.
The bill substitutes references to the earlier Helping Tenants and Small Businesses Act, 2020 with the Relief for Renters Act, 2024 in two places, tying the current statute's mechanisms to this new act.
Section 241.5 gives the Lieutenant Governor in Council regulation-making authority to address transitional matters and to govern how the amendments apply to proceedings that were already started before the amendments come into force.
Section-by-Section Breakdown
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Creates a one-year 'non-enforcement period' blocking terminations under ss.48 and 49
This provision defines the non-enforcement period as the entire 2025 calendar year and flatly prohibits landlords from terminating tenancies under sections 48 or 49 during that year. It contains a single statutory exception for terminations intended to permit occupation by a care-service provider. Practically, this takes two specific termination routes off the table for twelve months, but it does not address other termination grounds or remedies in the Act.
Shifts prior '2021' statutory references to '2025'
The bill replaces instances of the date '2021' with '2025' in subsection 120(3.1) and 120(3.2). Those are technical edits that align cross-references in the RTA with the new non-enforcement and rent-freeze timing. The edits are mechanical but important: they make the text consistent so other RTA provisions that depend on those dates will operate for 2025.
Designates 2025 as the 'rent freeze' period and updates related statutory references
This section replaces the earlier 2021 rent-freeze period language in the definition of 'rent freeze period' with the 2025 calendar year, and swaps references to the 'Helping Tenants and Small Businesses Act, 2020' for the new Relief for Renters Act, 2024. The practical effect is to reuse the RTA's existing rent-freeze machinery for a new year rather than creating a bespoke freeze regime.
Gives executive branch power to make transition regulations
Section 241.5 authorizes the Lieutenant Governor in Council to make regulations about transitional matters the government considers necessary or advisable because of these amendments. It expressly permits regulations to govern how the Act's provisions apply to lawsuits or Board proceedings that were already started before the amendments come into force, effectively delegating several consequential, timing-sensitive decisions to regulation rather than statute.
Commencement
This is a standard commencement clause: the Act comes into force on royal assent. Because the bill delegates transitional decisions to regulation, the immediate legal effect depends on when royal assent occurs and on any subsequent regulations and administrative guidance.
Short title
Names the legislation the 'Relief for Renters Act, 2024.' That label also appears in the textual substitutions elsewhere in the Act and in the updated definition work in s.136.1.
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Explore this topic in Codify Search →Who Benefits and Who Bears the Cost
Every bill creates winners and losers. Here's who stands to gain and who bears the cost.
Who Benefits
- Residential tenants in Ontario — gain statutory protection from rent increases tied to the 2025 'rent freeze' definition and a twelve‑month ban on terminations under ss.48 and 49, reducing displacement risk for that period.
- Tenants facing landlord-initiated occupancy terminations under ss.48/49 — those tenants cannot be evicted under those specific statutory routes during 2025 except where the limited care-provider exception applies.
- Tenant legal clinics and advocacy groups — will have a clearer statutory basis to advise clients and to push for strong enforcement and Board procedures during the non-enforcement period.
Who Bears the Cost
- Landlords using ss.48 or 49 to regain possession for personal use, renovations, or sales — those lawful termination routes are suspended for 2025, delaying owners' plans and potential development or sale timelines.
- Small and private landlords with tight margins — a statutory rent-freeze year can compress revenue against operating and financing costs, especially where there is no corresponding compensation or relief for mandatory capital or maintenance expenses.
- The provincial government and administrative bodies — the Lieutenant Governor in Council must design transition regulations, and the Landlord and Tenant Board will need to interpret and implement those regulations, creating administrative and resource burdens.
Key Issues
The Core Tension
The bill pits short-term tenant stability—preventing rent hikes and blocking particular landlord-initiated terminations for a year—against property owners' rights and economic realities, while simultaneously shifting essential implementation decisions from statute to regulation; the result is meaningful immediate protection for tenants but significant uncertainty about how and when those protections will be applied and enforced.
The bill couples clear, time‑limited protections for tenants with wide regulatory authority that leaves many consequential implementation choices unresolved. For example, the text prohibits terminations under sections 48 and 49 for 2025 but does not state whether orders already granted or termination proceedings far advanced are automatically stayed, stayed only by regulation, or left to the Board or courts to manage.
Section 241.5 allows the executive to bridge that gap, but it also transfers politically sensitive and legally consequential decisions out of the legislative text and into regulation, which can create uneven or delayed protections depending on how quickly and how fully regulations are issued.
Another tension concerns scope and distributional effects. The bill targets specific termination provisions rather than a broad moratorium on all eviction routes, so its protective reach depends on the particular grounds landlords typically rely on in different sub-markets.
The statutory rent-freeze mechanics are reactivated for 2025 by updating dates, but the bill does not add enforcement detail, remedies, or compensation for affected landlords—questions that will matter to secured lenders, small owners, and long-term operators. Finally, operational questions—how the Board triages applications, how municipalities and housing providers coordinate, and how private parties contract around the temporary rules—are left to post-enactment guidance and regulations.
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