Ontario landlords and tenants: a notice of termination is not an eviction order, and the timeline on a non-payment notice changes on September 21, 2026
The date on a notice of termination ends the tenancy on that date only where the tenant vacates in accordance with the notice. Where the tenant has not vacated, the landlord cannot take back the unit on their own; recovering possession takes an eviction order from the Board. Without legal process, a landlord may not seize a tenant's property either. The termination date on a non-payment notice currently runs on two tracks: not earlier than the 7th day for a daily or weekly tenancy, not earlier than the 14th day in all other cases. From September 21, 2026, it is the 7th day in every case.
When the date on the notice actually counts
Residential tenancies in Ontario are governed by the Residential Tenancies Act, 2006 (S.O. 2006, c. 17, called the RTA below). The first sentence of section 37 sets the boundary: a tenancy can be terminated only in accordance with this Act.
37 (1) A tenancy may be terminated only in accordance with this Act.
Termination by notice
(2) If a notice of termination is given in accordance with this Act and the tenant vacates the rental unit in accordance with the notice, the tenancy is terminated on the termination date set out in the notice.
Subsection (2) sets two conditions side by side, joined by and. One is that the notice is given in accordance with the Act. The other is that the tenant vacates in accordance with the notice. The tenancy terminates on the termination date set out in the notice only where both are met.
The reading heard most often treats the date on the notice as a switch that flips by itself: the day arrives, the tenancy is gone. The provision is not built that way. Where the tenant has not vacated by that date, half of the condition in subsection (2) is missing, and the tenancy does not terminate merely because the day has passed.
This works the same way for both sides. For a landlord, serving a notice does not mean the matter is finished. For a tenant, the date passing does not mean the matter is settled.
Where the tenant has not vacated, the landlord cannot take back the unit
Section 39 governs the act of recovering possession.
Restriction on recovery of possession
39 A landlord shall not recover possession of a rental unit subject to a tenancy unless,
(a) the tenant has vacated or abandoned the unit; or
(b) an order of the Board evicting the tenant has authorized the possession.
The provision gives two situations. One is that the tenant has vacated or abandoned the unit. The other is that an order of the Board evicting the tenant has authorized the possession. Where neither holds, the landlord shall not recover possession. The Board in the provision means the Landlord and Tenant Board.
Section 40 deals separately with property.
Distress abolished
40 No landlord shall, without legal process, seize a tenant's property for default in the payment of rent or for the breach of any other obligation of the tenant.
The wording of this section is that without legal process, a landlord shall not seize a tenant's property. It is not conditioned on whether the tenant has vacated, and it covers more than rent: the provision goes on, or for the breach of any other obligation of the tenant.
Sections 37, 39 and 40 read together are three sides of one thing. A notice of termination is not an eviction order. It authorizes no one to recover possession, and it authorizes nothing to be seized. For possession to be recovered, the provisions point to the Board.
That is not to say a tenant may simply stay on, nor that a landlord can only wait.
The timeline on a non-payment notice: two tracks now, one from September 21, 2026
Non-payment of rent runs through section 59. The current subsection (1):
59 (1) If a tenant fails to pay rent lawfully owing under a tenancy agreement, the landlord may give the tenant notice of termination of the tenancy effective not earlier than,
(a) the 7th day after the notice is given, in the case of a daily or weekly tenancy; and
(b) the 14th day after the notice is given, in all other cases.
What the provision limits is the earliest day that can be written in as the termination date on the notice: for a daily or weekly tenancy, not earlier than the 7th day after the notice is given; in all other cases, not earlier than the 14th day.
An official note follows immediately in the text of the Act:
Note: On September 21, 2026, the day named by order of the Lieutenant Governor in Council, subsection 59 (1) of the Act is repealed and the following substituted: (See: 2025, c. 14, Sched. 12, s. 4)
Non-payment of rent
(1) If a tenant fails to pay rent lawfully owing under a tenancy agreement, the landlord may give the tenant notice of termination of the tenancy effective not earlier than the 7th day after the notice is given. 2025, c. 14, Sched. 12, s. 4.
September 21, 2026 is the day named by order of the Lieutenant Governor in Council. On that day the current subsection (1) is repealed and the text above is substituted: no longer split between daily or weekly tenancies and all other cases, but not earlier than the 7th day after the notice is given in every case.
| Tenancy | Current provision | From September 21, 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Daily or weekly | Termination date on the notice not earlier than the 7th day | Not earlier than the 7th day |
| All other cases, monthly included | Termination date on the notice not earlier than the 14th day | Not earlier than the 7th day |
The provisions on this page were checked on August 9, 2026, at which point the new subsection had not yet come into force.
Subsection 37(2) recognizes a notice of termination given in accordance with this Act. Whether a notice whose day count does not match the provision falls within that premise is something this page does not draw a conclusion on.
The provisions set out more than one point at which the rent can be paid
The provisions arrange payment of the rent owing into several points in sequence. What has to be paid differs at each one, and so does what follows from paying.
The first point is the termination date set out in the notice, under subsection 59(2), which governs what the notice must contain:
Contents of notice
(2) The notice of termination shall set out the amount of rent due and shall specify that the tenant may avoid the termination of the tenancy by paying, on or before the termination date specified in the notice, the rent due as set out in the notice and any additional rent that has become due under the tenancy agreement as at the date of payment by the tenant.
The notice must set out the amount of rent due, and must specify that the tenant may avoid termination by paying on or before the termination date specified in the notice. That sentence sits on the notice in the tenant's hands because the provision requires it to be there.
The second point is in subsection (3):
Notice void if rent paid
(3) The notice of termination is void if, before the day the landlord applies to the Board for an order terminating the tenancy and evicting the tenant based on the notice, the tenant pays,
(a) the rent that is in arrears under the tenancy agreement; and
(b) the additional rent that would have been due under the tenancy agreement as at the date of payment by the tenant had notice of termination not been given.
The date the notice must set out comes from subsection (2); the point at which that notice becomes void is in subsection (3), and it reads before the day the landlord applies to the Board. These two dates are not the same date.
Subsection (3) requires two amounts, joined by and:
- (a) the rent in arrears under the tenancy agreement;
- (b) the additional rent that would have been due under the tenancy agreement as at the date of payment, had the notice of termination not been given.
Paying (a) alone does not meet the condition in the provision.
The order of these two dates is fixed, in subsection 74(1):
74 (1) A landlord may not apply to the Board under section 69 for an order terminating a tenancy and evicting the tenant based on a notice of termination under section 59 before the day following the termination date specified in the notice.
A landlord applying to the Board based on a section 59 notice may not do so before the day following the termination date specified in the notice. The day of the application always falls after the termination date. Read the other way, this point is not a date that can be worked out in advance: which day it lands on is settled only when the landlord applies.
The third point is in subsection 74(2). Where the landlord has already applied based on a section 59 notice, the application shall be discontinued if, before the Board issues the eviction order, the Board is satisfied that the tenant has paid to the landlord or to the Board the rent in arrears, the additional rent that would have been due as at the date of payment, and the landlord's application fee. Set against the point in subsection (3), the item added here is the application fee.
After an eviction order has issued, subsection 74(4) sets out one more: the eviction order is void where the tenant pays the amounts specified before the order becomes enforceable. This page does not list which amounts those are; subsection 74(3) requires the eviction order to set out that amount.
Where this is most often misread
Days can be counted, and lining them up against the provision settles them. What is harder to handle is a misreading: taking a notice of termination for an eviction order, or taking one of these points for the end of the road. A misreading of that kind does not announce itself. It usually becomes visible only once one side has acted on it. Lining up the date on the notice in hand, the number of days the provision requires, and those payment points is not the hard part; the hard part is knowing which things to line up, and which provision the situation in front of you falls under. Legal services rates.
Common questions
The tenant has already moved out. Is an eviction order from the Board still needed?
The two situations listed in section 39 stand side by side, joined by or, and where either one holds, recovering possession is not restricted by that sentence in section 39. Whether the unit has in fact been vacated or abandoned is a question of fact, not something a provision can settle for anyone.
Can a landlord hold on to the tenant's belongings until the rent is paid?
The wording of section 40 is that without legal process, a landlord shall not seize a tenant's property. It covers more than rent: the provision goes on, or for the breach of any other obligation of the tenant, which brings in a tenant's breach of other obligations under the tenancy agreement.
What day does the count on the notice start from?
The wording in subsection 59(1) is after the notice is given, so the count runs from after the notice has been given. How a notice is served, and how the day of service is calculated, are not written into this section.
Notices given before and after September 21, 2026: which set applies to which?
The official note states one thing only: on September 21, 2026, the day named by order of the Lieutenant Governor in Council, the current subsection 59(1) is repealed and replaced by the new text. How notices straddling that date fit together is not written into the note itself, and this page does not infer it. Because of this change, part of what is on this page will be out of date by September 21, 2026.
Do the same day counts apply to situations other than non-payment of rent?
No. Section 59 speaks throughout of a tenant who fails to pay rent lawfully owing, that is, non-payment of rent, and both the 7 days and the 14 days are written for it. Terminating a tenancy on other grounds is provided for in other sections, which are outside what this page covers.
Official sources cited on this page
- Residential Tenancies Act, 2006, S.O. 2006, c. 17 · official text of the Act from Ontario e-Laws (doc version): https://www.ontario.ca/laws/docs/06r17_e.doc
- Provisions cited on this page: s.37 (termination only in accordance with the Act; the two conditions for termination by notice), s.39 (no recovery of possession on the landlord's own authority), s.40 (distress abolished), s.59(1) (the timeline on a non-payment notice, current text), the official note following s.59(1) (2025, c. 14, Sched. 12, s. 4; the substituted provision taking effect September 21, 2026), s.59(2) (what the notice must set out), s.59(3) (notice void if rent paid), s.74(1) (the earliest day a landlord may apply), s.74(2) (discontinuance of the application), s.74(3) (the amount that must be set out in the eviction order), s.74(4) (eviction order void if payment is made)
The provisions were checked on August 9, 2026; at the time of checking, the substituted provision taking effect on September 21, 2026 was not yet in force. This page covers only the sections listed above, and where provisions are adjusted, the official publication governs.
Official sources cited
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