Ontario's Residential Tenancies Act(RTA) is one of the strongest tenant-protection statutes in North America. Most landlords follow it. Some don't — sometimes out of ignorance, sometimes deliberately. These five issues come up in our practice every month. If any of them are happening to you, you have legal options.
1. Change or add locks without giving you a key
Section 24 of the RTA is unambiguous: a landlord cannot alter the locking system on any door that gives access to your unit unless they give you a replacement key at the same time. “I'll get you one” is not compliance. A lock change without an immediate key is an illegal lockout — full stop.
If this happens, you can call the police (illegal lockouts are a matter of immediate relief) and file a T2 application with the LTB for interference with reasonable enjoyment. Remedies can include being let back in immediately, a rent abatement, and an order prohibiting the landlord from doing it again.
2. Enter your unit without 24 hours' written notice
Section 27 of the RTA requires your landlord to give you at least 24 hours of written notice before entering your unit — and the notice must state the reason for entry and a specific time between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. A knock on the door is not notice. A text message sent twenty minutes beforehand is not notice.
The exceptions are narrow:
- A genuine emergency (fire, flood, gas leak)
- You have consented at the time of entry (not just “previously said it was fine”)
- The unit appears to have been abandoned
- You have given notice of termination and the landlord is showing the unit (with notice)
“I was just checking on things” is not an emergency. Landlords who enter repeatedly without notice — even briefly — are committing an RTA violation. Document every occurrence: date, time, what was said, whether you were home. That log becomes evidence in a T2 application.
3. Raise your rent without proper notice — or above the guideline
Ontario sets an annual rent increase guideline each year. For 2025, it is 2.5%. A landlord cannot raise your rent above the guideline without LTB approval (through an Above Guideline Increase application), regardless of what your lease says.
In addition, even a within-guideline increase requires proper process:
- The landlord must use the N1 form (or equivalent written notice)
- Notice must be given at least 90 days before the increase takes effect
- Only one rent increase per 12-month period is permitted
An improperly given increase — wrong form, wrong notice period, or more than once a year — is not legally effective. You are not obligated to pay it. If you've been paying an illegal rent increase, you can apply to the LTB for a T1 (tenant application about illegal rent) and recover the overpayment with interest.
4. Cut off or restrict vital services
Under the RTA and Ontario Regulation 516/06, landlords must maintain heat in residential units at a minimum of 20°C from September 1 to June 15. More broadly, a landlord cannot withhold or deliberately reduce any vital service — heat, electricity, water, fuel, or natural gas — as a way of pressuring you to pay rent, move out, or comply with any demand.
This includes “accidental” service disruptions that recur suspiciously around disputes. If your heat goes off every time you complain about repairs, that is not a coincidence the LTB will ignore.
If vital services are cut off, you have the right to apply for an emergency order from the LTB (again, without the usual wait) directing the landlord to restore them immediately. Document the temperature in writing (photograph a thermometer inside your unit), and save all communications with the landlord.
5. Harass or threaten you to get you to leave
The only legal way a landlord can end a tenancy in Ontario is through the forms and process set out in the RTA — serving an N-form notice and, if the tenant doesn't leave, applying to the LTB. A landlord cannot evict you by:
- Threatening you or making your life difficult until you leave
- Removing appliances, furniture, or fixtures from the unit
- Interfering with your mail, guests, or use of common areas
- Making repeated baseless complaints to pressure you
- Offering cash to leave without your genuine, written agreement (an N11 form)
“Cash for keys” — an agreement where the tenant agrees to vacate in exchange for payment — is legal, but only if the tenant agrees voluntarily and signs an N11. If you feel pressured into signing anything, stop and call a paralegal first.
Harassment and “self-help eviction” are among the most serious RTA violations. The LTB can order the landlord to stop, pay you compensation, and in egregious cases, reduce your rent for a period of time.
What to do if any of this is happening
In all five situations, the same advice applies: document everything. Photographs, texts, emails, voicemails, written notes of verbal conversations — all of it. Then call us. We see these issues regularly and can tell you within one phone call what form to file, what evidence you need, and whether you have a strong case.
This is general information, not legal advice. The RTA has specific procedures and deadlines — speaking with a paralegal before acting will give you a clearer picture of your specific options.