Ontario’s condo communities operate under a careful balance of shared living, condominium rules, and legal accountability. The introduction of Bill 60 is set to change the landscape—especially for condo owners who rent out their units.
Here’s what you need to know.
Condo Owners: You’re Still on the Hook
Under the Condominium Act, 1998 (the “Act”), condo owners are vicariously liable for their tenants.
This means that if a tenant violates:
- The condominium rules
- Causes damage to the property
- Disrupts other residents, or
- Ignores the declaration or by-laws
You, not your tenant, are accountable. As a landlord, you have an obligation to ensure your tenants are aware of and follow the condominium’s governing documents.
Condominium corporations primarily enforce compliance against owners. That can mean demand letters, compliance proceedings, and potential court involvement are all directed at owners.
The Responsible Landlord vs. The Absentee Owner
In every condominium community, there’s a clear divide:
The Responsible Landlord
- Screens tenants carefully
- Ensures that their tenants understand and adhere to condo rules
- Responds to complaints quickly
- Takes action when issues arise
When tenants fail to comply, landlords may need to apply to the Landlord and Tenant Board (“LTB”) for eviction.
For proactive landlords, with not-so-compliant tenants, Bill 60 provides a silver lining. The legislation proposes streamlined eviction timelines, meaning faster hearings and quicker resolutions in appropriate cases.
The Absentee Landlord
- Lives elsewhere
- Ignores complaints, emails, or any communication from the condo
- Fails to enforce rules
- Allows problems to linger
Unfortunately, this laissez-faire approach can lead to long-standing problems, where disruptive tenants continue to cause issues without any significant action taken by the landlord.
Bill 60 may speed up processes for proactive landlords, but it cannot force disengaged owners to act, and that leaves condo corporations and residents dealing with prolonged disruption.
What Bill 60 Means for Condo Corporations?
Condo corporations often face a frustrating reality: they cannot directly evict a tenant.
Under Bill 60, there are provisions that allow for quicker actions. It focuses on minimizing the delays associated with evicting tenants who violate terms of tenancy agreements, including breaches of condominium rules. This will enable condo owners and landlords to act more swiftly when faced with difficult tenants.
This may significantly assist both condo-owner-landlords and condominium corporations to ensure compliance, or have the non-compliant tenants removed.
However, condo corporation cannot rely on Bill 60 to remove problematic tenants.
Under section 134(4) of the Act, a condominium corporation must first obtain a compliance order. Even then, the court must be satisfied that the tenant breached that order before the termination of a tenancy is possible.
Bill 60 doesn’t eliminate that structure, but it does:
- Streamline eviction processes through the LTB
- Reduce delays in addressing lease and rule violations
- Provide landlords with faster enforcement tools
Ultimately, it strengthens the pathway for evictions but doesn’t shortcut due process.
The Bottom Line
Bill 60 is a step toward faster, more efficient eviction proceedings in Ontario’s condominiums market. However, condo owners must remain proactive, informed, and responsive. Screening tenants carefully, ensuring tenants understand and adhere to condo rules, and acting swiftly at the first sign of non-compliance remain the best protections. For responsible landlords, Bill 60 offers relief. For condo corporations, it offers improved enforcement support. Condominium ownership is never hands-off; accountability comes with the keys.
