The 7-Day N4 Notice in Ontario: New Rules From September 21, 2026

Ontario cut the N4 non-payment notice period in half for monthly and yearly tenancies — from 14 days to 7 — but only for notices served on or after September 21, 2026. One date decides which rule your notice gets, a notice that uses the short period too early is void, and the mail and courier buffers still stack on top. Here is exactly how the 7-day N4 works, with the date math done for you.

Which rule applies to your N4?

Enter the date you serve (or served) the notice. This uses the same termination-date engine as the EasyServe N4 generator, so the result matches the notice you would produce.

What changed on September 21, 2026

The change comes from Bill 60, the Fighting Delays, Building Faster Act, 2025 (Royal Assent November 27, 2025). It cut the minimum N4 notice period for monthly and yearly tenancies in half and left weekly and daily tenancies where they were, so every rent frequency now shares a 7-day base period for N4s served on or after the effective date. For the legislative background, see the full Bill 60 guide.

The service date decides — two worked examples

Which period applies turns entirely on the day the N4 is served — not the rent period, not the termination date written on the form, and not when the arrears started.

• Monthly N4 hand-delivered September 20, 2026: the 14-day rule applies. Earliest termination date October 4, 2026.
• The same N4 hand-delivered September 21, 2026: the 7-day rule applies. Earliest termination date September 28, 2026 — six days sooner despite being served a day later.

Mail and courier days still stack on top

Bill 60 changed the base notice period, not the service-method math. Regular mail or Xpresspost still adds 5 days for delivery time, a commercial courier still adds 1, and hand delivery, the mailbox at the unit, or sliding the notice under the door add none. So under the 7-day rule, a mailed N4 has a termination date at least 12 days after mailing, and a couriered one at least 8. The full serving rules are in the N4 serving guide.

What the 7-day N4 means for your L1 timeline

The L1 application can be filed the day after the termination date passes with the arrears still unpaid. Under the 7-day rule, a hand-delivered N4 can reach that point as soon as 8 days after service — about a week earlier than the 14-day rule allowed. The rest of the process is unchanged: the L1 filing, the hearing wait (still the longest stage — see how long eviction takes in Ontario), and the order. A shorter notice period also means less margin for error: a defective N4 still costs you the entire hearing wait, so accurate dates and a clean Certificate of Service matter as much as ever.

The other rules that took effect the same day

The 7-day N4 is the headline, but the same September 21, 2026 proclamation brought related changes: an N12 own-use notice giving at least 120 days no longer requires the one-month compensation, tenants must pay at least 50% of claimed arrears at least 7 days before a non-payment hearing to preserve certain issues at that hearing, and the rules on persistent late payment (the N8's territory) were tightened. Confirm specifics with the Landlord and Tenant Board before relying on them — the details are theirs to set.

Frequently asked questions