Chamber
ontario
Stage
Introduced
This Ontario bill limits how much and how often care homes can raise fees for services and meals charged to senior residents.
Key Changes
- Caps care service and meal fee increases to once per year and no more than the provincial rent increase guideline percentage
- Requires landlords to provide detailed, itemized information packages about service fees before a tenant signs a lease
- Allows tenants to choose individual services rather than mandatory bundles, and to cancel added services with 10 days' notice
- Requires fee reductions if the quality or quantity of a service is reduced
- Prohibits charging different residents different prices for the same care services or meals
- Requires retirement homes that are closing to notify residents that they retain tenant rights and are not being evicted
Gotchas
- Regulations can allow landlords to exceed the standard fee increase limits in exceptional circumstances, but increases cannot exceed 3% per year averaged over three years, and landlords must justify the increase
- The bill prohibits charges for care services from exceeding the actual cost of providing those services, even under the exceptional increase process
- The bill comes into force one year after receiving Royal Assent, unless the government moves it earlier by order — meaning there is a built-in delay before protections take effect
- Agreements for additional services signed under coercion or based on misleading information are automatically void, but enforcement would likely require a complaint or legal process
- Marketing discounts must be clearly disclosed; if no end date is given for a discount, any increase from the discounted price is subject to the annual cap — this could affect how landlords structure promotional pricing
Who's Affected
- Seniors living in care homes and retirement residences in Ontario
- Operators and landlords of care homes and retirement residences
- Family members of care home residents
- Prospective residents considering moving into a care home
Vibes
0 responses
Gotchas
- Regulations can allow landlords to exceed the standard fee increase limits in exceptional circumstances, but increases cannot exceed 3% per year averaged over three years, and landlords must justify the increase
- The bill prohibits charges for care services from exceeding the actual cost of providing those services, even under the exceptional increase process
- The bill comes into force one year after receiving Royal Assent, unless the government moves it earlier by order — meaning there is a built-in delay before protections take effect
- Agreements for additional services signed under coercion or based on misleading information are automatically void, but enforcement would likely require a complaint or legal process
- Marketing discounts must be clearly disclosed; if no end date is given for a discount, any increase from the discounted price is subject to the annual cap — this could affect how landlords structure promotional pricing
Summary
Bill 23 changes the rules for care homes in Ontario — places like retirement residences where seniors pay both rent and fees for services like meals, housekeeping, or personal care. Right now, landlords only need to give 90 days' notice before raising service fees, with no cap on how much they can increase them. This bill adds new protections so that service fee increases are limited in how often they happen (no more than once per year) and how large they can be (tied to the same annual rent increase guideline used for regular rentals). The bill also requires care homes to give residents clear, itemized information about what services cost before they sign a lease, and to keep that information up to date. Residents must be allowed to choose individual services rather than being forced into bundles, and if a service is reduced in quality or quantity, the fee must go down accordingly. Seniors can also add or cancel extra services with just 10 days' notice. Additionally, the bill amends the Retirement Homes Act to ensure that when a retirement home is closing, residents are clearly told they still have tenant rights and that the closure notice is not the same as an eviction notice. The bill was introduced by NDP MPPs and is currently at Second Reading in the Ontario Legislature.
Automatically generated from bill text using Claude
Vibes
0 responses
Recorded Votes
| Date | Description | Yeas | Nays | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 16, 2026 | Second Reading of Bill 23, An Act to amend the Residential Tenancies Act, 2006 and the Retirement Homes Act, 2010 respecting tenancies in care homes. | 38 | 65 | Negatived |