Can I ban smoking or cannabis in my Ontario rental?
Short answer: Yes, if the tenant agrees to it in the lease. The standard lease says the RTA does not discuss smoking in a rental unit, and section 10 lets you and the tenant agree to allow or prohibit smoking in the unit, on your property, or both. Provincial law already bans smoking or vaping tobacco or cannabis in indoor common areas of condos and apartment buildings. To end a tenancy over smoking, the smoking itself has to substantially interfere with others, cause undue damage, impair safety or substantially interfere with another lawful right of yours.
This page covers units under the RTA; if your renter shares your kitchen or bathroom and you live there, see renting rooms in your home.
The rules in one table
| Situation | What the rules say | Source |
|---|---|---|
| New lease, you want no smoking in the unit | Tick "Smoking rules" in section 10 and write the rule. You can cover the unit, your property, or both. | Standard lease s. 10, Part S |
| Cannabis and vaping | The provincial smoking law covers cannabis (medical or recreational) and e-cigarettes as well as tobacco. Name each one in your section 10 rule so there's no doubt. | Smoke-Free Ontario Act, 2017, ss. 2, 12(1) |
| Indoor common areas of a condo or apartment building | No smoking or vaping, under provincial law, whatever the lease says. Examples: elevators, hallways, parking garages, party rooms, laundry rooms, lobbies, exercise areas. | Smoke-Free Ontario Act, 2017, s. 12(2) para. 5 |
| Inside the tenant's own unit, lease silent | Allowed. Ontario's guidance says you can smoke or vape in your private home unless a signed lease or agreement, or condo bylaws, say otherwise. | ontario.ca smoking guidance; SFOA s. 1(2) |
| Making or enforcing a smoking rule | You must follow the Ontario Human Rights Code. | Standard lease s. 10 note, Part M |
| Smoke bothers you or another tenant | N5: the tenant gets 7 days to stop, and the notice is void if they do. Termination date at least 20 days after you give it. | RTA s. 64 |
| You live in the building, 3 or fewer units, and the smoke substantially interferes with your own enjoyment | N7 with a termination date at least 10 days after you give it, no 7-day chance to fix. | RTA s. 65 |
| Smoking caused undue damage (wilful or negligent) | N5: the tenant has 7 days to repair or pay the reasonable cost. You can also claim the cost on an L2. | RTA ss. 62, 89(1) |
| Smoking seriously impaired someone's safety in the building | N7 with a termination date at least 10 days after you give it. | RTA s. 66 |
| A fine or extra fee for smoking | Not allowed. The RTA bans collecting a fee, penalty or similar amount unless a regulation allows it. | RTA s. 134(1) |
Breaking the section 10 rule is not, by itself, one of the RTA's grounds for ending a tenancy. We found no notice for breaking a lease term on its own: the smoking has to fit one of the grounds above, and you need evidence of its effect, not only that it happened.
Worked example: smoke drifting into the next unit
Example dates only. Your tenant in the lower unit smokes inside, and your upper tenant writes to you twice about smoke coming through the vents. You give the lower tenant an N5 in person on Monday, November 2, 2026.
- The 7-day window. The N5 must ask the tenant to stop within 7 days. If they stop by Monday, November 9, 2026, the notice is void (s. 64(2)-(3)).
- The termination date. At least the 20th day after you give it: Sunday, November 22, 2026 or later (s. 64(2)(a)).
- Applying. You can't file the L2 until the 7 days are over (s. 70), and you must file no later than 30 days after the termination date on the notice (s. 69(2)). With a November 22 date, that is Tuesday, December 22, 2026.
- If it starts again. If the smoking resumes more than 7 days but less than 6 months after the first N5, a second notice can give a termination date at least 14 days out, with no second chance to fix (s. 68).
At the hearing, the question is whether the smoking substantially interfered with the other tenant's reasonable enjoyment. Ontario's guidance says each case is decided by the Board case by case, so bring the dated complaints, your notices and what you did about them. See how the N5 works.
Where the toolkit helps: The toolkit's LTB-Ready Evidence Pack includes a communication log, so each smoking complaint, notice and message stays in one dated record. See what is inside the $19 toolkit
If you already have a tenant who smokes
Section 10 is a term you and the tenant agree to. We found no RTA section that lets a landlord add a smoking ban to a current tenancy on their own, so a letter saying "no smoking from now on" is not the same as a lease term. You can ask the tenant to agree in writing. Without that, you can still act on the effects of the smoking under the grounds in the table.
Mistakes to avoid
- Leaving section 10 on "None" when you want a smoke-free unit, or writing only "no smoking" when you also mean cannabis, vaping or the balcony. See the standard lease guide.
- Adding a smoking fine to the lease. A penalty is a charge the RTA bans (s. 134(1)); see illegal lease clauses.
- Taking smoke damage out of the rent deposit. The deposit is for the last rent period; claim repair costs on an L2 (s. 89(1)). See rent deposit rules.
- Serving a notice with no record behind it. Keep each complaint, the date, photos of any damage and every message. See tenant damage (N5, L2).
- Ignoring a tenant's complaint about drifting smoke. Ontario's guidance tells tenants to speak to the landlord first and then go to the Board if it isn't resolved.
Official sources
- Ontario Standard Lease, Form 2229E (2020/12): section 10 Smoking and General Information Parts M and S (Central Forms Repository)
- Smoke-Free Ontario Act, 2017, ss. 1(2), 2 and 12 (ontario.ca/laws)
- ontario.ca: Where you can't smoke or vape in Ontario (multi-unit residences, second-hand smoke in rental units)
- Residential Tenancies Act, 2006 (ontario.ca/laws)
- LTB forms: N5, Notice to End your Tenancy for Interfering with Others, Damage or Overcrowding, and N5 instructions
- LTB: Form N7, Notice to End your Tenancy for Causing Serious Problems in the Rental Unit or Residential Complex
- LTB: Instructions for the L2 application (end a tenancy and evict a tenant or collect money)
- Human Rights Code (ontario.ca/laws)
Not legal advice. This site is general information written by a small Ontario landlord, based on official Ontario and Tribunals Ontario sources as of October 26, 2026. Laws and LTB forms change; check the linked official source before you act, and talk to a lawyer or licensed paralegal (or call the LTB at 1-888-332-3234) about your situation. Not affiliated with the Government of Ontario, Tribunals Ontario or the Landlord and Tenant Board. Full disclaimer.