Your first stop for self-help is a review of our FAQs. Take a look at the ever increasing collection of questions asked by Ontario’s small-scale landlords as well as the actual answers provided by Landlord’s Self-Help Centre.
There is no formal process to cancel an N12 once it has been served. If your plans change after serving the notice, you should notify your tenant in writing as soon as possible and advise them that they may disregard the N12. However, if the tenant has already relied on the notice by securing another home or is in the process of moving out, you are still required to pay the mandatory one month’s rent compensation if you chose to give less than 120 days’ notice.
The tenant may also file a bad faith application with the Landlord and Tenant Board if they suffered a loss as a result of the N12. If the Board determines that the notice was given in bad faith, it may order you to pay compensation for up to one year’s increased rent, reasonable out-of-pocket expenses, and may impose an administrative fine of up to $50,000, in addition to any other remedies it considers appropriate. To avoid these potential consequences, only serve an N12 when there is a genuine intention for the named person to occupy the rental unit.
A tenant is not automatically entitled to a full refund of their last month’s rent deposit simply because a landlord has served an N12 notice. The last month’s rent deposit is normally applied to the tenant’s final month of tenancy, not refunded. However, when a landlord serves an N12 notice, the landlord must pay the tenant compensation equal to one month’s rent, which is separate from the last month’s rent deposit. If the tenant gives at least 10 days’ written notice to move out earlier after receiving the N12, the last month’s rent deposit must be applied only to the actual last days the tenant occupies the unit. If the deposit covers more time than the tenant stays, the landlord must refund the unused, prorated portion to the tenant.
Serving an N12 for personal use does not automatically mean the tenant will vacate the property. If the tenant does not leave, the landlord must apply to the Landlord and Tenant Board (LTB) and prove the notice was given in good faith and that they genuinely intend to occupy the rental unit. If the landlord gives the minimum 60 days’ notice, they must either pay the tenant compensation equal to one month’s rent or offer another acceptable rental unit before the termination date on the notice. If they choose not to provide compensation, they must instead give the tenant at least 120 days’ notice. The N12 must be completed correctly, served properly, and all legal requirements must be met, or the notice may be found void, and the process will have to start over. Additionally, if the tenant later files a T5 Application and the Board finds the N12 was served in bad faith, the landlord may be ordered to pay significant compensation and face additional penalties. To avoid these risks, landlords should only serve an N12 when there is a genuine intention for the named person to occupy the rental unit.
The typical amount of time it takes to navigate the Board process, from the time you serve the notice, filing the L2 the following week, getting a hearing set about four to eight months later. An order can take up to 60 days beyond the hearing date to be issued.
You should keep in mind that you must reside in the unit for at least one year as your primary residence. Otherwise, you may be liable for a bad faith application from the tenant for up to one year after they are evicted.
In addition, the law now requires that a landlord compensate a tenant one month’s rent if the tenancy is terminated for the landlord’s own use. This law officially came into effect on September 1, 2017. Read more about the provision here, at s. 48.1:
https://www.ontario.ca/laws/statute/06r17
It is also beneficial to focus your attention on proving your good faith need to occupy the unit on a long-term or permanent basis.
If you serve an N12 notice because you intend to move into the rental unit yourself, you must genuinely plan to live in the unit for at least one year. Once the tenant moves out, either voluntarily after receiving notice or because the Landlord and Tenant Board (LTB) issued an eviction order, the tenant does not have a right to move back into the unit later.
However, the notice must be given in good faith. If you move out shortly after or never actually move in, the former tenant may file a T5 Application alleging bad faith. If the Board finds the notice was not genuine, you could be ordered to pay the tenant compensation and may face additional penalties.
A landlord may terminate a tenancy for personal use by serving an N12 Notice if they, their spouse, child, child of their spouse, parent, parent of their spouse, or a caregiver for any of those individuals genuinely intends to move into the rental unit and occupy it as their primary residence for at least one year. In certain circumstances, an N12 may also be served on behalf of a purchaser who, or whose spouse, child, parent, child of their spouse, parent of their spouse, or caregiver intends to occupy the unit.
To terminate a tenancy based on the landlord or immediate family member moving in, the family member has to be the landlord’s spouse, child, or parent or the spouse’s child or parent.
If both tenants have leases in place, you will not be able to terminate the lease for your son to move in, that can only be done at the end of the lease term. The only thing you can try is asking if the tenant is willing to terminate the lease early in which case you can have them sign an Agreement to Terminate the Tenancy (Form N11).
An application to the board based on a Form N12 – Notice to Terminate Tenancy for Personal Use may not be successful since Unit B is available to you. As per the legislative a landlord can offer the tenant the alternative unit to reside in, instead of paying the tenant one month’s compensation.
Interpretation Guideline #12 deals only with the eviction for own use situation, for example, it explains the test to be met is that the landlord must require the unit in good faith, which is closer to “wanting” than “needing” the unit in the eyes of both the Board and the Divisional Court. https://tribunalsontario.ca/documents/ltb/Interpretation%20Guidelines/12%20-%20Eviction%20for%20Personal%20Use_dec2020.html is where you will find more information on how the Member usually looks at these situations.
If your tenant is still within a fixed-term lease, you cannot serve an N12 to end the tenancy before the lease expires. An N12 for personal use can only be used at the end of the fixed term and cannot be used to shorten an existing lease. If you need the property back before the lease ends, your best option is to negotiate an early termination with the tenant by entering into a mutual agreement to end the tenancy using the N11 Form. This is a voluntary agreement, and many landlords offer compensation (commonly referred to as a “cash for keys” agreement) in exchange for the tenant agreeing to move out early.
If the tenant does not agree to sign an N11, you must wait until the end of the fixed term before serving an N12, provided you genuinely intend to move back into the property. If the tenant does not move out after receiving a valid N12, you must apply to the Landlord and Tenant Board for an eviction order. Do not make arrangements to move back into the property until the tenancy has been lawfully terminated or an eviction order has been obtained.
When there is a fixed term lease agreement, unfortunately the landlord cannot terminate the tenancy based on the reason that the landlord will be moving in. That can only be done at the end of the lease term. All you can do is try to have the tenant agree to terminate the lease early and if she does agree, you would have her sign the Form N11- Agreement to Terminate a Tenancy. If she does not agree to leave and she is causing problems for the other tenants you can serve her with a form N5 notice.
If you successfully regain possession of the rental unit through an N12 for personal use, you must occupy the unit as your primary residence for at least one year. If the tenant believes the N12 was served in bad faith, they have up to one year after vacating the unit to file a T5 Application with the Landlord and Tenant Board seeking compensation. An N12 for personal use does not give the former tenant a right to re-occupy the unit once they vacate, however, if the Board determines that you never intended to occupy the unit or failed to meet the one-year occupancy requirement without a valid reason, you could be found to have acted in bad faith and face significant financial penalties.
If your son genuinely intends to move into the rental unit as his primary residence for at least one year, you may serve your tenant with a Form N12 – Notice to End your Tenancy Because the Landlord, a Purchaser or a Family Member Requires the Rental Unit. You may either give the tenant at least 60 days’ notice ending on the last day of a rental week and pay one month’s rent as compensation (or offer another acceptable rental unit) or provide at least 120 days’ notice ending on the last day of a rental week, in which case no compensation is required.
If the tenant does not leave by the termination date, you must file an L2 Application with the Landlord and Tenant Board and obtain an eviction order. Only serve an N12 if your son genuinely intends to occupy the unit as his primary residence for at least one year.
The Residential Tenancies Act is the legislation that governs landlords and tenants in Ontario.
Under this law there isn’t a notice the landlord can serve the tenant when the house is put up for sale. The landlord can only serve the form N12 once an Agreement of Purchase and Sale is signed, if there are 3 or fewer residential units and the purchaser is planning to live in the house. The landlord is not responsible to pay the tenants any difference in rent in these circumstances, as long as there are grounds to terminate the tenancy.
As of July 21, 2020 the landlord is required to give the tenant one month’s compensation, or offer the tenant another unit that is acceptable to them, if pursuing the N12 notice on behalf of the purchaser. The compensation must be given before the termination date on the notice.
You cannot terminate a tenancy for personal use for anyone else other than the landlord, the landlord’s spouse, child or parent of the landlord or the landlord’s spouse.
No, a landlord cannot serve an N12 notice for own use if the property is owned by a corporation. As per section 48 (5), the rental unit must be owned in whole or in part by an individual and the landlord must be an individual in order to give an N12 notice for own use.