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.
I had given an N12 notice to my tenant but have now changed my mind about moving in. What do I do?
There is no set way to cancel a N12 notice once it is given to the tenant. Make sure the person expected to move into the rental unit is committed before serving the N12 notice to your tenant.
If you have served your tenant with a N12 and then the person who wanted to move into the unit changes their mind, you should notify the tenant immediately. Write the tenant a letter explaining the change in circumstance. Inform them that they can disregard the N12 and continue to live in the unit.
If you want to ‘cancel’ the notice but it is too late because the tenant has signed another tenancy agreement and is moving out, you will still have to provide the compensation.
In either situation, there is still a possibility that the tenant files an application against you at the LTB for bad faith and as of September 1, 2021, the tenant can get an order against you for the following: an order to pay the former tenant an amount of increased rent for up to 1 year, an amount of up to 12 months’ rent charged to the former tenant, an amount for reasonable out-of-pocket expenses, a maximum administrative fine of up to $35,000 which is the current jurisdiction of the Small Claims Court, and other penalties as deemed appropriate by the adjudicator.
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 mean the tenant has to leave unless the Landlord and Tenant Board (LTB) issues an eviction order. If the tenant does not move out, the landlord must apply to the LTB and prove the notice was given in good faith. The landlord must also pay the equivalent of one month’s rent as compensation or offer another suitable unit before the termination date on the notice. It is important to ensure the notice is properly completed, served correctly, and that the compensation is paid on time. If the notice contains errors, the notice period is incorrect, or the compensation is not paid, the N12 may be found void, meaning the application could be dismissed and the landlord may have to start the process again. Additionally, if a tenant later brings a T5 Application and the Board finds the notice was served in bad faith, the landlord could face significant penalties and be ordered to compensate the tenant.
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 at the end of a rental period or term using Form N12. It must be served to the tenant 60 days prior to the end of the rental period or term. A landlord and a tenant may agree to terminate earlier than the prescribed notice period using Form N11.
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.
A tenancy can only be terminated for own use at the end of the rental period or term. The Form N12 notice you would give the tenant to take back possession of the premises cannot be given until 60 days before the end of the lease term. Therefore, the tenant would have to agree to vacate before you could break the lease and take possession. When serving an N12 notice the landlord is required to give the tenant one month’s compensation before the termination date on the notice or offer the tenant another unit that is acceptable to them.
If the tenant is in agreement, the best way to terminate is both landlord and tenant signing an N11 agreement – available here https://tribunalsontario.ca/ltb/forms/– to terminate the tenancy. ANY termination date can be agreed upon and used. In most cases however, the tenant would not sign this without some form of compensation from the landlord (2 or more months rent, for example). If the agreement is signed by all tenants, and the tenant fails to move, then a termination order can be obtained quite quickly by filing an L3 application and a declaration with the Landlord and Tenant Board (available from the same web site).
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.
1) If you need the unit for your own personal use you must give the tenant 60 days notice ending on the last day of the rental period and this must be done on a Form N12. 2) The tenant can refuse to leave after being served this notice even if you have given more than the required time. 3) If the tenant refuses to leave you will have to file an application with the Landlord and Tenant Board to obtain an eviction order. 4) The law specifies that you must reside in the unit for at least one year as your primary residence (Refer to Section 48 (1) of the Residential Tenancies Act). However, when a tenant is evicted based on this reason the tenant has up to twelve months to file an application against the landlord if the tenant believes that you gave the notice in bad faith. 5) You do not have to re-rent the unit to the same tenant once you are finished using it.
If you serve a notice for landlord’s own use, the termination date must be at least 60 days from the time you give notice *AND* the termination date must coincide with the end of a rental period. So, if they pay rent every Monday, the termination date must fall on a Sunday on the N12 notice of termination.
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.