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.
The tenant cannot stop the landlord from selling his property. As long as the landlord provides proper notice to enter the unit, which is 24 hours written notice, the landlord has the right to enter. If the tenant continuously refuses to allow showings, the landlord may have grounds to terminate the tenancy by serving a Form N5 based on intererence with the landlord’s rights to sell the property.
You first need to determine whether or not the existing tenancies are covered under the Residential Tenancies Act. If the tenants have their own kitchen and bathroom or have to share with other tenants, they are then protected by the Act which includes strict rules for ending a tenancy. If they are covered by the Act, the current landlord can serve form N12 which is a 60 days’ notice for Purchaser’s Own Use. If the tenants have a fixed term lease, the N12 notice cannot be served until the end of the term.
If the tenants are required to share a kitchen or bathroom with the present owner, (or their child, spouse or parent) and that person lives in the property as their primary residence, they would not be protected by the Act. If they are not covered by the Act because of a current shared living arrangement, this would give you more flexibility in terminating the tenancy.
As of July 21, 2020 the landlord is required to give the tenant one month’s rent as compensation, or offer the tenant another acceptable unit if pursuing the N12 notice on behalf of the purchaser. The compensation must be given before the termination date on the notice.
According to section 27 (2) of the Residential Tenancies Act, when entering the rental property for the purpose of showing the unit to prospective buyers, a 24 hours written notice must be provided stating the reason for entry, the day of entry and a time of entry between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. You must also provide your real estate agent with written authorization to show the property. As long as proper notice has been given, the tenant does not have the right to refuse entry.
For more information, review our RTA fact sheets entitled Selling a Rental Property and Entering the Rental Unit at https://landlordselfhelp.com/rta-fact-sheets/.
You must give 24-hour written notice of entry to the tenant. The notice of entry may be delivered by: handing it to the tenant or an apparently adult person on the tenant’s premises; placing it in the tenant’s mail box; placing it where mail is ordinarily deliver; sliding it under the tenant’s door; sending it by facsimile to the residence or place of business; sending it by courier or mail with additional time added; email if the person or party receiving it has consented in writing to service by email or posting it on the tenant’s door.(Note: Only the notice of entry may be posted on the door. Any other document that must be served on a tenant can not be delivered in this manner.)
For more information, review our RTA fact sheets entitled Selling a Rental Property and Entering the Rental Unit at https://landlordselfhelp.com/rta-fact-sheets/.
If the purchaser does not intend to occupy the premises himself or require the premises for the occupation of his spouse, child or parent of one of them, then the purchaser does not have a valid reason for termination and the tenancy would continue under the same terms and conditions as originally established by the landlord/vendor.
According to section 27 (1), the landlord has the right to enter the rented premises to allow a potential mortgagee or insurer of the property to view the rental unit. The notice provisions for entering the tenant’s rental unit for this reason are 24-hour written notice that specifies the reason for entry, the day of entry and a time of entry between the hours of 8 a.m. and 8 p.m.
For more information, review our RTA fact sheets entitled Selling a Rental Property and Entering the Rental Unit at https://landlordselfhelp.com/rta-fact-sheets/.
Once a notice for the purchaser’s own use has been issued, the tenant may give a notice to vacate early. The Residential Tenancies Act requires the tenant to give at least 10 days’ notice in an N9 form which may be given at any time after receiving the purchaser’s own use notice.
Planning to sell the house is not a valid reason to serve the tenants a notice to leave. You can only serve them a notice of termination once you have signed an Agreement of Purchase and Sale and the purchaser plans to move in to the house. At that point you would serve the tenants with a Form N12 giving them 60 days to vacate and the notice has to terminate on the last day of the rental period.
As of July 21, 2020 the landlord is required to give the tenant one month’s rent as compensation, or offer the tenant another acceptable unit if pursuing the N12 notice on behalf of the purchaser. The compensation must be given before the termination date on the notice.
For more information, review our RTA fact sheet entitled Selling a Rental Property at https://landlordselfhelp.com/rta-fact-sheets/.
According to section 27 (2) of the Residential Tenancies Act, the landlord is not required to be present during showings to prospective purchasers provided the landlord has given written authorization to a broker or salesperson registered under the Real Estate and Business Brokers Act, and written notice has been given to the tenant at least 24 hours before the time of entry to allow a prospective purchaser to view the premises.
For more information, review our RTA fact sheets entitled Selling a Rental Property and Entering the Rental Unit at https://landlordselfhelp.com/rta-fact-sheets/.
If your plan is to sell the house there is not a notice you can serve the tenants now before putting the house on the market. You can only give them notice to leave once you have a Purchase and Sale Agreement signed and the purchaser is planning to live there. The only thing you can try is asking them if they would be willing to move out so that you can do the repairs in order to sell. If they agree to move out then you should have them sign an agreement to terminate the tenancy which would be Form N11. You can obtain this form from the Landlord and Tenant Board’s website at https://tribunalsontario.ca/ltb/forms/#landlord-forms.
If you plan on selling the property you would just inform the tenant that you are going to sell the rental property. There is not a notice that you can serve the tenant to vacate for this reason until the property is actually sold. Once you have signed an Agreement of Purchase and Sale and the buyer plans to move in to the property, provided the property contains three or fewer residential units, you could then serve notice to the tenant to leave for the purchaser to move in. In this case a Form N12 has to be given to the tenants and it would be a 60 days’ notice.
As of July 21, 2020 the landlord is required to give the tenant one month’s rent as compensation, or offer the tenant another acceptable unit if pursuing the N12 notice on behalf of the purchaser. The compensation must be given before the termination date on the notice.
For more information, review our RTA fact sheet entitled Selling a Rental Property at https://landlordselfhelp.com/rta-fact-sheets/.
There is no notice of termination you can give your tenants based on the reason that the property is being sold. You can only serve a notice to the tenants once an Agreement of Purchase and Sale has been signed and the purchaser requires possession of the unit to move in. At that point you would issue the tenants a notice of termination on behalf of the purchaser. The notice period is still 60 days even if the tenants are on a weekly basis. The form required for this reason is a Form N12 and you can obtain it from the Landlord and Tenant Board’s website at https://tribunalsontario.ca/ltb/forms/#landlord-forms.
As of July 21, 2020 the landlord is required to give the tenant one month’s rent as compensation, or offer the tenant another acceptable unit if pursuing the N12 notice on behalf of the purchaser. The compensation must be given before the termination date on the notice. For more information, review our RTA fact sheet entitled Selling a Rental Property at https://landlordselfhelp.com/rta-fact-sheets/.
Please note that if the property has more than three units, the termination procedures are different than above.
Simply “planning” to sell the house is not a valid reason to terminate the tenancy. In order to use that reason for termination you must have signed an Agreement of Purchase and Sale and the purchaser must intend to move into the house. At that point, you would serve the tenant with a 60 days’ notice on a legal form which is a Form N12.
As of July 21, 2020 the landlord is required to give the tenant one month’s rent as compensation, or offer the tenant another acceptable unit if pursuing the N12 notice on behalf of the purchaser. The compensation must be given before the termination date on the notice.
For more information, review our RTA fact sheet entitled Selling a Rental Property at https://landlordselfhelp.com/rta-fact-sheets/.
In this situation the first thing you should try is to talk to your tenants about your plans for the house and ask them if they are willing to move out on their own. If they agree to move out you should have them sign an Agreement to End the Tenancy (Form N11). If they do not agree to move out, you will not be able to serve them with a notice of termination, however you can put the house up for sale. You can only give notice to the tenants once an Agreement of Purchase and Sale has been signed and the new owner requires the house for their own personal use. At that point you can serve the Form N12 on behalf of the purchaser.
As of July 21, 2020 the landlord is required to give the tenant one month’s rent as compensation, or offer the tenant another acceptable unit if pursuing the N12 notice on behalf of the purchaser. The compensation must be given before the termination date on the notice.
For more information, review our RTA fact sheet entitled Selling a Rental Property at https://landlordselfhelp.com/rta-fact-sheets/.
The Residential Tenancies Act gives landlords the right to show the rental unit to prospective purchasers on 24 hours’ written notice between the hours of 8 am and 8 pm. If the required notice has been given and the tenant refuses entry, contact the Rental Housing Enforcement Unit so they can intervene. RHEU can be contacted at 416-585-7214 or Toll Free 1-888-772-9277.
To learn more about RHEU, visit https://www.ontario.ca/page/solve-disagreement-your-landlord-or-tenant#:~:text=If%20you%20tried%20to%20contact,1%2D888%2D772%2D9277
You can only serve a notice to the tenants once an Agreement of Purchase and Sale has been signed and the purchaser requires possession of the unit to move in. At that point you would issue the tenants a notice of termination on behalf of the purchaser. The form required for this reason is a Form N12 with 60 days’ notice and you can obtain it from the Landlord and Tenant Board’s website at https://tribunalsontario.ca/ltb/forms/#landlord-forms. Please note that if the property has more than three units, the termination procedures are different than above.
As of July 21, 2020 the landlord is required to give the tenant one month’s rent as compensation, or offer the tenant another acceptable unit if pursuing the N12 notice on behalf of the purchaser. The compensation must be given before the termination date on the notice.
You do not have to renew the lease with the tenant and there is not a standard form to inform her that you do not wish to renew the lease. However, she does not have to move out at the end of the lease as her lease renews automatically on a month to month basis so she can stay until there is a valid reason to terminate the tenancy. If you are selling the property, you will have to do so with the tenants in possession. Once you have signed an Agreement of Purchase and Sale and the buyer plans to move in to the property, provided the property contains three or fewer residential units, you could then serve notice to the tenant to leave for the purchaser to move in. At that point you would serve the tenant with a Form N12 giving them 60 days’ notice to leave at the end of the term or rental period. The forms can be obtained from the Landlord and Tenant Board’s website at https://tribunalsontario.ca/ltb/forms/#landlord-forms.
As of July 21, 2020 the landlord is required to give the tenant one month’s rent as compensation, or offer the tenant another acceptable unit if pursuing the N12 notice on behalf of the purchaser. The compensation must be given before the termination date on the notice.
For more information, review our RTA fact sheet entitled Selling a Rental Property at https://landlordselfhelp.com/rta-fact-sheets/.
You should find the answers to your questions on our RTA Fact Sheet entitled Selling Your Rental Property at https://landlordselfhelp.com/rta-fact-sheets/
Once you decide to sell the unit, all you can do is inform the tenant that the unit is up for sale. You cannot issue a notice of termination based on that reason. You are only able to give her a notice to vacate once you have signed an Agreement of Purchase and Sale and the purchaser plans to move into the unit. At that point you would serve them with a 60 days’ notice using a Form N12. If the purchaser is not planning to live in the unit then the tenants have the right to stay.
As of July 21, 2020 the landlord is required to give the tenant one month’s rent as compensation, or offer the tenant another acceptable unit if pursuing the N12 notice on behalf of the purchaser. The compensation must be given before the termination date on the notice.
For more information, review our RTA fact sheet entitled Selling a Rental Property at https://landlordselfhelp.com/rta-fact-sheets/.
The landlord has the right to enter the rented premises to allow a potential mortgagee or insurer of the property to view the rental unit provided the landlord follows the notice provisions specified in the Residential Tenancies Act. The landlord must provide the tenant with 24-hour written notice that specifies the reason for entry, the day of entry and a time of entry between the hours of 8 a.m. and 8 p.m.
For more information, review our RTA fact sheet entitled Entering the Rental Unit at https://landlordselfhelp.com/rta-fact-sheets/.
There is not a notice of termination you can serve the tenants based on the reason that you intend to sell the house. You can only give them a notice to terminate once you have signed an Agreement of Purchase and Sale and the purchaser plans to live in the house. At that point you would serve the tenants with a 60 days’ notice on a Form N12. The notice period for this reason is still 60 days even if they are weekly tenants. You can obtain the form from the Landlord and Tenant Board’s website at https://tribunalsontario.ca/ltb/forms/#landlord-forms.
As of July 21, 2020 the landlord is required to give the tenant one month’s rent as compensation, or offer the tenant another acceptable unit if pursuing the N12 notice on behalf of the purchaser. The compensation must be given before the termination date on the notice.
You can also review our RTA fact sheet entitled Selling a Rental Property at https://landlordselfhelp.com/rta-fact-sheets/.
Many landlords believe that a tenant can be asked to vacate their rental unit when a property is listed for sale. This is not true. If a property is simply being listed for sale the landlord does not have the right to terminate a tenancy agreement. In fact, if the property is sold and the purchaser does not require the premises for his or her occupation, or the occupation of an immediate family member as defined in the Residential Tenancies Act, the tenant has the right to remain in possession.
For more information, review our RTA fact sheet entitled Selling a Rental Property at https://landlordselfhelp.com/rta-fact-sheets/.
Before a landlord lists a rental property for sale, the landlord should understand the tenant’s rights and the landlord’s obligations and responsibilities respecting privacy, security of tenure and circumstances under which a tenancy agreement may be terminated. The Residential Tenancies Act is the law that governs most residential tenancy agreements in Ontario. It addresses several issues related to tenancies and the sale of a rental property, including: entering the rental unit for the purpose of showing to a prospective purchaser; gaining access to the rental unit for the purpose of appraisal, insurance, etc.; termination of a tenancy agreement for the occupation of the purchaser; and penalties for bad faith terminations where the purchaser did not require possession.
For more information, review our RTA fact sheet entitled Selling a Rental Property at https://landlordselfhelp.com/rta-fact-sheets/.