The Ontario N12, Step by Step: Own-Use and Buyer Notices for Landlords and Tenants

In Ontario, a landlord serves the N12, a Landlord and Tenant Board notice, to tell a tenant that the unit is wanted back for someone to live in: the landlord, certain close relatives, a caregiver, or a person buying the property (or that buyer's family or caregiver). For the landlord it opens the process of recovering the unit; for the tenant it is a "no-fault" notice, because nothing the tenant did caused it, and so the law surrounds it with firm rules on eligibility, dates, compensation and honesty of purpose. A new set of rules started September 21, 2026, and from November 30, 2026 older versions of the form are no longer accepted.

At a glance

The two grounds, and what each means for both sides

The Residential Tenancies Act, 2006 (RTA) supports an N12 on either of two grounds.

Reason 1: the landlord's own use (RTA s. 48)

Good faith is required, along with a plan for one of these people to occupy the unit as a residence for no less than a year:

• [ ] the landlord;
• [ ] the spouse of the landlord;
• [ ] a parent or child of the landlord or of the spouse;
• [ ] a caregiver who provides (or is going to provide) care services to someone on this list, if the person cared for lives, or will live, in that same building, related group of buildings, mobile home park or land lease community.

There is a further gate in s. 48(5). An individual has to own the unit, at least partly, and the landlord itself has to be an individual. Corporations are shut out of Reason 1.

Reason 2: a buyer's own use (RTA s. 49)

After signing a purchase and sale agreement, the selling landlord may serve the N12 on the purchaser's behalf, so long as the purchaser genuinely wants the unit for themselves or for the same set of relatives and caregivers. Section 49(2) confines this to:

• complexes of three or fewer residential units; or
• condominium units.

Interpretation Guideline 12 points out a contrast with Reason 1: nothing in the statute obliges a buyer's occupant to stay a full year.

What the notice does not do

Getting an N12 does not end a tenancy on its own. A tenant who stays put can only be required to leave by an LTB order made on the landlord's L2. Tenants: leaving is your choice, not a legal requirement triggered by the notice.

Step 1: Confirm the N12 is the right notice

Go through these checks first.

The occupant is on the list. Nobody else qualifies. Interpretation Guideline 12 expressly rules out a brother or sister, grandchild, aunt, uncle or cousin. It also notes that, in the Court of Appeal's view, an estate cannot serve this notice until the individual landlord is known.

No trap applies:

• A company is the landlord, or no individual holds ownership. Guideline 12 recounts a case where a corporation transferred a 1% stake to its shareholders right before an N12 went out; the Board called that bad faith.
• The use is part-time, like a pied-à-terre or a workspace. Guideline 12 does not treat that as "residential occupation".
• Condo conversions, severances and co-ops covered by RTA s. 51 and the N12 instructions. This catches a tenant who was in place at condominium registration (or when a proposed condo unit's sale agreement was entered into), a tenant who was in place when a severance got approval, and most equity co-ops.
• The landlord actually plans renovations or demolition. The correct notice is the N13.
• A purchaser is buying a building with four or more units that is not a condo unit. Expect dismissal of any Reason 2 application.

Tenants reviewing a notice: use the same checks. A landlord's brother named as occupant, or a corporation relying on Reason 1, means the ground claimed is not available.

Step 2: Choose the termination date

The rules

1. Sixty days, at least. Sections 48(2) and 49(3) require that many days between giving the notice and the termination date.
2. End of a period or term. Pick the final day of a rental period, or of the fixed term. Rent due on the 1st means a month-end date. An N12 is no way to end a fixed-term lease before it expires.
3. The 120-day route (Reason 1 only). Under s. 48.1(2) no compensation is owed when three things line up: service on or after September 21, 2026; 120 or more days until termination; and a termination date that closes a period or term.
4. Counting. Skip the day of service itself (Rule 1.13). Mail or Xpresspost: s. 191(3) deems the notice given five days after mailing, so add those five. Courier: it is deemed given the day after the courier gets it, rolled forward to the next business day when that falls on a Saturday, Sunday or holiday (Rule 3.9), since Rule 1.1 counts weekends as holidays. The N12 instructions describe this as adding one business day.
5. No fixing it afterwards. Notice periods cannot be extended or shortened by the Board (O. Reg. 516/06, s. 56). Per Guideline 10, a premature date leaves the N12 defective and unamendable.

Worked examples

Picture a monthly tenant paying on the 1st who is handed the notice on Friday, November 13, 2026.

• With compensation: day 60 is January 12, 2027, so the earliest usable month-end is January 31, 2027, 79 days out. Being under 120 days, it requires one month's rent.
• Without compensation (Reason 1 only): day 120 is March 13, 2027, making March 31, 2027 (138 days out) the first eligible month-end. Nothing is owed.

Service method moves the starting point:

• Mail, posted Monday, November 2, 2026: treated as given Saturday, November 7; count from there.
• Courier, dropped off Friday, November 6, 2026: the following day is Saturday, so the notice counts as given Monday, November 9.

The other clocks

To continue the example, a March 31, 2027 termination means a move-in by May 30, 2027. Had the tenant held on until April 15, 2027, the deadline would shift to June 14, 2027.

Step 3: Complete the form

Download the current version, which the LTB website labels N12 (2026/10). Its first two pages are a checklist you take off before serving; the notice proper is three pages long.

Page 1: parties, unit and date

• [ ] To: (Tenant's name) include all tenant names. List every tenant in possession, spelled correctly; that includes a subtenant or assignee, but not children or visitors. Each one is served.
• [ ] From: (Landlord's name). Each landlord, by personal name. Reason 1 needs an individual landlord.
• [ ] Address of Rental Unit. Number and street, unit/apt./suite (e.g. "Unit 2" or "Basement"), municipality, postal code.
• [ ] Termination date (dd/mm/yyyy). One date, calculated as in Step 2.

Page 1: My Reason for Ending your Tenancy

Pick just one reason.

• Reason 1: print the future occupant's name and tick the box that fits: Me, My parent, My child, My spouse, My spouse's parent or My spouse's child. Caregivers are handled in the "A person who provides or will provide care services to" row, by ticking the box for the person receiving the care.
• Reason 2: print the future occupant's name and tick the matching purchaser box. Those boxes run from the purchaser through their spouse, their child or parent, their spouse's child or parent, and anyone caring for one of them.

According to the form, "Only one intended occupant needs to be identified." Additional people can go on a separate sheet with their relationship boxes ticked, which Guideline 12 treats as optional.

Page 2: Important Information from the LTB

Leave every word as printed. This page tells the tenant how termination dates work, when compensation applies (the 120-day exception included), and that the tenant can go early on 10 days' notice using the N9.

Page 3: signature and representative

• [ ] Shade Landlord or Representative and give a first name, last name and telephone number.
• [ ] Sign, then date. RTA s. 43(1)(c) and the checklist warn that a notice without a signature may be invalid.
• [ ] A representative completes their own block too: name, LSO number where licensed, company, address for mail, email, phone.
• [ ] Do not write in Office Use Only.

Step 4: Serve every tenant and deal with compensation

Allowed ways to deliver it

Every tenant receives a copy by a route RTA s. 191 or Rule 3.1 accepts:

1. in person, to the tenant or any adult present in the unit;
2. in the mailbox, or the spot where mail normally gets left;
3. under the door, or through a slot in it;
4. by courier, regular mail or Xpresspost;
5. by email, but only with the tenant's prior written consent to email service.

Posting it on the door does not count. Hold on to a copy and note the exact method and time for each tenant, because the Certificate of Service you file alongside the L2 is sworn on those facts.

Compensation checklist

• [ ] Is it owed? On every buyer's notice, yes. On an own-use notice, yes unless all the 120-day conditions are met.
• [ ] What is it? A month of rent, or a different unit that the tenant finds acceptable (ss. 48.1, 49.1).
• [ ] Who pays on a sale? It stays the seller's obligation; the purchaser does not take it on (s. 49.1(2)).
• [ ] Deadline? The termination date.
• [ ] Records? Keep proof; the L2 form wants the sum and the payment date.

Tenants: on a buyer's N12, or an own-use N12 giving under 120 days, you should receive a month's rent (or an alternative unit you accept) no later than the termination date.

Thirteen problems that sink an N12

1. A corporation relying on Reason 1. Because s. 48(5) prohibits it, that notice can never ground an eviction.
2. An ineligible occupant like a sibling, grandchild, in-law or friend. No ground exists, and amending cannot invent one.
3. A wrong or early date. Fewer than 60 days, a mid-month date like the 15th on a tenancy running from the 1st, a date inside a fixed term, or a mailed notice with no five days added. Any of these voids the notice; it cannot be corrected once served, and the Board cannot stretch the period.
4. Leaning on the 120-day rule where it does not reach. It covers own-use notices only, served September 21, 2026 or later, with dates that are both 120+ days away and at the close of a period or term. One day short, or a buyer's notice, and a month's rent is due. Section 83(4) of the RTA blocks an eviction order until compensation is paid, and per Guideline 12 an application where payment never came by the termination date gets dismissed, barring exceptional circumstances.
5. A missing tenant. Guideline 10 requires naming and serving everyone in possession; leaving out a co-tenant can defeat the eviction.
6. No occupant declaration or affidavit with the L2. The Board is obliged by s. 71.1(2) to refuse the application.
7. Hiding earlier notices. Any N12 or N13 given within the previous two years, for any unit at all, has to be disclosed, or the application is refused (s. 71.1(3)–(4)). Guideline 12 cites the Court of Appeal: an undisclosed earlier notice that surfaces at the hearing leads to dismissal, and no amendment is allowed.
8. A buyer's notice with no firm deal. A signed purchase agreement must already exist on the service date. An uncertain deal, or one that seems to be a pretence, can lead the Board to refuse or delay (Guideline 12). Both the tenant and the Board should have the agreement 7 days or more before the hearing.
9. A buyer's notice for a larger building. Four or more units, not a condo unit: s. 49(1) does not allow it, and dismissal follows.
10. A late L2. Past the 30 days after termination, s. 69(2) bars the application, and no extension is possible.
11. Door posting, or email with no written consent. Unless you can prove the tenant actually got it in time, service is defective (s. 191(2)).
12. An outdated form. Starting November 30, 2026, earlier versions are turned away.
13. No sincere intention to move in. Guideline 12 looks at good faith when the notice is served and at what the landlord does later. A change of plans, putting the unit up for rent, or inviting the tenant to stay for more money all weigh against the landlord.

Step 5: What happens after service

For tenants

• Leave sooner by giving 10 days' written notice on an N9, or go by the termination date; the tenancy ends either way.
• Stay, and the landlord must apply; only a Board order can then end the tenancy.
• If you leave and the landlord does not follow through, the T5 deadline is one year after your move-out.

For landlords

1. Tenant still there? Apply on an L2, attaching: - [ ] the N12 itself; - [ ] your Certificate of Service; - [ ] the occupant's declaration or affidavit; - [ ] details of the compensation; - [ ] the disclosure of prior notices; - [ ] payment of the fee.

At the hearing that follows, the burden is on you to show good faith on a balance of probabilities. 2. The Board also looks at s. 83, which lets it refuse or postpone eviction. Since September 21, 2026, in N12 and N13 matters, a postponement the landlord opposes is possible only where the Board is satisfied it would not be unfair to the landlord or to other tenants (O. Reg. 516/06, s. 8.4). Eviction can never take effect earlier than the N12 termination date, and Guideline 12 says the Board usually does not order the tenant to cover the filing fee on a no-fault N12. 3. After move-out (Reason 1), the named occupant should be in within 60 days of the termination date (or of the real move-out date, if that came later) and remain for a year or more.

The bad-faith presumption

RTA s. 57(5) presumes bad faith if, between service and the first anniversary of the tenant's departure, the landlord does any of the following:

• [ ] lists the unit for rent;
• [ ] rents it to a new tenant;
• [ ] lists the unit or the building for sale;
• [ ] tears it down; or
• [ ] takes any step to turn it into non-residential space.

On a T5 the Board's options include rent differences, moving expenses, general compensation as high as 12 months' rent, and an administrative fine (s. 57(3)).

Recent changes

All of these started September 21, 2026:

• No compensation with 120 days (Reason 1 only). For N12s served from that date with a termination date 120+ days away at the close of a period or term (RTA s. 48.1(2)). A buyer's N12 still costs a month's rent.
• The 60-day move-in presumption (Reason 1 only), under RTA s. 57(6.1) and O. Reg. 240/26. It counts from the termination date, or from the tenant's real move-out if that was later. Because it governs T5 applications made from September 21, 2026 (s. 57(7)), it can reach notices served before then.
• Delaying eviction. N12 and N13 cases now use only the "not unfair to the landlord or other tenants" test (O. Reg. 516/06, s. 8.4).
• A new form, now marked 2026/10. Older versions stop being accepted on November 30, 2026.

Frequently asked questions

Is one month's rent still owed on every N12?

No. If it is an own-use notice served September 21, 2026 or later, and the termination date is 120 or more days off and closes a period or term, no compensation applies. Anything shorter, and every buyer's notice, means a month's rent paid by the termination date (or an alternative unit the tenant accepts).

Could the person moving in be the landlord's brother or grandchild?

No. The landlord, the spouse, a parent or child of either, or a qualifying caregiver are the only options. The LTB's guideline specifically excludes siblings, grandchildren, aunts, uncles and cousins.

Can a corporate owner serve an N12?

Not for Reason 1, which needs an individual landlord and at least partial ownership by an individual (RTA s. 48(5)). A corporation selling the property can still give a buyer's N12 if everything else is satisfied.

Must the person moving in swear anything?

Yes. Whoever needs the unit provides an affidavit, or a signed declaration the Board accepts in its place, confirming a good-faith need for personal use (a year or more under Reason 1). It must accompany the L2, or the Board refuses the application.

As a tenant, how long do I have to claim the landlord acted in bad faith?

You have one year after moving out to file a T5. On a Reason 1 notice, the named person is expected in within 60 days of the termination date (or your actual departure, if later) and to stay at least a year.

Official sources

• N12 form (PDF, 2026/10)
• N12 Instructions
• L2 Instructions
• Residential Tenancies Act, 2006, ss. 48–51, 55.1, 57, 69, 71.1, 72, 83 and 191
• O. Reg. 240/26: Prescribed Period of Time
• O. Reg. 516/06 (General)
• Interpretation Guideline 12: Eviction for Personal Use
• Interpretation Guideline 10: Procedural Issues Regarding Eviction Applications
• LTB Rules of Procedure
• LTB Operational Update, September 21, 2026

Last reviewed October 31, 2026. General information, not legal advice for your situation. Always use the current version of the form from the LTB.