The N13 Notice in Ontario: Demolition, Conversion and Renovation Evictions Explained Step by Step

Ontario's N13 is the Landlord and Tenant Board notice a landlord serves when the unit itself is about to change: it will be knocked down, put to a non-residential use, or gutted for repair or renovation work that cannot go ahead without a building permit and vacant possession. Expect a 120-day notice period and, usually, compensation owed to the tenant. Since September 21, 2026, a tenant who wants to come back after a renovation has stronger protections.

What it means for each side. Landlords: the N13 opens the door to an L2 eviction application, but it brings duties with it (permits, compensation and, after a renovation, keeping a returning tenant informed). Tenants: receiving an N13 does not end your tenancy. The Board decides at a hearing, you may leave early on short notice if you prefer, and after a renovation you can ask for the unit back.

Quick facts

Three reasons, three different outcomes

Under RTA s. 50(1), the landlord must need the unit back to:

• Reason 1: demolish it;
• Reason 2: carry out repairs or renovations extensive enough to require a building permit and vacant possession; or
• Reason 3: convert it to a non-residential use.

Corporations can rely on the N13 (they cannot use an N12). Either way, the plan has to be genuine. Guideline 12 explains that courts expect a sincere intention that lasts, measured at service and afterward too.

The reason chosen shapes what the tenant keeps. After a renovation the unit still exists, so the tenant holds a right of first refusal: first claim on renting it again (RTA s. 53). After a demolition there is nothing to return to. Two rulings noted in Guideline 12 show how labels work: joining two separately rented units into one has been treated by the Divisional Court as demolition, while the LTB has said that switching a unit to short-term rentals does not make it non-residential.

Is the N13 the right tool? A checklist

For Reason 2, all of these must be true:

• [ ] A building permit is required. In the form's words, for renovations and repairs "this Notice cannot be used unless a building permit is required".
• [ ] Nobody can live in the unit during the work.
• [ ] It goes beyond a refresh. Painting, flooring, updated kitchen cabinets, or any job that can be done around an occupant, does not qualify.

For Reasons 1 and 3:

• [ ] The project will actually happen. Under RTA s. 73(1), the Board needs to be convinced the landlord genuinely means to do it.

Use something else, or nothing, if:

• [ ] a landlord or relative intends to live there (N12);
• [ ] the point is to re-rent at a higher price; or
• [ ] a municipal renovation licence is needed and nobody intends to apply. According to Guideline 12, some cities require that licence before a renovation N13 can be served, and it counts as an "other authority" for s. 73.

The clocks to watch

Notice

• Length: not less than 120 days (RTA s. 50(2)). The termination date is the last day of a rental period, or the last day of a lease term. Where the tenant owns the mobile home or land lease home: a year or more.
• Counting: the day of service does not count. Mailed notices are deemed given on the fifth day (s. 191(3)), so add five. Couriered notices count from the following day; when that is a Saturday, Sunday or holiday, they roll to the next business day (Rule 3.9; Rule 1.1 treats weekends as holidays).
• Fixed by law: the Board has no power to extend or cut the period (O. Reg. 516/06, s. 56). Get the date wrong and the notice is defective, with no way to amend it (Guideline 12).

Working example. Rent is due on the 1st. The landlord is aiming for Wednesday, June 30, 2027.

Watch weekends: a courier pick-up on Friday, February 26 is not deemed given on Saturday but on Monday, March 1. The LTB's own instructions give another example: hand delivery by May 3, or mailing by April 28, supports an August 31 date.

Money and filing

• Compensation: due no later than the termination date (s. 55.1).
• L2: any time from service up to 30 days past the termination date (s. 69(2)). With June 30, 2027 as the date, the final filing day is Friday, July 30, 2027.

Tenant deadlines

• Moving out sooner: 10 days' written notice (N9).
• Asking to come back: in writing, while still living there (s. 53(2)). From the day the unit is ready, the landlord's duties run for 60 days so the tenant can move back (s. 53(2.2)).
• A former tenant's T5:
• bad faith (s. 57): one year from move-out;
• first refusal denied (s. 57.1): two years from move-out or six months from completion, whichever comes later.

Completing the N13, page by page

Look for N13 (2026/09) on the form. Pages 1 and 2 are a checklist to remove before service; the notice is four pages.

Step 1: Page 1, who and when

1. To: (Tenant's name) include all tenant names. All tenants in possession, any subtenant and any assignee. Leave out children and visitors.
2. From: (Landlord's name). All landlords. Corporations use their exact legal name.
3. Address of Rental Unit. Complete, down to unit number and postal code.
4. Termination date (dd/mm/yyyy). 120 days or more ahead, falling at the end of a period or term.

Step 2: Page 1, the reason

Shade a single circle for Reason 1, 2 or 3. The printed note under Reason 2, telling the tenant they may return, stays untouched, because RTA s. 50(3) says the notice has to say so.

Step 3: Page 2, the work

This box decides many N13 cases. Run through it like a checklist:

• [ ] What: the scope, the systems affected, structural changes.
• [ ] Where: this unit only, or the building.
• [ ] How: contractor and any phasing.
• [ ] When: start date and expected length.
• [ ] Why: the reason an occupant cannot remain.

Extra pages are fine. The checklist asks if there is "enough detail", and "major renovations" alone falls well short.

Sample description. "Full replacement of the unit's plumbing and electrical wiring and removal of a load-bearing wall between kitchen and living room, under a building permit. A licensed general contractor will do the work in two phases starting September 7, 2027, expected to last about ten weeks. Water and power to the unit will be shut off for most of that time, and the floor will be open, so the unit cannot be lived in."

Step 4: Page 2, permits

Choose one: I have obtained them, I will obtain them, or No permits or other authorization are necessary. That last choice belongs to demolitions and conversions only, since a Reason 2 job needs a building permit by its very nature.

Step 5: Pages 2 and 3, leave as printed

Here the tenant reads how the date works, how to leave early on 10 days' notice, and what compensation looks like.

Step 6: Page 4, sign

Shade Landlord or Representative, add names and phone, sign and date. A representative also completes their own section (LSO number if licensed, firm, address, email, phone).

Delivery and compensation

Serving. Every tenant, by a method permitted under RTA s. 191 or Rule 3.1: handing it to the tenant or another adult at the unit; putting it in the mailbox, through the slot or under the door; courier; mail or Xpresspost; or email, where the tenant had already agreed in writing. Door-posting is not allowed. Write down how and when, for the Certificate of Service.

Compensation (RTA ss. 52, 54, 55 and 55.1), payable by the termination date. The size of the residential complex decides the amount:

• Demolition or conversion: in a complex of five-plus units, three months' rent; in a smaller complex, one month's; or, in either case, an alternative unit acceptable to the tenant.
• Renovation, no written request to return: the same as above.
• Renovation, tenant asked in writing to return: rent for the renovation period, capped at three months (five or more units) or one month (fewer than five).

Two worked examples.

• Four-unit house, $1,600 rent, demolition: $1,600, or a substitute unit the tenant accepts.
• Twelve-unit building, $1,400 rent, two-month renovation: $4,200 if the tenant is not coming back; $2,800 if they asked to return, because two months is under the three-month cap.

Exceptions:

• Demolition or repair ordered under an Act: nothing owed.
• Building of 5+ units severed into a complex under 5, with the N13 given inside two years of the severance: three months' rent (s. 55).
• Mobile or land lease home owned by the tenant: $3,000 or a year's rent, if that is lower.
• Care homes: reasonable efforts to locate appropriate alternative accommodation (s. 146).
• Social housing: most units are exempt (RTA s. 7).

Where N13 cases go wrong

Landlords, avoid these; tenants, look for them.

1. Reason 2 without a permit requirement or without a need to empty the unit. Section 50(1)(c) needs both; Guideline 12 confirms dismissal where no permit was needed.
2. Arriving at the hearing without permits. RTA s. 73(1)(b) blocks eviction until every needed permit or authority is in hand, or until the landlord proves all reasonable steps were taken for a permit that only issues once the unit is empty. A city renovation licence counts.
3. Too vague about the work. A tenant who cannot tell what is planned or why they must leave may have a defective notice to point to (Guideline 10).
4. A bad date. Short of 120 days, off the end of the period or term, or forgetting mail time. Void, and not fixable.
5. Compensation missing or wrong at the termination date. Section 83(4) and (5) withhold the eviction order until payment. If the date has passed unpaid, Guideline 12 expects dismissal absent exceptional circumstances. Counting the complex's units wrongly flips one month to three, or the reverse.
6. Mislabelling. Renovation dressed as demolition, or vice versa, shifts the tenant's rights and undermines good faith. Short-term rental is still residential.
7. Hiding past notices. Every N12 and N13 served on any unit in the previous two years must be disclosed; otherwise the Board must refuse (s. 71.1(3)–(4)), and Guideline 12 says an undisclosed one found at the hearing means dismissal.
8. Missing the L2 cut-off. After 30 days past the termination date, s. 69(2) bars filing.
9. Bad service. An unnamed tenant, door-posting, or email without consent. Only proof that it truly reached the tenant in time saves it (s. 191(2)).
10. Mishandling the return. Failing to send the estimated ready date, an update when that changes, or word that the unit is ready; cutting the 60 days short; or charging above the lawful rent. Any of these is deemed a denial of first refusal (s. 57.1(1.1)) and invites a T5.
11. A superseded form. Pre-2026/09 versions are refused from November 30, 2026.

After the notice

For landlords

1. Tenant still there? File the L2 with: - [ ] the N13 and Certificate of Service; - [ ] the N13 schedule of compensation paid or payable; - [ ] your disclosure of earlier N12/N13 notices; - [ ] permit evidence, or evidence of steps toward it; and - [ ] the fee.
2. Hearing. Refusing or delaying eviction must be considered (RTA s. 83). Over a landlord's objection, an N13 eviction can be postponed only where doing so would be fair to the landlord and to other tenants, meaning not unfair (O. Reg. 516/06, s. 8.4).
3. Once the unit is empty, do the work within a reasonable time; a bad-faith T5 can come within a year.
4. Tenant returning? Then: - [ ] send, without delay and in writing, the estimated ready date; - [ ] send, without delay and in writing, any change to it; - [ ] send, without delay and in writing, notice that it is ready; - [ ] hold the unit for them for at least 60 days after that; and - [ ] charge only what would have been lawful had they never left (s. 53(3)).

For tenants

• [ ] Check the reason, the work description, the permit choice and the date.
• [ ] Compensation should arrive by the termination date. If the application is dismissed after payment, the Board can order it repaid (s. 73.1).
• [ ] To return after a renovation, put the request in writing before leaving.
• [ ] Give the landlord every new address in writing (s. 53(4)); their notices go to the last one you gave.
• [ ] Diary your T5 limits from the dates above.

What changed on September 21, 2026

• Three written updates are owed to any tenant who gives written notice of wanting to return on or after that date (RTA s. 53(2.1)).
• 60 days to move back for units ready to occupy on or after that date (s. 53(2.2)).
• Deemed denial of first refusal if either duty is missed (s. 57.1(1.1); Guideline 12).
• More time for a first-refusal T5: two years from move-out or six months from completion, whichever is later (s. 57.1(2)).
• Delay test: in N13 cases, only "not unfair" applies (O. Reg. 516/06, s. 8.4).
• Form 2026/09. Earlier versions are refused from November 30, 2026.

Pending: a 2023 amendment (RTA s. 50(3)(b)) requiring a qualified person's report with renovation N13s. On e-Laws, current to October 28, 2026, it is listed "not in force".

Common questions

How long is N13 notice?

120 days at minimum, ending when a rental period or lease term ends. One year when the tenant owns the mobile home or land lease home on site.

What is the tenant paid?

It turns on the reason, how many units the complex has, and whether the tenant returns. Usually three months' rent (five or more units) or one month's (fewer), or a substitute unit the tenant accepts. A returning tenant after a renovation gets rent for the renovation period, capped at that same figure. Nothing is owed for work ordered under an Act.

After renovating, can the landlord rent to someone new at a higher rent?

Not where the tenant asked in writing, before leaving, to return; they get first refusal at the rent that would have been lawful without the break. Where no request was made, the N13 still must not have been served in bad faith.

Is a permit needed before the N13 is served?

Not always at service. By the hearing the landlord needs every required permit or authority, or proof of all reasonable steps where the permit only issues once the unit is empty (RTA s. 73).

Official sources

• N13 form (PDF, 2026/09)
• N13 Instructions
• L2 Instructions
• Residential Tenancies Act, 2006, ss. 7, 50, 52–55.1, 57, 57.1, 69, 71.1, 73, 73.1, 83, 146 and 191
• O. Reg. 516/06 (General), ss. 8.4 and 56
• Interpretation Guideline 12
• Interpretation Guideline 10
• LTB Rules of Procedure, Rules 1.1, 3.1 and 3.9
• 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.