The N15 Notice: Ending a Tenancy Safely After Domestic or Sexual Violence

In Ontario, the N15 lets a tenant end their tenancy on 28 days' notice when sexual or domestic violence or abuse has been directed at them or at a child in their household, and staying puts them in fear of harm. It gives the tenant a quick, safe exit; it gives the landlord a strict duty of privacy. The notice always travels with one of two supporting documents: the tenant's own signed Statement, or a court order no older than 90 days.

Quick facts

Who can use it, and why

The Residential Tenancies Act, 2006 (RTA), in ss. 47.1 and 47.2, gives tenants an early exit from any monthly, yearly or fixed-term tenancy. The trigger, in s. 47.3(1), is that the tenant or a child in the home is "deemed to have experienced violence or another form of abuse". Like any termination notice it must satisfy s. 43(1). In addition, s. 47.1(4) insists on one supporting document:

• a signed copy of the Tenant's Statement About Sexual or Domestic Violence and Abuse, the LTB's own form; or
• a court order, copied, that was issued within the 90 days before the notice. Only three kinds count: a peace bond (Criminal Code, s. 810), or a restraining order under either s. 46 of the Family Law Act or s. 35 of the Children's Law Reform Act.

Who the abuse must come from. Under s. 47.3(4): a spouse or ex-spouse, a conjugal or dating partner (current or former), or a relative who lives in the unit. Under s. 47.3(1)(e), sexual violence counts no matter who was responsible.

What the tenant does not have to say. Paragraph 4 of s. 47.3(5) means no account of events and no names are needed. And under s. 47.3(6), the LTB looks at only two things: is the document genuine, and is it the right kind? The truth of the allegation is not something it rules on.

Which situation are you in?

1. Every tenant is leaving. Under s. 47.1, everyone signs and the whole tenancy is over on the termination date.
2. Only some tenants are leaving. Section 47.2 lets a qualifying co-tenant end only their own interest, by themselves or with part of the household. The others keep the tenancy going, and s. 47.2(8) keeps the rent deposit with it for their benefit.
3. The reason is something else. Then an N9 notice, or an N11 agreement, is the tool instead.

Timing and deadlines

• 28 days. Sections 47.1(3) and 47.2(3) require a gap of 28 days or more between giving the notice and the termination date. Count it as the Legislation Act, 2006 directs in s. 89(3): skip the day of giving, include the termination date.
• 90 days for a court order. If you attach an order rather than a Statement, it cannot have been issued more than 90 days before you give the notice.
• Partial notice, but the tenant stays. For a tenant who has not moved out on or before the termination date, an s. 47.2 notice is void (s. 47.2(5)).
• The tenants who remain. After a co-tenant's s. 47.2 departure, s. 47.2(9) gives the rest an option on a yearly or fixed-term tenancy: a joint 60-day notice.

Example. A tenant hands the N15 to the landlord on Tuesday, April 6, 2027. Leaving out April 6, the 28th day is Tuesday, May 4, 2027, so May 4 is the earliest termination date that can be written in. Suppose a restraining order goes with it rather than a Statement. Its issue date can be at most 90 days before April 6: an order dated January 12, 2027 (84 days earlier) would qualify.

For tenants filing this: a checklist

The N15 itself (version 01/07/2022):

• [ ] Landlord's name.
• [ ] The name of each tenant giving the notice.
• [ ] Address of the rental unit.
• [ ] Termination date, written dd/mm/yyyy, at least 28 days out.
• [ ] Tick the box for what you are attaching: the Statement, or a restraining order or peace bond issued in the last 90 days.
• [ ] On page 2, signatures (room for up to three tenants), plus a representative's details if one is used.

The Tenant's Statement, if that is your attachment:

• [ ] The landlord's name and yours, and the unit address.
• [ ] Tick the boxes that describe your situation: who the person is (chosen from the listed relationships) and what kinds of harm occurred, and/or that it was sexual violence within s. 47.3(2).
• [ ] Sign and date it. An unsigned Statement does not count.

Then give the N15 and the attachment to your landlord, using a method permitted by RTA s. 191. The LTB plays no part at this stage, and it costs nothing.

For landlords receiving this

Step 1: keep it confidential

The law, in s. 47.4(1), makes silence mandatory. You cannot reveal to anyone, and that includes the other tenants, that an N15 exists, and you cannot pass on the notice, its attachment or what either says. Exceptions are limited to:

• your lawyer, or a licensed paralegal acting for you;
• an agent such as a superintendent or property manager, if their job requires it (the same duty then binds them);
• law enforcement, when it asks as part of an investigation;
• Ministry investigators looking into an offence under the Act;
• the LTB, where a proceeding asks whether the notice was properly given;
• anyone, if the tenant consents, if the information is already public, or if another law requires it.

Under s. 47.4(3), once a partial (s. 47.2) notice is in effect, the co-tenants who stay can learn exactly two facts: a notice of this kind was given, and the date it took effect.

Step 2: be careful with ads and showings

• Section 47.4(4): during the notice period, you may advertise, but the ad cannot refer to the unit or let a reader work out which unit it is.
• Section 47.1(5): no showings to would-be tenants until the departing tenant (or every joint tenant) is out, as the notice provides.

Step 3: handle the paperwork quietly

• Lock the documents away separately from everything else on the tenancy.
• Acknowledge that you got them, to the tenant alone.
• Leave the allegations alone; no questions.
• Abandoned belongings after move-out follow the usual s. 41(1) rules, though the N15 limits that to cases where no other tenant is still living there.

Step 4: know the penalties

Two offences apply: breaking the confidentiality rule in s. 47.4(1) (see s. 234(b.1)), and knowingly supplying false or misleading information connected with an N15 (see s. 233(d.1)). Section 238 now caps fines at $100,000 for individuals and $500,000 for corporations.

Defects a landlord may raise

Raise these carefully, and only with the people listed in Step 1:

1. Nothing attached. With no Statement and no qualifying order, s. 47.1(4)(b) is not met.
2. A stale or wrong order: issued more than 90 days before the notice, or not one of the three listed types.
3. An unsigned Statement, or one on something other than the LTB's approved form (paras. 1 and 6 of s. 47.3(5)).
4. Too short a notice period: under 28 days.
5. Reading a partial notice as the end of the whole tenancy. Wrong on two counts: s. 47.2(5) voids it for a departing tenant who is still there after the date, and s. 47.2(7) means it cannot support an L3.

After the termination date

When the tenant moves out on time, the tenancy, or that tenant's part of it, is over. Section 47.2(6) keeps a departing co-tenant on the hook for breaches from before the move. Where all tenants signed and yet nobody leaves, the form tells the landlord an eviction application to the LTB is available.

Fine amounts on the form are out of date

Both the N15 and the Statement (version 01/07/2022) still print the old caps: $50,000 (individual) and $250,000 (company). Section 238 of the RTA has since doubled them to $100,000 and $500,000, which the LTB confirmed in its operational update of July 1, 2026. Go by the statute rather than the form.

Questions people ask

As a landlord, can I ask for proof that the abuse happened?

No. Under the Act, the signed Statement is itself the proof, with no description of events and no names required. Even the LTB is limited to checking that the document is genuine and the correct kind; it cannot rule on whether the allegation is true.

As a tenant, do I have to tell my landlord what happened?

No. The Statement only asks you to tick the boxes that apply and sign. You do not need to describe events or name the person responsible.

My roommate is leaving with an N15. Will the landlord tell me why?

They are not allowed to; s. 47.4 names co-tenants expressly. After a partial notice takes effect, the most you can be told is that one was given and the date it ended your roommate's tenancy.

Official sources

• Residential Tenancies Act, 2006, ss. 26, 41, 43, 47.1–47.4, 191, 233, 234, 238
• N15 – Tenant's Notice to End my Tenancy Because of Fear of Sexual or Domestic Violence and Abuse (PDF)
• Tenant's Statement About Sexual or Domestic Violence and Abuse (PDF)
• Legislation Act, 2006, s. 89
• LTB Operational Update, July 1, 2026
• LTB Forms, filing and fees

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