Received or Serving an N6? Illegal Acts and False RGI Income, Explained in Steps

An Ontario landlord serves the N6 to end a tenancy for one of two kinds of wrongdoing. Either someone living in the unit broke the law at the property (an offence, or an unlawful business), or a tenant in rent-geared-to-income (RGI) housing gave false figures about household income. For the landlord, it is a notice with no cure period, so an L2 application can follow right away. For the tenant, it means there is nothing to "fix" to cancel it, but you can still dispute it at the hearing. Getting the termination date right (10, 14 or 20 days, depending on the reason) is where most N6 notices succeed or fail.

The N6 at a glance

The two legal grounds behind the N6

Two provisions of the Residential Tenancies Act, 2006 (RTA) support the notice.

Ground 1: illegal acts and illegal businesses (s. 61). Notice is available when, in the unit or elsewhere in the residential complex, a tenant or occupant commits an illegal act or runs an illegal trade, business or occupation, or lets someone else do one of those things.

• Reason 1 on the form covers the production of an illegal drug, trafficking, or possession for the purpose of trafficking. Here the termination date can fall as early as day 10.
• Reason 2 is every other illegal act or business, and the earliest date is day 20.
• Section 61(3) borrows its drug vocabulary ("illegal drug," "production," "trafficking," "possession") from the federal Controlled Drugs and Substances Act.

Ground 2: misstated income in social housing (s. 60). Reason 3 applies only in social housing of the types listed in RTA s. 7(1), paragraphs 1 to 4. The tenant must have misstated their own income, or that of others in the household, knowingly and materially. The termination date is 20 days out or later.

The 14-day second notice. Reasons 2 and 3 drop to 14 days under s. 68 if two things are true: the tenant already received a voidable N5 (a notice under s. 62, 64 or 67), and the fresh conduct took place after the first 7 days following that N5 but before 6 months had passed. Section 68 does not cover drug activity, which in any case already has the form's shortest period.

No way to void it. The tenant has no correction period under the RTA. Section D of the posted N6 instructions contains wording about voiding a first N5; that wording has no application to an N6.

Is the N6 the right notice? A short checklist

Reach for the N6 when the conduct is itself against the law, such as a drug operation or drug sales from the unit, a business run in breach of some law, or any other offence on the property. Keep Reason 3 for RGI units, and then only for a deliberate misstatement that mattered.

Before you serve, rule out these other routes:

• [ ] Was someone's safety seriously impaired (an assault or a fire hazard, for example)? That is the N7, with 10 days' notice. Guideline 10 says two notices about one event are acceptable unless together they would confuse a reasonable tenant.
• [ ] Is it a nuisance, not an offence? For substantial interference, see the N5 instead.
• [ ] Did an RGI tenant just stop qualifying for assistance? Losing eligibility is not a reason to end a tenancy (RTA s. 58(3)). Unpaid rent at the new lawful amount is handled with the N4.
• [ ] Do you only want the rent the tenant should have paid? Where you are not seeking eviction, the N6 instructions point to the L9. Guideline 10 adds that the L2 can carry this claim even without a termination notice.

Choosing the termination date

Step 1: find the minimum notice for each reason you are checking.

Step 2: if you are checking more than one reason, use the longest. Both the N6 instructions and Guideline 10 say that once Reason 2 or 3 sits beside Reason 1, you count the longer period.

Step 3: count correctly. Leave out the day the notice is given and count the termination date itself (Rule 1.13). For mail, add 5 days (s. 191(3)). Courier: the notice is treated as given the day after you hand it to the courier, pushed to the following business day if that falls on a weekend or holiday (Rule 3.9; Rule 1.1 counts Saturdays and Sundays as holidays). No notice period can be shortened by the LTB.

Step 4: plan the L2. You may apply the moment the N6 has been given (s. 71). The outside limit is 30 days past the termination date (s. 69(2)), after which the N6 is void (s. 46(1)).

Worked example. On Tuesday, February 9, 2027, a landlord hands an N6 to the tenant for trafficking only (Reason 1). The earliest termination date is Friday, February 19, 2027. If the same notice goes by mail that day instead, 5 days are added, and the earliest date becomes Wednesday, February 24, 2027. Had the landlord checked Reason 2 as well, as a first notice handed over on February 9, the 20-day rule applies and the earliest date is Monday, March 1, 2027.

Completing the N6, step by step

Download today's version from the LTB forms page, with the official instructions beside you. The checklist is for you, not the tenant: remove it before service.

Step 1: To, From and Address of Rental Unit

• To (Tenant's name): each person in possession as a tenant, plus any assignee or subtenant.
• From (Landlord's name): yourself, or all the landlords if there are several.
• Address of Rental Unit: street number and street, unit/apt./suite, municipality and postal code.

Step 2: Termination date

Enter one specific day (dd/mm/yyyy). It has to clear the longest period among your checked reasons after any mail or courier days are added. Beneath it, the form tells the tenant that you can apply to the LTB right away.

Step 3: My Reason(s) for Ending your Tenancy

Tick every box that applies:

• Reason 1 is your belief that, at the residential complex, the tenant or a member of their household was involved in drug production, trafficking or possession for trafficking, or allowed another person to be.
• Reason 2 is the same kind of belief about some other illegal act or business.
• Reason 3 is your belief that a tenant in an RGI unit gave false income information about themselves or family members living there.

Step 4: Details About the Reasons for this Notice

Each event gets its own row in the Date/Time and Details of the Events table. Following the form's checklist, make sure you include:

• [ ] Every reason: when it happened (date and time), what happened, and the person responsible. It must have occurred in the residential complex, by a tenant or occupant; where a visitor was the one acting, describe how the tenant or occupant allowed it.
• [ ] Reason 1: the drug, and the person who produced it, sold it or held it to sell.
• [ ] Reason 2: what the act or business was, who committed or allowed it, and the specific law it broke.
• [ ] Reason 3: the dollar amount of the misstatement and your arithmetic. Confirm the unit is s. 7(1), paragraphs 1 to 4 social housing.

Extra pages are fine; they are served as part of the notice.

Step 5: Signature and Representative Information

Mark whether you are the Landlord or a Representative, add your name and telephone number, and sign with the date. Representatives complete their own block too: name, LSO number if they have one, firm or company, mailing address, phone and email.

Serving the N6

Methods the N6 instructions allow:

1. putting it in the hands of the tenant or of an adult in the unit;
2. placing it in the mailbox, or the spot where mail usually arrives;
3. pushing it through the mail slot or beneath the door;
4. fax;
5. courier;
6. mail or Xpresspost; and
7. email, but only if the tenant has agreed in writing (Rule 3.1).

Do not post it on the door; that method is not permitted.

Every tenant gets one; you keep a copy. Complete a Certificate of Service. Rules 4.4 and 4.5 require the notice and certificate to be uploaded when you file the L2, or no more than 5 calendar days later.

Twelve errors that can sink an N6

Under Guideline 10, a flawed N6 cannot be amended once served. Small mistakes may be forgiven under RTA s. 212 where they do not significantly prejudice the tenant. Tenants reviewing a notice they received can use the same list.

1. Ten days on the wrong reason. The 10-day date belongs to drug production, trafficking and possession for trafficking alone. Other offences, RGI misreporting, and any combination that includes Reason 2 or 3 need 20 days, or 14 for a genuine second notice.
2. Fourteen days with no qualifying first notice. You need a prior voidable N5 under s. 62, 64 or 67, and the new conduct must land in the window that opens 7 days after it and closes at 6 months.
3. Treating plain possession as trafficking. Under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act meanings, Reason 1 reaches production, trafficking, and possession for the purpose of trafficking, nothing more. If the proof shows only simple possession, Reason 1 and the 10-day date fall away.
4. Not naming the law. The Reason 2 checklist asks for the law that was broken. A bare "illegal activity" does not tell the tenant what they must answer.
5. The act was elsewhere. Section 61 only reaches conduct in the unit or the residential complex.
6. Silence about a guest. When a visitor was the actor, the notice must show the tenant or an occupant permitted it.
7. Reason 3 in the wrong housing, or without figures. Only s. 7(1), paragraphs 1 to 4 social housing qualifies, and the misstatement has to be knowing and material. Show the amount and how you got it.
8. Using the N6 for lost eligibility. That is barred by s. 58(3). If the tenant then fails to pay the new lawful rent, serve an N4.
9. A late L2. Filing beyond 30 days from the termination date means dismissal (s. 69(2)).
10. A confusing mix of notices. Guideline 10 records cases where serving a voidable N5 along with a non-voidable N6 or N7 about the same conduct led the LTB to treat all of them as defective.
11. Missing the basics. Name and serve each tenant in possession, give the complete unit address, use an allowed delivery method, and sign.
12. An out-of-date form. The N6 was revised on September 21, 2026. From November 30, 2026, older versions will be turned away.

After the notice: what each side can expect

Landlord's next step. Your application is the L2, filed through the Tribunals Ontario Portal with the notice and Certificate of Service attached; $186 there, $201 by other means. Guideline 10 lets you add the rent shortfall caused by misreported income to that same L2, with your calculation.

At the hearing. Evidence is what proves the offence or the false income report; the tenant can contest it. When eviction is ordered on Reason 1, RTA s. 84 requires the order to request faster enforcement from the Sheriff. On any reason, s. 83 obliges the LTB to think about refusing or postponing eviction. If the landlord does not agree to a postponement, O. Reg. 516/06, s. 8.4 now demands compelling grounds and that the delay not be unfair to the landlord or to other tenants.

After the order. Orders dated July 1, 2026 or later can be reviewed on a request made within 15 days, by either side.

Recent changes

• September 21, 2026: new N6 version; the LTB stops taking older versions on November 30, 2026.
• September 21, 2026: tougher test before an eviction can be postponed over the landlord's objection.
• July 1, 2026: review requests on orders from that day forward are due in 15 days instead of 30.

None of the notice periods (10, 14, 20 days) changed.

Frequently asked questions

I am a tenant. If I stop the activity, is the notice cancelled?

No. An N4 or a first N5 can be cured, but an N6 cannot, and the landlord may file the L2 the day it is served. Your chance to contest it comes at the hearing.

Must the police have laid a charge, or a court convicted anyone?

Not under the wording of ss. 60 and 61, which ask only whether a tenant or occupant did the act or allowed it. Proof of the act at the hearing is still needed. Because the LTB has no published N6 guidance on what weight a charge or conviction carries, landlords are better off bringing direct evidence than leaning on a charge.

The landlord ticked Reasons 1 and 2. What is the earliest valid date?

Whichever period is longest. Adding Reason 2 or 3 to Reason 1 brings in their rule: 20 days, or 14 where the second-notice conditions are met.

Is an N6 the way to deal with RGI rent arrears?

Only if there was misrepresentation. Honest reporting followed by loss of RGI eligibility is no ground to end the tenancy; if the higher rent goes unpaid, the landlord serves an N4. Reason 3 is reserved for income that was misstated knowingly and materially.

Official sources

• N6 form (PDF)
• N6 Instructions
• Residential Tenancies Act, 2006, ss. 43, 46, 58(3), 60, 61, 68, 69, 71, 83, 84, 191, 212
• O. Reg. 516/06, s. 8.4
• Interpretation Guideline 10: Procedural Issues Regarding Eviction Applications
• LTB Rules of Procedure
• LTB Operational Update, September 21, 2026
• Certificate of Service (PDF)
• 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.