T5 Bad-Faith Eviction Application in Ontario: A Two-Sided Guide Under the 2026 Rules

Ontario's T5 belongs to tenants who are already gone. An N12 or N13 got them out; now they suspect the reason given was never real, and they want the Landlord and Tenant Board (LTB) to say so. A second use: a renovation tenant who claimed the right to return and was shut out. Tenants use it to seek compensation; landlords (and sometimes purchasers) defend it. A new version of the form arrived on September 21, 2026, along with a new move-in presumption for N12s.

Quick summary

What a T5 is about

The Residential Tenancies Act, 2006 (RTA), s. 57(1), gives the LTB power to act in three scenarios:

All three share a causation requirement: the notice (or an application or order resting on it) is what made the tenant leave.

Then there's s. 57.1, a stand-alone fourth claim. A tenant who told the landlord in writing, under s. 53, that they'd be coming back after the renovation — and was denied that first refusal — can apply.

What "bad faith" means. No genuine plan to do the thing the notice described. Proving every element is ordinarily the tenant's job; the presumptions below move that job to the landlord in defined cases.

When the law presumes bad faith

Own-use N12s only (s. 48). Either trigger below creates a presumption of bad faith, which the landlord can displace only by proof on a balance of probabilities.

A. The 60-day test. For a T5 filed from September 21, 2026: did any s. 48(1) person take up residence within the O. Reg. 240/26 period (s. 57(6.1), (7))? That period ends:

• tenant left on or before the N12 termination date → 60 days after the termination date;
• tenant stayed past it → 60 days after the day they actually left.

B. Conduct inconsistent with personal use. Any of these by the landlord, at any point from N12 service to one year after move-out (s. 57(5)–(6)): a for-rent ad for the unit; a new tenant in it; a for-sale ad for the unit or the building; demolition; or moves toward a non-residential use.

Neither presumption reaches a purchaser's N12 or an N13.

Example. An own-use N12 in Ottawa ends the tenancy on Wednesday, March 31, 2027. If the tenant leaves on Friday, March 26, the window closes 60 days after March 31, on May 30, 2027. If the tenant stays until Thursday, April 15, it closes on Monday, June 14, 2027.

First refusal — when the landlord is deemed to have failed (s. 57.1(1.1))

• Silence. Tenant's return notice dated September 21, 2026 or later, and no prompt written word from the landlord on the expected ready date, revisions to it, and actual readiness (s. 53(2.1)); or
• Too little time. Unit ready September 21, 2026 or later, but the tenant got fewer than 60 days from readiness to come back (s. 53(2.2)).

Before you file: is the T5 the right tool?

• Still living in the unit? No T5. Bad-faith arguments get made at the landlord's L2 hearing instead.
• Just never got the compensation? Claim it on a T1 — or in the T5 itself, if the request is spelled out.
• The person moved in on time and stayed a year or more? According to the instructions, Reason 1 isn't available.

Your deadlines

1. Reasons 1–3 (s. 57(2)): 12 months, counted from the move-out day.
2. Reason 4 (s. 57.1(2)): two dates — the move-out's second anniversary, and half a year past completion of the renovation or repair. The later one governs. This has applied since September 21, 2026, including to pending cases not yet finally decided (s. 57.1(3)), and people tossed out as late under the former rule may reapply (s. 57.1(4)).
3. Past findings of good faith. They don't bind the LTB (s. 57(4)); per Guideline 12, consent orders don't block a T5 either.

Reason 4 example. A tenant leaves for renovations on Tuesday, June 30, 2026. The work is finished Friday, September 15, 2028. Two years after leaving is June 30, 2028; six months after completion is Thursday, March 15, 2029. The later date — March 15, 2029 — is the deadline.

Completing the form (2026/09 version)

Six pages and an information sheet.

Part 1 — General Information. Address of the old unit; related file numbers; each ex-tenant's name, contact details, present address and contact preference (choose email and you consent to LTB email service); landlord information; the date you left. Extra people — tenants, landlords, and especially any purchaser — are listed on the T5 Schedule of Parties. Per the instructions, an unnamed purchaser can leave the hearing unable to proceed.

Part 2 — Reasons. Four boxes (landlord-use N12 / buyer-use N12 / N13 work never done / denied return after renovation), with a "Describe in Detail" space below.

Part 3 — Remedies. Abatement; administrative fine to the LTB; twelve months of rent differential; moving and storage costs; general compensation capped at a year's rent; other relief (for instance against a purchaser, or returning to the unit).

Part 4 — Signature and any representative's details; then payment.

For tenants filing this

• [ ] You've moved out, and it was because of the notice (or an application or order based on it).
• [ ] You're inside the deadline for your reason.
• [ ] If the N12 was for a purchaser, the purchaser is on the T5 Schedule of Parties.
• [ ] You've checked whether a presumption helps (landlord's-own-use N12s with a T5 filed from September 21, 2026).
• [ ] Filing route chosen: Portal at $48; mail, courier or a ServiceOntario location at $53. Group filing for several units: $53 + $5 per additional unit, $450 cap, paper only. Fee waivers exist.

Respondents receive the Notice of Hearing from the LTB (Rule 5.1).

For landlords receiving this

1. Run the dates. One year after move-out ends Reasons 1–3. Reason 4 needs both of its dates calculated, and the later one used.

2. See if a presumption is in play. Own-use N12 and a T5 filed September 21, 2026 or later? Calculate the 60-day O. Reg. 240/26 window. A late move-in, or advertising, re-renting or listing within the s. 57(6) period, puts the burden of proving good faith on you.

3. Prove real occupation (N12). ID showing the new address; utility, insurance and mail records for the occupant; movers' bills; proof the old home was sold or given up; and reasons for any lag or for an early departure. Section 48(1) requires an intention to live there for a year or longer.

4. Prove the work (N13). Permits, contractor agreements, bills, the timetable, photos with dates, and when it all wrapped up. If first refusal is in issue: the tenant's return notice, copies of each written update (projected date, revisions, the it's-ready letter) and evidence of a 60-day-plus return window.

5. Purchaser N12s. Buyers aren't immune: per the Court of Appeal, the LTB may find the buyer acted in bad faith and make the buyer pay, and Guideline 12 lets it divide liability with the seller. If you sold, retain the buyer's declaration and all messages about their intentions.

6. Compensation. Any amount owed under s. 48.1, 49.1, 52, 54 or 55 had to be paid on or before the termination date (s. 55.1) — bring the proof. Exception: no compensation on a landlord's-own-use N12 served from September 21, 2026 that gave 120+ days and ended on a period's or term's last day (s. 48.1(2)).

7. Evidence timing. A week before the hearing; reply evidence 5 days before (Rules 19.1–19.2).

8. What you could owe (s. 57(3)). Rent differential for a year, general compensation of as much as 12 months' rent, moving/storage, an abatement, an administrative fine (ceiling: $10,000 or the Small Claims Court limit if greater), or other suitable orders. $50,000 is the monetary limit given in the instructions.

Why T5 applications fail

1. Still a tenant. The T5 is closed to anyone who hasn't left.
2. Missed the limit for the reason relied on.
3. Buyer missing from a buyer-N12 case. Without them, the hearing may not proceed.
4. No causal link. Section 57 needs the move-out to result from the notice or what followed it. Leaving for unrelated reasons, or before any notice existed, can defeat the claim.
5. Relying on the wrong presumption. Purchaser N12s and N13s get no 60-day presumption; neither do T5s filed before September 21, 2026.
6. No fee, no waiver. The LTB won't accept it.

After filing

A hearing follows. Where the LTB finds bad faith or a first-refusal breach, the order spells out remedies and who is responsible, a named buyer included. Review: request it within 15 days for orders from July 1, 2026 onward (Request to Review an Order). Appeal: Divisional Court, questions of law, 30 days (s. 210).

What changed in 2026

September 21, 2026 brought four things: form 2026/09 (earlier versions stop being accepted November 30, 2026); the 60-day presumption for own-use N12s plus fresh first-refusal obligations; a longer Reason 4 limit; and a revised Guideline 12. Source: the LTB Operational Update. See also the N12, N13 and L2 pages.

Questions people ask

After an own-use N12, how quickly does someone have to move in?

"A reasonable time" is the legal test, and the occupant must plan to stay at least a year. On top of that, a T5 filed September 21, 2026 or later benefits from a presumption of bad faith if the named person isn't in by day 60 — measured from the termination date, or from the tenant's actual (later) departure. The presumption is rebuttable.

The L2 ended in a consent order. Is a T5 still possible?

It is. Section 57(4) lets the LTB find bad faith regardless of a prior good-faith finding, and Guideline 12 confirms consent orders aren't a bar.

Does the 60-day presumption cover a purchaser's N12?

No — s. 57(6.1) speaks only to s. 48 own-use notices. Buyer cases still ask two things: was the move-in reasonably prompt, and was the notice genuine?

Official sources

• Residential Tenancies Act, 2006, ss. 48–57.1, 135, 207, 210
• O. Reg. 240/26, Prescribed Period of Time
• T5 Instructions
• T5 application (PDF)
• T5 Schedule of Parties (PDF)
• Interpretation Guideline 12
• LTB Rules of Procedure, Rules 5.1, 19, 26
• LTB Operational Update, September 21, 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.