Ontario renters, if an N12 lands on your door
N12 "landlord's own use" eviction: what the notice has to get right.
An N12 lets a landlord (or a purchaser) take a unit back for their own residential use. But the notice has to clear several legal hurdles, and you have more options than most tenants realize — including the right to simply stay and make the landlord prove it.
60 days' notice, and genuine intent to live there a year
An N12 requires at least 60 days' notice. The landlord must also genuinely intend to occupy the unit for residential purposes for at least one year — a notice served just to get you out so the unit can be re-rented higher is not a valid N12.
RTA ss.48, 49
Compensation: one month's rent — with a new exception
The default is one month's rent (or an acceptable alternative unit). But as of September 21, 2026, an N12 for the landlord's own use with at least 120 days' notice, ending at the end of a rental period, requires no compensation. N12s for a purchaser's use still require it. Check which section your notice cites and how much notice you actually got.
RTA s.48.1(2) (in force Sept 21, 2026) · s.49
You don't have to move just because you got the notice
A notice alone does not end your tenancy if you stay. The landlord must apply to the Landlord and Tenant Board and obtain an eviction order, which is then enforced through the Sheriff — never by lock changes, threats, or utility shutoffs. Alternatively, if you'd rather go, you can leave early on just 10 days' notice after receiving an N12.
RTA s.37 · ss.81, 85 · s.48(3)–(4)
Bad faith has real consequences
If the landlord didn't actually move in — or re-rented the unit soon after — you can apply to the Board on Form T5. Remedies may include your rent differential for a year after vacating, general compensation of up to 12 months' rent even without proven expenses, reasonable moving and storage costs, and an administrative fine against the landlord. This covers both landlord's-use and purchaser's-use notices, and N13 renovation notices too.
RTA s.57
Watch the one-year deadline
A T5 application for bad-faith eviction must be filed within one year of vacating — after that, the Board can't hear it. (Separately, the window for right-of-first-refusal claims after renovation evictions was extended in September 2026, but the T5 one-year limit itself did not change.) If you suspect bad faith, don't sit on it.
RTA s.57(2) · s.57.1(2)
Eviction language hides in leases too.
Some leases contain termination clauses that go further than the Act allows. Run your lease through the free analyzer and find out which of its clauses may conflict with the RTA before you ever need them tested.
General information, not legal advice. Rules summarized from the Residential Tenancies Act (Ontario); individual situations vary. Community legal clinics (legalaid.on.ca) give free advice if you need it.