The following is not and should not be construed as legal advice. If you are looking for legal assistance with a housing matter, you can book a free 15 or paid 60 minute consultation here. And if you just want to keep up with our work (including posts like this one), subscribe to the Green Economy Law Monthly Newsletter here.

Regardless of whether you’re providing or receiving an N12 eviction notice form, understanding your rights and obligations under Ontario residential tenancy law is crucial. In Part 1 of this guide, we will help you navigate the first segment of the N12 eviction process: the N12 notice form.

Below, you’ll find strategic advice for landlords on how not to mess up the form, and for tenants, advice regarding what to do if you receive an N12. Though in addition to what we’ve written, you should also review the Ontario Landlord and Tenant Board (LTB)’s official instructions regarding N12s.

What is an N12?

An N12 is the notice form issued when a landlord intends to reclaim their rental unit for personal use. 

It is the first step of the eviction process, and must be completed properly before an L2 eviction form can be filed - a subject we cover in Part 2 of this guide.

Who and What Qualifies for an N12?

Landlords can issue an N12 for personal use of a property by themself, an eligible family member (such as a spouse, parent, or child), or a caregiver of one of the foregoing. 

This person must intend to reside in the unit on a full time basis for at least one (1) full year following the eviction. If the use is intended to be transient or infrequent (e.g., vacation home), it will not qualify for the purposes of an N12. 

An N12 may also be issued by a landlord on behalf of a purchaser who intends to occupy the property post-sale, provided that in this scenario, the property contains no more than 3 residential units. Note that this 3-unit limitation does not apply outside of an eviction-for-purchaser scenario.

How Do I Complete an N12 Form?

Here are the main things to know when completing an N12 form:

• Tenants: Include all tenant names in the box where indicated. These are the names of the tenants per the lease, unless the lease has been amended in respect of the current tenants. If there is no lease (and you should have one, ideally the Ontario standard lease), the tenants are presumably whoever you agreed to lease the unit to, or whoever is now paying you rent to live in the unit. Admittedly, the question of “who are the tenants” can get a little complicated depending on circumstances.

• Address: Include the full address of the rental unit where indicated. If a tenant occupies a unit in a property with several units, indicate the unit number (e.g., B1) or otherwise where it is (e.g., basement unit). Include the city, and while you’re at it, throw in the province and postal code. Failure to write the full address may lead to instant dismissal of an application. 

• Termination Date: Fill in a termination date that is at least 60 days following the date you give the N12 to the tenant (more on this below). If you’re going to mail the form, add 5 days. The termination date must also be on the last day of the rental period. So if the tenant pays rent on the first of the month, the last day of the rental period is the last day of the month. If they pay on the 15th of the month, the last day of the rental period is the 14th of the month. Note, however, that the tenancy will not actually terminate on this date if the tenant chooses to remain and challenge the N12. In this scenario, only the Landlord and Tenant Board (LTB) can terminate the lease. 

• Intended Occupant: Even if more than one person plans to move in (e.g., you, your spouse, a child, and a parent), only shade one box for one person. Otherwise, you may create technical complications that could mess up your application.

• Signature: Don’t forget to sign and date the form.

If you’re a tenant, and the landlord messes up any of the requirements above, you can attack the notice as being defective. Defective notices cannot be corrected following service, and often result in immediate dismissal of the applicable application. 

If you’re a landlord and you mess any of the foregoing up, at the hearing you can ask the LTB to overlook the mistake pursuant to s. 212 of the Residential Tenancies Act (RTA), which states that “[s]ubstantial compliance with this Act respecting the contents of forms, notices or documents is sufficient.”

However, the LTB will have discretion whether to regard a notice or other document as being ‘substantially compliant’ or not. So generally, if you realize you messed up a notice soon after serving it, you may be better off just re-serving a corrected notice and starting the process again. But if you served the N12 some time ago, you may wish to weigh this decision more carefully.

How Do I Serve an N12?

The main thing landlords need to know about serving an N12 is that it must be done physically. It cannot just be emailed or texted to tenants, though it is prudent to provide both physical and digital copies of the notice. You’ll need to keep some kind of copy of your completed N12 in any event, and a digital version is ideal.

In terms of physical service options, landlords can:

• hand it to the tenant or another adult in the rental unit;

• leave it in the tenant's mailbox;

• place it under the door of the rental unit or through a mail slot in the door;

• fax it to the tenant;

• send it by courier; or

• send it by regular mail (if mailed, it’s regarded as served 5 days from the day sent).

Do not post it on the door of the unit. 

Once you’ve served the notice, complete a certificate of service form to document it. You’ll need to submit this to the LTB with your L1 application. If someone else served the notice on your behalf, have them complete and sign it. 

What should I do if I receive an N12?

You can either move out in accordance with it, or stay to challenge it at an LTB hearing. 

To enforce the N12, the landlord will have to file an L2. Right after it’s filed, the LTB should give everyone access information for their online LTB portal file. The LTB will then set a hearing date, and provide notice to the parties of such (presumably by email).

At the hearing, the tenant will have a chance to challenge the N12. The tenant does not have to do anything other than submit their evidence at least 7 days before the hearing (preferably in a form compliant with the LTB’s practice directions regarding evidence submissions) and appear before the LTB at the scheduled date and time to present their argument. 

Tenants are entirely within their rights not to vacate until ordered to by means of an LTB order. Landlords have no claim for damages or otherwise due to tenants’ refusal to vacate absent an LTB order, and any (groundless) threats of a claim against tenants for not departing following N12 service (absent an LTB order) may constitute harassment in violation of s. 23 of the RTA. 

Alternatively, the landlord and tenant(s) can come to an agreement whereby the tenant will agree to leave without a fight in exchange for cash or other benefits. This is commonly known as a ‘cash for keys’ agreement.

In another edition of this guide, we’ll discuss strategies for beating an N12 as a tenant more thoroughly.

One Month’s RENT Compensation

Landlords who serve tenants with an N12 in view of evicting them for personal use of a property must provide the tenants with compensation equivalent to one month of rent. This must be done before the termination date written in the N12, and landlords cannot say they’ll only pay after the tenants vacate the property.

If a landlord fails to provide one month’s compensation before the termination date in the notice form, tenants can ask the LTB to dismiss the application as defective at the hearing. However, the LTB has power to extend the timeline for payment of compensation pursuant to s. 190(2) of the RTA, and it does sometimes allows landlords to pay compensation at the hearing itself by e-transfer. Once again though, this is a matter of LTB discretion and not a landlord right. 

Though compensation can be provided by several means, including cheque, the two recommended means of providing compensation are by e-transfer or forgiveness (waiver) of one month’s rent, because in both cases it’s easy to provide evidence of compliance. Regarding cheques, it’s difficult to provide convincing evidence that a cheque was given to tenants in a timely manner, and the LTB frequently encounters disputes on this subject.

If one month’s rent compensation is paid by e-transfer, the landlord should screencap or export-as-PDF the transfer email, and submit it with their L2 application when filed (or otherwise upload it later). It doesn’t matter if the tenant accepts the e-transfer or not, as long as the landlord has made a good faith effort to pay.

If the landlord chooses to forgive (waive) one month’s rent - which may be preferable if the tenant is already in arrears - they should send the tenant an email explicitly stating that a particular month’s rent (prior to the termination date in the notice form) is being waived in lieu of N12 compensation. The landlord may even wish to note in the email that the LTB explicitly said this is acceptable for N12 compliance purposes in paragraph 9 of TNT-05879-18 (Re), 2018 CanLII 113853 (ON LTB). The landlord should submit a PDF copy of this email with the L2 application when filed (or upload it later).

Whether a tenant accepts the compensation or not makes no difference as to their ability to challenge the N12. Acceptance of this payment does not imply acceptance of eviction. However, if a tenant accepts the one month’s rent compensation, then defeats the N12/L2 at the hearing, they will have to repay said compensation to the landlord.

What Happens After N12 Service?

Once an N12 has been properly served, the landlord can file an L2 to move the eviction process forward. Landlords do not have to wait until after the termination date in N12 to file.

However, landlords may wish to wait until 5 (or even 6, to be safe) days following mailing of the N12 form so the LTB can’t say the L2 was filed before notice had been properly provided. But generally, it’s better for landlords to file sooner than later, as the LTB takes a long time to schedule hearings.

We cover how to file an L2 in Part 2 of the guide.

If you’re a landlord or tenant interested in booking a 15 minute free or 60 minute paid consultation with the firm to discuss having us help with your N12 matter, you can do so using the button below.