The Ontario N12 Under the 2026 Rules: Ending a Tenancy So You, Your Family or a Buyer Can Move In

An Ontario landlord serves the N12, a Landlord and Tenant Board form, when the unit is wanted as a home for the landlord, a close relative or a caregiver, or because someone buying the property needs it for one of those people. Because the tenant has done nothing wrong, this is a "no-fault" notice, and the law is strict about who can be named, which termination date is allowed, when compensation is owed and how good faith is proven. The rules were changed on September 21, 2026, and earlier versions of the form stop being accepted as of November 30, 2026. Of all the LTB notices, the N12 is also the one most likely to be revisited after the tenant leaves, through a bad-faith claim.

At a glance

The two grounds

Two sections of the Residential Tenancies Act, 2006 (RTA) support the N12.

Reason 1: the landlord's own use

Under RTA s. 48, the landlord must need the unit in good faith for residential occupation lasting at least one year by:

• the landlord personally;
• the landlord's spouse;
• a parent or child of either the landlord or the landlord's spouse; or
• a caregiver (current or future) for any of those people, as long as the person receiving care lives or will live in the same building or group of related buildings, or the same land lease community or mobile home park.

Section 48(5) adds two conditions: an individual must own at least part of the unit, and the landlord must be an individual. A corporation cannot serve a Reason 1 notice.

Reason 2: the purchaser's own use

RTA s. 49 lets a seller who has signed a purchase agreement serve the notice on the buyer's behalf, where the buyer needs the unit in good faith for themselves or for the same circle of relatives and caregivers. It is available only if:

• the complex has no more than three residential units; or
• it is a condo unit (s. 49(2)).

Interpretation Guideline 12 notes that, unlike Reason 1, the statute sets no one-year occupancy requirement for the buyer's occupant.

Serving an N12 does not, by itself, end anything. If the tenant stays, the tenancy ends only through an LTB order on an L2.

Who qualifies, and when to use something else

Only the people listed above can be the intended occupant. Interpretation Guideline 12 says that siblings, grandchildren, aunts, uncles and cousins are not eligible. It also mentions the Court of Appeal's position that no N12 can come from an estate until it is known which individual is the landlord.

The N12 is the wrong notice:

• where the landlord is a corporation, or no individual owns the unit. Guideline 12 cites a case where a corporation moved a 1% stake to its shareholders just before an N12 was served, and that was found to be bad faith;
• for occasional or part-time use, like a pied-à-terre or an office, which is not "residential occupation" (Guideline 12);
• in the converted or severed buildings and co-ops covered by RTA s. 51 and the N12 instructions, for example a tenant in occupation at condominium registration (or when a proposed condo unit's sale agreement was made), a tenant in occupation when a severance was approved, and most equity co-ops;
• for renovation or demolition, which call for an N13; and
• for a buyer of a building of four or more units where the unit is not a condominium unit, since the application will be dismissed.

Time limits

• Minimum notice: the termination date must be 60 or more days out (RTA ss. 49(3), 48(2)).
• The 120-day route (Reason 1 only): compensation drops away if three things are true: the N12 was given from September 21, 2026 onward, the end date is 120 or more days out, and that date closes a rental period or fixed term (s. 48.1(2)).
• The day itself: the termination date has to be the final day of a rental period or, for a fixed-term lease, the final day of the term. Where rent is paid monthly on the 1st, the date has to be a month-end. An N12 cannot cut a lease short.
• Counting: the day of service is not counted (Rule 1.13). A mailed or Xpresspost notice counts as given five days after mailing (RTA s. 191(3)), which adds five days. For courier, add one business day: Rule 3.9 treats the notice as given the day after the courier takes it (or, when that day is a weekend or holiday, the next business day; Rule 1.1 treats Saturdays and Sundays as holidays), which is how the N12 instructions put it too.
• Worked examples (monthly tenancy, rent due on the 1st):
• Handed to the tenant on November 15, 2026. Sixty days later is January 14, 2027, so the earliest valid termination date is January 31, 2027. That is 77 days, short of 120, so compensation is owed.
• Same notice, aiming for no compensation under Reason 1. One hundred and twenty days from November 15, 2026 is March 15, 2027, so the earliest qualifying date is March 31, 2027 (136 days).
• Mailed on November 15, 2026 instead. It is deemed given on November 20, so the 60-day minimum runs to January 19, 2027 and January 31, 2027 still works. March 31, 2027 is 131 days from the deemed date and still clears 120.
• No flexibility: the Board has no power to change a notice period (O. Reg. 516/06, s. 56), and an early date makes the N12 defective with no possibility of amendment (Guideline 10).
• Compensation: must be paid no later than the termination date (RTA s. 55.1).
• The L2: file any time after service, up to 30 days past the termination date (RTA s. 69(2)). With a March 31, 2027 termination date, that is April 30, 2027.
• The declaration: filed together with the L2 (s. 71.1(1)). If a Portal upload at filing is impossible, Rule 4.5 allows 5 calendar days, after which dismissal is possible.
• After the tenant moves out (Reason 1): the named person is normally expected to be living there inside 60 days, counted from the termination date or from the tenant's actual departure where that came later (O. Reg. 240/26), and for a year or more. A T5 bad-faith claim by the former tenant can be filed for up to a year after they move out (s. 57(2)).

Completing the N12

The version currently on the LTB site is marked N12 (2026/10). The first two pages are a checklist to remove before serving, and the notice itself runs three pages.

Page 1: who, where and when

1. Tenants (the "To" line). Name all tenants in possession, correctly spelled, and any subtenant or assignee, but not guests or children. Every tenant must be given a copy.
2. Landlords (the "From" line). List each landlord by individual name; Reason 1 is only open to individuals.
3. Rental unit address. Include the suite or unit description ("Basement", "Unit 2"), street, municipality and postal code.
4. Termination date (dd/mm/yyyy). One date, calculated as described above.

Page 1: the reason

Shade a single reason.

• Reason 1: write in the future occupant's name and tick their relationship to you (yourself, your spouse, your or your spouse's child, your or your spouse's parent). If the occupant is a caregiver, tick the box in the care-services row for the person who will be cared for.
• Reason 2: write in the future occupant's name and tick the purchaser box that fits: the buyer, the buyer's spouse, a child or parent of the buyer or of the buyer's spouse, or a caregiver for any of them.

The form states that only one intended occupant has to be identified. If others will also live there, you can list them on an attached page with their relationship boxes checked; Guideline 12 confirms that is optional.

Page 2: the LTB's information for the tenant

Do not alter this text. It tells the tenant how termination dates work, when compensation is owed (and the 120-day exception), and that an N9 giving 10 days' notice lets them leave sooner.

Page 3: signing

• Shade Landlord or Representative, and give a first name, last name and phone number.
• Add your signature and the date.
• Representatives also fill in their own block, including any LSO licence number, company, contact details and mailing address.

Without a signature the notice may be invalid (checklist; RTA s. 43(1)(c)). The Office Use Only area stays blank.

Serving the tenants and paying compensation

Each tenant gets a copy, delivered by a method permitted under RTA s. 191 or Rule 3.1:

• handing it to the tenant, or to any adult in the unit;
• the mailbox, or wherever mail usually arrives;
• sliding it beneath the door or into the mail slot;
• courier, mail or Xpresspost; or
• email, but only where the tenant has given written consent to email service.

Posting the notice on the door is not permitted. Keep a copy and write down exactly how and when you served it, because the L2 must include a Certificate of Service where you attest to it.

Compensation. On a Reason 1 notice with less than 120 days, and on every Reason 2 notice, the tenant is owed one month's rent, paid on or before the termination date, or an alternative unit acceptable to them (ss. 49.1, 48.1). Under Reason 2 it is the seller, not the buyer, who owes it (s. 49.1(2)). Hold on to proof of payment, since the L2 asks when you paid and how much.

Errors that defeat an N12

1. A Reason 1 notice from a corporation. Barred by s. 48(5); no eviction can rest on it.
2. Naming someone who does not qualify, such as a brother or sister, a grandchild, an in-law or a friend. There is no ground at all, and amendment cannot create one.
3. A termination date that is early or falls on the wrong day. Under 60 days, the 15th of the month in a tenancy that runs from the 1st, a date before a fixed term ends, or forgetting the five days for mail: each makes the notice void. It cannot be fixed after service, and the LTB has no power to extend notice periods.
4. Wrongly assuming the 120-day rule removes compensation. The exemption is limited to Reason 1, to notices given from September 21, 2026, and to dates both 120 or more days away and on the last day of a period or term. At 119 days, or on any buyer's notice, one month's rent is owed. Until it is paid, s. 83(4) stops the LTB from making an eviction order, and Guideline 12 says an application where the termination date passed unpaid will be dismissed unless circumstances are exceptional.
5. Leaving a tenant out. Guideline 10 requires naming and serving everyone in possession; a missing co-tenant can sink the eviction.
6. An L2 without the declaration or affidavit of the person moving in. Section 71.1(2) requires the LTB to refuse it.
7. Failing to disclose every N12 or N13 you served in the last two years, for any unit. Refusal follows under s. 71.1(3)–(4). According to Guideline 12, the Court of Appeal has held that if an undisclosed earlier notice comes out at the hearing, the application is dismissed and cannot be amended.
8. No signed sale behind a buyer's N12. The purchase agreement must already exist when you serve. A shaky or sham-looking deal can lead the LTB to refuse or delay eviction (Guideline 12). The tenant and the LTB should each have the agreement a week or more before the hearing.
9. A buyer's N12 for a non-condo unit in a complex of four or more units. Section 49(1) does not allow it, and dismissal follows.
10. Filing the L2 too late. Past the 30 days after the termination date, s. 69(2) bars the application, with no extension available.
11. Door posting, or email without written consent. Such service is defective unless you prove the tenant really got the notice in time (s. 191(2)).
12. An outdated form. Older N12 versions are refused from November 30, 2026.
13. No genuine plan to move in. Good faith is assessed at service and afterwards, including your conduct after serving (Guideline 12). Changing plans, listing the unit, or offering to let the tenant stay at a higher rent all count against you, and the same conduct can later support a T5.

After service

1. The tenant may go early, on 10 days' written notice using an N9, or simply leave by the termination date. Either way the tenancy is over.
2. If the tenant stays, your L2 package is: - the fee; - the N12 and its Certificate of Service; - the occupant's declaration or affidavit; - details of compensation paid; and - disclosure of earlier N12s and N13s.

At the hearing that follows, the burden is on you to show good faith, on the civil standard. The evidence you put in at that hearing is the record any later review or T5 will be measured against. 3. At the hearing, the LTB also has to consider whether to refuse or postpone eviction under RTA s. 83. For N12 and N13 files from September 21, 2026, a delay you oppose is possible only if the LTB finds it would not be unfair to you or to the other tenants (O. Reg. 516/06, s. 8.4). No eviction order can take effect earlier than the N12's termination date. On a no-fault N12, Guideline 12 says the tenant is not usually ordered to cover your filing fee. 4. Once the tenant has left (Reason 1), the named person should be in within 60 days of the later of the termination date and the tenant's actual departure, and stay for a year or more. Under RTA s. 57(5), bad faith is presumed if, from the day of service until a year after the tenant leaves, you do any of the following: - advertise the unit to rent; - lease it to another person; - market the unit or building for sale; - tear it down; or - take a step toward a non-residential conversion.

A successful T5 can bring an administrative fine and orders for moving costs, the rent difference, and general compensation of as much as 12 months' rent (s. 57(3)).

Recent changes

All of the following took effect on September 21, 2026:

• No compensation with 120 days' notice (Reason 1 only): applies to N12s served from then on whose end date is 120 or more days out and closes a period or term (RTA s. 48.1(2)). Buyers' N12s still carry one month's rent.
• Presumption tied to a 60-day move-in (Reason 1 only) (O. Reg. 240/26; RTA s. 57(6.1)). The count starts at the termination date or, where the tenant overstayed, the day they actually left. Because it governs any T5 filed from September 21, 2026 (s. 57(7)), N12s served earlier can be caught too.
• Delays of eviction. For N12 and N13 files, s. 8.4 of O. Reg. 516/06 applies the "not unfair" test (to the landlord or other tenants) alone.
• A revised form, now marked 2026/10; prior versions are refused from November 30, 2026.

Frequently asked questions

Is one month's rent still payable on an N12?

It depends. Serve a Reason 1 N12 from September 21, 2026 with an end date 120 or more days away that closes a rental period or term, and nothing is owed. For anything shorter, and for every buyer's notice, the tenant gets one month's rent by the termination date, or another unit they accept.

May I serve an N12 so my grandchild or my brother can live there?

No. The intended occupant must be you, your spouse, a child or parent of yours or your spouse's, or a qualifying caregiver. Guideline 12 expressly rules out grandchildren, siblings, aunts, uncles and cousins.

My company owns the property. Can it serve an N12?

Not on Reason 1, which needs an individual as landlord and an individual owning at least part of the unit (RTA s. 48(5)). Selling to a qualifying buyer, a corporation can still use Reason 2 when the other conditions are satisfied.

Must the person moving in swear an affidavit?

Yes, or sign a declaration, which the LTB accepts instead. Whoever will personally live there must state that they need the unit in good faith for their own use (for a year or more on Reason 1). Without it attached to the L2, the application is refused.

Official sources

• N12 form (PDF, 2026/10)
• N12 Instructions
• L2 Instructions
• Residential Tenancies Act, 2006, ss. 48–51, 55.1, 57, 69, 71.1, 72, 83 and 191
• O. Reg. 240/26: Prescribed Period of Time
• O. Reg. 516/06 (General)
• Interpretation Guideline 12: Eviction for Personal Use
• Interpretation Guideline 10: Procedural Issues Regarding Eviction Applications
• LTB Rules of Procedure
• LTB Operational Update, September 21, 2026