An Ontario landlord uses the N14, a Landlord and Tenant Board form, when a tenant who owed rent has left with no notice either way and no agreement to end things, while the tenant's spouse is still living in the unit. The notice puts the spouse to a choice within 15 days: agree in writing to pay the arrears and become the tenant, or be treated as an unauthorized occupant. No other tool puts a deadline on that decision, and the N14 itself has to be given within 45 days of the tenant's departure.
At a glance
| Used by | A landlord whose tenant left without notice and in arrears, leaving a spouse in the unit |
| Timing | Within 45 days of your best estimate of the move-out date |
| Response window | 15 days from the spouse's receipt of the N14, in writing |
| Delivery | Served on the spouse; the LTB does not get a copy |
| Cost | Nothing for the N14; a later A2 costs $201 |
| What may follow | If the spouse takes over and then falls behind, an N4; if not, the A2 Application about a Sublet or an Assignment against an unauthorized occupant |
How the N14 fits the law
A spouse who stays on after the tenant simply walks away can become the tenant by operation of law. Section 3(2) of O. Reg. 516/06 treats the spouse as a "tenant" where the unit is the spouse's principal residence and the tenant left with no notice and no termination agreement. Section 3(3) sets out the exceptions, and paragraph 4 of s. 3(3) refers to a "form approved by the Board". That form is the N14.
Where the tenant who left was behind on rent and you serve the spouse with an N14 inside the 45 days, the spouse will not become the tenant unless, within 15 days of receiving it, they both:
- let you know they intend to stay; and
- agree in writing to pay the arrears.
Doing both makes the spouse the tenant, with the agreement and the rent unchanged, as the form spells out.
The RTA definition of "spouse" applies (s. 2(1)). It covers a person married to the tenant, and a person in a conjugal relationship with the tenant who has lived with them for a year or more, shares a child with them as a parent, or has a cohabitation agreement with them.
Conditions for using it, and when not to
Page 1 of the form says every one of these must be true:
- the tenant left without serving a notice of termination, without being served one by you, and without agreeing to leave;
- the spouse is still living in the unit; and
- the tenant owes rent.
Choose another route when:
- You live in the building and it has no more than three units. Paragraph 1 of O. Reg. 516/06, s. 3(3) gives the spouse no right to become the tenant without your agreement, and the form tells you not to use the N14.
- There were no arrears. Here s. 3(3)3 applies: the spouse becomes the tenant unless they have not told you of their wish to stay by the time an order issues on a RTA s. 100 application. The A2 is the route.
- The 45 days have run out. A late N14 cannot trigger the 15 days (s. 3(3)5). Until an order is made, a written promise to pay the arrears plus a statement of intent to remain will still make the spouse the tenant. Your route is the A2.
- You are not certain the occupant is a spouse. The form says you can go straight to an A2, and the LTB will decide at a hearing.
- The spouse is gone within 60 days after the tenant left. Under s. 3(3)2 they never acquired tenant status, so there is nothing more to do.
- The tenant gave you notice or signed a termination agreement. Then s. 3(2) does not apply. The occupant's status turns on the particular facts, and whether the right application is an A2 or an L3 is something the LTB has not addressed in published guidance. Take advice first.
Time limits
- 45 days to serve. Paragraph 4 of O. Reg. 516/06, s. 3(3) allows 45 days from the date the tenant vacated; on the form, that date is the one on which you believe the move-out happened. This period cannot be extended by the LTB (s. 56, para. 21).
- 15 days for the spouse. The spouse's period runs from receipt. Under RTA s. 191(3), mail counts as received five days after it is sent, and the 15 days begin from that deemed date. This period is also beyond the LTB's power to extend.
- How to count. Under Rule 1.13 the starting day is not counted but the final day is. If the last day lands on a day the LTB is closed, it moves to the next day the LTB is open (Rule 1.14).
- The A2 deadline. According to the A2 instructions, the landlord's application against an unauthorized occupant is due within 60 days of discovering them (RTA s. 100(2)). There is no LTB statement on when that 60 days begins in an N14 situation: on learning that the tenant has gone, or when the spouse's 15 days expire. The cautious course is to count from the earlier of the two and file soon after the 15 days end.
Worked example. You believe the tenant moved out on March 2, 2027, so the N14 must be given by April 16, 2027. You mail it on Thursday, April 1. It is deemed received on Tuesday, April 6, the fifth day after mailing, and the spouse's 15 days end on Wednesday, April 21. Only from April 22 can you treat a silent spouse as an unauthorized occupant, and because the A2 timing question is unsettled, the safer approach is to file promptly after that.
Completing the N14
Version 01/04/2022 is current. Page 1 is an LTB information sheet addressed to the landlord; after it come the notice and the spouse's response form.
The notice itself
- To: (Tenant's name and address). The label is misleading. Put the spouse's name here, as the recipient, at the rental unit address. "Unknown" is accepted if you do not know the name.
- From (landlord). Your name, plus your full mailing address.
- Rental unit address. Everything: unit number, street, municipality, postal code.
- Departed tenant. The name of the person who left goes in the blank after "The tenant of the unit above".
- Rent owing. The dollar figure and the end date (dd/mm/yyyy) of the rental period it runs to. Rent arrears only: no NSF fees, utilities, damages or other charges. The spouse's promise covers only rent "lawfully owing", so calculate on the lawful rent.
- Move-out date. Your honest best estimate of when the tenant left. It sets your 45 days, so make it match your records.
- Current rent. The lawful amount and whether it is per month, week or day.
- Next due date. The date the next rent payment is owed.
Leave the three printed paragraphs explaining the spouse's options and consequences exactly as they are.
Signing
- Shade Landlord or Representative, print the signer's name and phone number, and sign and date.
- A representative fills in the representative information as well; the licence number field on this version is still headed "LSUC #".
The spouse's reply page (final page)
The spouse uses this page to reply. You complete only your name and the unit address and leave everything else blank. Serve it together with the notice, which instructs the spouse to sign it and send it back within 15 days.
Serving the spouse
Use a method permitted by RTA s. 191 or Rule 3.1:
- handing it to the spouse, or to any adult in the unit;
- placing it in the mailbox or wherever mail is normally delivered;
- sliding it under the door;
- mail or courier; or
- email, but only where the spouse has given prior written consent.
Write down how and when you served it. Should you later file an A2, the date of receipt has to be proven, since the spouse's 15 days are counted from it. If the spouse sends back the signed agreement, keep a copy; the form tells the spouse to keep one too.
Errors that sink an N14
- Serving after the 45 days. The 15-day clock never begins (s. 3(3)5), so the spouse can still take over the tenancy any time before an order. Any A2 relying on that N14 fails for the same reason.
- Serving when the tenant owed no rent. Without arrears there is no basis for the N14, and the spouse becomes the tenant unless they stay silent about remaining until an order is made.
- Serving in a small building (three units or fewer) that you live in. There the spouse had no right to remain to begin with; the form itself rules the N14 out.
- Serving where the tenant signed an N11, was served with your notice, or gave theirs. The tenant did not leave "without" those steps, so a precondition is missing.
- Inflating the arrears or including charges other than rent. The spouse need only agree to rent "lawfully owing". A wrong number lets the spouse argue the notice misled them, and it will not hold up on a later N4/L1.
- Starting the 15 days on the day you mailed it. A mailed N14 counts as given five days after it is sent, and an A2 filed before the spouse's time has really expired is premature.
- Rejecting a spouse who returns the signed agreement on time. That spouse now holds the existing tenancy, at the existing rent. Neither the form nor the regulation lets you insist on a new lease, more rent or a fresh deposit.
- Acting as if the spouse were a trespasser. You may not change the locks or remove belongings without an LTB order. Removing the spouse takes an A2 order, which the Sheriff enforces.
What comes next
- A signed agreement comes back in time. You have a new tenant. Unpaid arrears from that point are handled with an N4 and, if it comes to it, an L1, a consequence the N14 warns the spouse about.
- The spouse stays without responding. Your application is an A2 against an unauthorized occupant under Reason 1 (a transfer of the tenancy without consent). Where the spouse remains in possession when you file, add a claim for daily compensation for the time they stay. The fee is $201, and the LTB holds a hearing before making any order.
- The spouse moves out. The tenancy is over. You can pursue the departed tenant for the arrears, for instance through an L10.
Frequently asked questions
What does an N14 actually do?
It gives a departed tenant's spouse 15 days to take over the tenancy, by stating an intention to remain and committing in writing to the arrears. If the spouse does neither, the landlord can apply to have them removed as an unauthorized occupant.
What is my deadline for serving it?
Forty-five days from your estimated move-out date. Serve later and the 15-day period never starts; the spouse can then take over by agreeing at any point before an order issues.
Does the spouse sign a new lease?
No. Signing the agreement puts the spouse into the current tenancy, rent unchanged.
I do not know the spouse's name. Can I still serve it?
Yes, the form accepts "Unknown". If you doubt whether the occupant is a spouse at all, you may skip the N14, file an A2 and let the LTB decide at a hearing.
I live in my own duplex. Can I serve an N14?
No. Where you live in a building of three units or fewer, the spouse cannot become the tenant without your agreement, and the form tells you not to use the N14.