In Ontario, a tenant who has experienced sexual or domestic violence or abuse, or whose child living with them has, and who fears harm by staying, can end the tenancy on 28 days' notice using the N15. Attached to the notice will be a recent court order or a Tenant's Statement. Once you receive it, you are under strict legal duties of confidentiality, and breaching them is an offence carrying very large fines.
At a glance
| Given by | A tenant or joint tenant who satisfies s. 47.3 of the RTA |
| Timing | At any point in a monthly, yearly or fixed-term tenancy |
| Notice | 28 days minimum; no need to line the date up with a period or term ending |
| Delivery | Handed to the landlord with the required attachment; never filed with the LTB |
| Fee | None |
| What may follow | Usually nothing. Where all tenants signed and none of them leaves, the landlord can apply on an L3 |
The legal basis
The Residential Tenancies Act, 2006 (RTA), at ss. 47.1 and 47.2, lets a tenant bring a fixed-term, yearly or monthly tenancy to an early close where the tenant, or a child who lives with the tenant, is "deemed to have experienced violence or another form of abuse" within s. 47.3(1). The notice has to satisfy s. 43(1), and s. 47.1(4) requires one of these to be attached:
- a Tenant's Statement About Sexual or Domestic Violence and Abuse on the LTB's form, bearing the tenant's signature; or
- a copy of a qualifying order dated within the 90 days before the notice: a restraining order made under the Children's Law Reform Act (s. 35) or the Family Law Act (s. 46), or a Criminal Code peace bond (s. 810).
For abuse, the person responsible has to be a relative living in the unit, or a spouse, conjugal partner or dating partner, past or present (s. 47.3(4)). For sexual violence, it can be anyone (s. 47.3(1)(e)). The Statement need not identify anybody or say what happened (para. 4 of s. 47.3(5)). Even the LTB only checks that the document is authentic and the right kind; the truth of the allegation is not before it (s. 47.3(6)).
Which situations it covers
- Every tenant is leaving. When all tenants sign, s. 47.1 brings the whole tenancy to an end on the date given.
- Only some tenants are leaving. A qualifying joint tenant can end just their own interest, by themselves or together with some, but not all, of the co-tenants (s. 47.2). The tenancy carries on for whoever stays, and the rent deposit remains attached to the tenancy for them (s. 47.2(8)).
- The tenant is leaving for some other reason. Then the right notice is an N9, or the parties can sign an N11.
The time rules
- Twenty-eight days. There must be 28 days or more between the day of giving and the termination date (ss. 47.1(3) and 47.2(3)). Under s. 89(3) of the Legislation Act, 2006, the first day is excluded and the last is included. For example, a notice handed over on January 6, 2027 can name February 3, 2027 or any later date, but not February 2.
- Ninety days for an order. Where a court order is attached in place of a Statement, it must have issued within the 90 days before the notice.
- A partial notice the tenant does not act on. If a tenant who gave a s. 47.2 notice has not moved out by the termination date, the notice is void as to that tenant (s. 47.2(5)).
- The co-tenants who remain. Once a joint tenant has left under s. 47.2, those remaining can end a yearly or fixed-term tenancy by giving 60 days' notice together (s. 47.2(9)).
What is on the forms
The N15 (version 01/07/2022) asks for the landlord's name, each tenant who is giving notice, the address of the unit, and the termination date (dd/mm/yyyy, no less than 28 days ahead). A tick box identifies the attachment, either the Statement or a peace bond or restraining order no more than 90 days old. Page 2 has signature lines for up to three tenants and space for a representative's details.
The Tenant's Statement records the landlord's and tenant's names and the unit address, then tick boxes for the qualifying circumstances (relationships and types of harm, sexual violence within the meaning of s. 47.3(2), or both), and ends with the tenant's signature and date.
How it reaches you
The tenant delivers the N15 and its attachment to you using any method s. 191 of the RTA allows. There is no filing with the LTB.
Your obligations as the landlord
Confidentiality
This is a legal duty, not a courtesy. Section 47.4(1) prohibits you from disclosing to anyone, other tenants included, the fact that the notice was given, the notice itself, the attachment, or any of their contents. The only permitted disclosures are:
- to your own lawyer or licensed paralegal;
- to a property manager, superintendent or other agent who must know in order to do the job (they are then bound by the same duty);
- to police or another law enforcement agency that asks for it as part of an investigation;
- to investigators from the Ministry looking into an offence under the Act;
- to the LTB, where a proceeding concerns whether the notice was validly given; and
- where the tenant consents, where the information is already public, or where some other law requires disclosure.
Once a partial notice under s. 47.2 has taken effect, the most you can tell the remaining tenants is that such a notice was given and the date it ended the departing tenant's interest (s. 47.4(3)).
Re-renting the unit
- While the notice period runs, any advertisement must neither mention the unit nor allow it to be identified (s. 47.4(4)).
- Showings to prospective tenants have to wait until the tenant, or every joint tenant, has moved out in line with the notice (s. 47.1(5)).
Handling it day to day
Keep the documents secure and separate from the rest of the tenant file. Confirm receipt to the tenant and nobody else. Do not ask the tenant about the allegations. Property left behind after the tenant leaves can be dealt with as it would be after any notice (s. 41(1)), although the N15 points out that this only applies where no other tenant remains in the unit.
What a breach costs
Breaking the s. 47.4(1) confidentiality rule is an offence under s. 234(b.1). Section 233(d.1) separately makes it an offence to knowingly supply false or misleading information about an N15. Section 238 now caps fines at $500,000 for a corporation and $100,000 for an individual.
Genuine defects in an N15
The following are legitimate problems a landlord may identify. Handle them carefully and discuss them only with the people on the confidentiality list.
- Nothing attached. An N15 with neither a qualifying order nor a Statement fails s. 47.1(4)(b).
- An order older than 90 days, or one that is not among the three types listed.
- An unsigned Statement, or one on something other than the approved LTB form (paras. 1 and 6 of s. 47.3(5)).
- A termination date fewer than 28 days out.
- Treating a partial notice as ending the whole tenancy. It does not. A departing tenant who stays past the date has a void notice (s. 47.2(5)), and a partial notice cannot found an L3 (s. 47.2(7)).
Once the date arrives
If the tenant has moved out by the termination date, the tenancy ends, or just that tenant's interest does. Under s. 47.2(6), someone leaving through a partial notice stays liable for breaches that occurred before departure. If every tenant gave notice and none moves out, the N15 states that the landlord may apply to the LTB for eviction.
Recent changes
The printed N15 and Statement (version 01/07/2022) have not caught up: they list maximum fines of $250,000 for a company and $50,000 for an individual. The RTA's s. 238 now sets $500,000 and $100,000, as confirmed in the LTB's July 1, 2026 operational update. Go by the statute rather than the figures printed on the form.
Frequently asked questions
Am I allowed to ask the tenant to prove the abuse happened?
No. The Act treats the Statement as the proof, and it need not describe what happened or identify anyone. The LTB itself has no power to rule on the allegation; its role is to confirm that the document is authentic and of the correct type.
May I explain to the remaining tenants why their co-tenant left?
No. Co-tenants are expressly included in s. 47.4. After a partial notice takes effect, all you may say is that one was given, and the termination date it named.
Official sources
- Residential Tenancies Act, 2006, ss. 26, 41, 43, 47.1–47.4, 191, 233, 234, 238
- N15 – Tenant's Notice to End my Tenancy Because of Fear of Sexual or Domestic Violence and Abuse (PDF)
- Tenant's Statement About Sexual or Domestic Violence and Abuse (PDF)
- Legislation Act, 2006, s. 89
- LTB Operational Update, July 1, 2026
- LTB Forms, filing and fees