Ontario N5 Notice: Ending a Tenancy for Interference, Damage or Overcrowding

Ontario landlords use the N5 when a tenant, someone living with the tenant or a visitor the tenant let in is seriously disrupting others, has damaged the unit or building through deliberate or careless conduct, or when the unit holds more people than the law permits. A first N5 lets the tenant cancel it by putting things right within 7 days. A second N5, served inside six months of the first, cannot be cancelled. Either way, the notice is the groundwork for an L2 eviction application, so errors made here follow the case all the way to the hearing.

At a glance

Three grounds on one form

Three distinct grounds from the Residential Tenancies Act, 2006 (RTA) share this one form:

Interference (Reason 1, RTA s. 64). Someone (the tenant, an occupant, or a person the tenant allowed into the complex) acts in a way that substantially interferes with your reasonable enjoyment of the complex, or another tenant's, or with some other lawful right, privilege or interest.

Damage (Reason 2, RTA s. 62). One of those same people wilfully or negligently caused undue damage to the rental unit or complex.

Overcrowding (Reason 3, RTA s. 67). The number of people ordinarily living in the unit exceeds what legally required health, safety or housing standards permit.

For each ground, the termination date must be 20 days or more away and the notice must give the tenant 7 days to end the behaviour, fix or pay for the damage, or cut the household down to the lawful number. Compliance inside those 7 days (or, for damage, an arrangement you accept) voids the notice under ss. 62(3), 64(3) and 67(3). If fresh grounds then arise in the period beginning 8 days after the first notice and ending before the 6-month mark, s. 68 lets you serve a second notice the tenant cannot void, with a termination date 14 days out.

Is the N5 the right notice?

The N5 is built for problems a tenant is able to stop or repair: noise in the middle of the night, harassment of neighbours or of your staff, clutter that draws pests or creates smells, careless damage, or more residents than the municipal by-law permits. Guideline 10 collects Board decisions on all three grounds.

A different notice may fit better in these cases:

• You occupy a building of three or fewer residential units yourself and the interference affects you personally. Here the N7 applies: 10 days' notice, with no right to void (RTA s. 65).
• The damage was plainly deliberate and provable, or a person's safety was seriously impaired. Those are N7 grounds. The LTB's instructions say that if proving intent is doubtful, the N5 is the safer choice.
• The tenant committed an illegal act, or misrepresented income in rent-geared-to-income housing. Those belong on an N6.
• All you want is compensation for damage or expenses. An L2 can claim money without any termination notice being served (Guideline 10).

Timelines for a first and second N5

First N5

1. Termination date: 20 days or more after the notice is given (ss. 62(2), 64(2), 67(2)).
2. Correction window: 7 days from the tenant's receipt of the notice to stop the conduct, fix the damage or pay.
3. Earliest L2: not until the 7 days run out with no compliance (RTA s. 70), which the instructions put at day 8 after service.
4. Latest L2: the 30th day following the termination date (s. 69(2)); after that, the notice is void (s. 46(1)).

Worked example. You hand the N5 to the tenant on March 2, 2027. The earliest permissible termination date is March 22, 2027. The tenant has March 3 to March 9 to correct the problem. If they do not, you may file the L2 from March 10 up to April 21, 2027. Had you mailed the notice on March 2 instead, it would be deemed given on March 7 (RTA s. 191(3)), pushing the earliest termination date to March 27, 2027.

Second N5

1. Eligibility: a valid earlier notice (under s. 62, 64 or 67) must exist, and the fresh activity, conduct or situation must fall after day 7 and before the 6-month mark, measured from when that earlier notice was given (s. 68(1)).
2. Termination date: 14 days or more after the second notice is given (s. 68(2)).
3. Earliest L2: as soon as the notice is given (s. 71); the tenant has no right to void it.
4. Latest L2: the same 30-day limit after termination applies (s. 69(2)).

How to count

Leave out the day the notice is given and count the termination date itself (Rule 1.13). Mail adds 5 days (s. 191(3)); a notice sent by courier is deemed given on the day after the courier received it (or, when that day is a weekend or holiday, the next business day; Rule 1.1 treats Saturdays and Sundays as holidays) (Rule 3.9). The Board has no power to lengthen or shorten a notice period (Guideline 10).

Filling in the N5

Always start from a fresh download on the LTB forms page, with the official instructions first. The opening pages are a landlord checklist; take them off before you serve.

To, From and Address of Rental Unit

List all tenants in possession (include an assignee or subtenant; leave out visitors and children), each landlord, and the unit's full address, from street number and name and unit or suite designation ("Basement" is acceptable) through to municipality and postal code.

Termination date

Write an exact date in dd/mm/yyyy form: 20 days or more ahead for a first N5, 14 or more for a second, plus any days required for mail or courier.

Reasons section

Check each reason that applies. Every reason you check also needs one of two sub-options checked:

• the 7-day option, telling the tenant they can avoid eviction by correcting the problem, which is the first-N5 box; or
• the immediate-application option, telling the tenant this is a second N5 within 6 months, which is the second-N5 box.

The landlord checklist makes the point bluntly: one notice cannot mix the two, not even across different reasons.

For a first N5, two of the reasons call for more. Reason 2 needs your dollar estimate of what it will cost to repair the damaged property (or to replace it, where repair is not reasonable). Reason 3 needs the head count the household must drop to, which is the maximum the applicable law or by-law allows.

Details About the Reasons for this Notice

Every N5 must include this table, with its Date/Time and Details of the Events columns. For each incident, record the person responsible and their status (tenant, guest or occupant), the date and time (or, for damage of unknown date, when you discovered it), what happened and whom it affected. Damage entries should describe the harm and the wilful or negligent act behind it. Overcrowding entries should state how many residents you believe there are and cite the governing law or by-law. If it is a first N5, spell out precisely what the tenant has to do to void the notice. Use extra pages if necessary and serve them along with the notice.

For instance, a usable entry reads: "Saturday, February 13, 2027, about 1:30 a.m.: loud music and shouting from Unit 4 for roughly two hours; tenants in Units 3 and 5 complained in writing the next morning." Compare that with "tenant is noisy", which tells the tenant nothing.

Signature block

Tick Landlord or Representative, give a name and phone number, and sign and date. A representative also fills in their name, LSO number (where applicable), company, mailing address, email and phone.

Delivering the notice

According to the N5 instructions, you may give it personally to the tenant or to an adult at the unit, put it in the mailbox or wherever mail is normally delivered, slip it under the door or through the mail slot, fax it, send it by courier, or send it by mail or Xpresspost. Email is permitted only where the tenant has given written consent (Rule 3.1). Taping it to the door is not service.

Serve each tenant, keep a copy for yourself, and have whoever served it complete a Certificate of Service. Both documents are uploaded with the L2, or no later than 5 calendar days after you file it (Rules 4.4 and 4.5).

N5 errors that cost landlords their applications

A served notice cannot be fixed later (Guideline 10). The RTA's s. 212 forgives small slips that cause the tenant no significant prejudice, yet the Board refused that relief for an N5 citing the wrong reason (Royal Bank of Canada v Scott, 2025 ONLTB 83472, discussed in Guideline 10).

1. No first-or-second choice, or both chosen. Each checked reason needs one option, and the notice as a whole has to be either voidable or non-voidable.
2. Labelling a notice "second" when it does not qualify. A second N5 depends on a valid earlier s. 62, 64 or 67 notice plus fresh conduct in the window that opens on day 8 and closes before 6 months have elapsed. Conduct during the first notice's 7-day window, or a repeat of the incidents already listed in the first N5, will not support it (Guideline 10).
3. A termination date that is too early. The minimums are 20 days (first) and 14 days (second), with mail adding five and courier one business day. Even one day short defeats the notice.
4. Not enough detail. A vague description leaves the tenant unable to understand the case against them or to know what to fix. Guideline 10, relying on Ball v Metro Capital Property, expects a voidable N5 to give the tenant enough to judge whether to stop inside the 7 days.
5. A first N5 that omits the repair estimate or the by-law maximum. Under ss. 62(2)(c) and 67(2)(c) the notice has to state what is required of the tenant, and the form makes both figures mandatory.
6. Serving an N7 (or another notice the tenant cannot void) on top of a first N5 about the same behaviour. Telling the tenant they can fix the problem while also saying you can apply regardless is confusing, and the Board has dismissed applications on every notice served in that situation (Guideline 10).
7. Filing the L2 inside the 7-day correction window. Section 70 forbids it.
8. A late L2. Past the 30-day mark after termination, dismissal is mandatory (s. 69(2)) and s. 46(1) voids the notice.
9. The tenant has already voided it. Timely correction (stopping, repairing, paying or reducing the household) wipes out the notice on that issue. When several issues were listed, you may go ahead on any that were not corrected, but the hearing is confined to those (Guideline 10).
10. Basic defects: a tenant left out, an incomplete address, improper service or a missing signature.
11. An outdated form. A new N5 came into use on September 21, 2026, and earlier versions are not accepted from November 30, 2026.

After the N5 is served

Correction within the 7 days (possible only on a first N5) ends that notice. Fresh problems arising in the following window can still ground a second N5.

No correction, or a second N5: your next step is an L2, filed through the Tribunals Ontario Portal with the notice and proof of service attached, within 30 days of the termination date. The Portal fee is $186 ($201 on paper). To recover repair costs as well as possession, claim both on the L2 and show how you calculated the amount (Guideline 10).

At the hearing, the burden is on you to prove the grounds, and the Board has to consider whether to refuse or postpone the eviction (RTA s. 83). Unless you agree to a delay, O. Reg. 516/06, s. 8.4 now allows one only where there are compelling grounds and the delay would not be unfair to you or the other tenants. Should the decision go against you, the window to ask for a review of an order dated July 1, 2026 or later is just 15 days.

What changed in 2026

• September 21, 2026. A revised N5 was released; older versions stop being accepted on November 30, 2026. The test for postponing an eviction without the landlord's consent also became stricter.
• July 1, 2026. For orders issued on or after this date, the time to request a review fell from 30 days to 15.

Nothing changed in the N5's own timelines: the 20-day and 14-day notice periods and the 7-day correction period are the same.

Frequently asked questions

How does a second N5 differ from a first?

A first N5 carries a 20-day notice period and a 7-day chance for the tenant to put things right. A second N5 rests on fresh conduct occurring after day 7 and inside six months of the first; it needs only 14 days, gives no chance to cure, and lets you file the L2 immediately.

If the tenant pays for the damage, is the N5 cancelled?

On a first N5, yes. Within the 7 days the tenant may repair or replace the property, pay your estimate, or make arrangements you are satisfied with (RTA s. 62(3)).

Does the tenant have to void the first N5 before I can serve a second?

No. According to Guideline 10, a second notice can follow whether or not the first was voided, as long as the new conduct falls between day 8 and the six-month point after the first N5.

When should I choose an N7 over an N5?

Only when one of the N7's 10-day grounds clearly applies, such as intentional damage you are able to prove. Where intent may be hard to establish, the LTB points landlords to the N5, and serving both notices for the same conduct should be avoided.

Official sources

• N5 form (PDF)
• N5 Instructions
• Residential Tenancies Act, 2006, ss. 43, 46, 62, 64, 65, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 83, 191, 212
• O. Reg. 516/06, s. 8.4
• Interpretation Guideline 10: Procedural Issues Regarding Eviction Applications
• LTB Rules of Procedure
• LTB Operational Update, September 21, 2026
• Certificate of Service (PDF)
• LTB Forms, filing and fees