N12 notice (landlord’s own use)N12 통지 (집주인·구매자 본인 거주 퇴거)

What is it?

N12 is the name of an official Landlord and Tenant Board (LTB) form. Its full name is "Notice to Terminate the Tenancy at the End of the Term for Landlord’s or Purchaser’s Own Use".

It is a "no fault" notice: the tenant has done nothing wrong. There are only two reasons. (1) The landlord or the landlord’s family will live in the unit (Residential Tenancies Act, section 48). (2) The home has been sold and the buyer or the buyer’s family will live in it (section 49).

Getting the notice does not mean you must leave. If you stay, the landlord has to apply to the LTB, and no one can remove you without an LTB eviction order (section 39).

Who is allowed to move in?

• The landlord, the landlord’s spouse, or a child or parent of the landlord or the spouse (section 48 (1)). Siblings, nieces, nephews and friends do not count.
• A person who provides care services to one of those people, as long as the person receiving care lives in the same building or complex.
• The person must "in good faith" intend to live there. For a landlord’s own use (section 48), they must intend to live there for at least one year.
• Landlord’s own use (section 48) is only available if the landlord is an individual and the unit is owned, at least in part, by an individual (section 48 (5)). A corporate landlord cannot use this reason.
• Purchaser’s own use (section 49) is only available if the building has no more than three residential units, or the unit is a condominium unit. Someone who buys a building with four or more units cannot evict a tenant this way.

Notice period and dates

The termination date must be at least 60 days after the notice is given and must be the last day of a rental period (if you pay on the 1st, the last day of a month). If you are in a one-year lease, it cannot be earlier than the end of the lease (sections 48 (2) and 49 (3)).

The tenant may leave sooner. With at least 10 days’ notice on Form N9, you can end the tenancy before the date in the landlord’s notice (section 48 (3)–(4)).

For a purchaser’s own use, the notice is given after the agreement of purchase and sale is signed, by the seller (the current landlord) on the buyer’s behalf. The buyer cannot serve it directly.

Compensation: one month’s rent, and the change on September 21, 2026

The landlord must pay the tenant an amount equal to one month’s rent or propose another unit the tenant accepts (sections 48.1 (1) and 49.1 (1)). The money is due no later than the termination date in the notice (section 55.1).

What changed on September 21, 2026: no compensation is owed for a landlord’s own-use notice (section 48) if (1) the notice is given on or after that day, (2) the termination date is at least 120 days after the notice is given, and (3) the termination date is the end of a rental period or of the fixed term (section 48.1 (2)). In short, a 60-day notice comes with one month’s rent; 120 days or more comes with none.

There is no such exception for a purchaser’s own use (section 49). One month’s compensation is always owed, and the duty stays with the seller who gave the notice, not the buyer (section 49.1 (2)).

If the tenant does not move: the LTB hearing

1. The landlord files Form L2 with the LTB within 30 days after the termination date. The person who will move in must file an affidavit or declaration that they in good faith need the unit for their own use (for a landlord’s own use, for at least one year) (section 72 (1)). The declaration instructions on Form L2 (2026/09 version) ask for "at least one year" without separating the two reasons, so a buyer should check with a lawyer first.
2. The LTB holds a hearing. The tenant can attend and challenge the landlord’s good faith, and the landlord’s past use of N12 or N13 notices on this or other units can be used as evidence (section 72 (3)).
3. If the LTB orders the eviction, only the Sheriff can carry it out. A landlord who changes the locks or puts belongings outside is breaking the law.
4. If the LTB dismisses the application, the tenant stays, and the LTB may order the tenant to pay back the one month’s compensation already received (section 73.1).

If the N12 was not genuine (bad faith)

If you move out and the person named in the notice never moves in, and the unit is re-rented or sold, the notice was given in "bad faith". A former tenant can file Form T5 with the LTB within one year of moving out (section 57 (1)–(2)). LTB guidance says you can apply if the named person does not move in within 60 days after you leave.

For a landlord’s own-use notice (section 48), if, between the day the notice was given and one year after you leave, the landlord advertises the unit for rent, rents it to someone else, advertises it for sale, demolishes it or converts it to another use, the law presumes bad faith (section 57 (5)–(6)). The landlord then has to prove otherwise.

The LTB can order: the extra rent you pay at a new home for one year, general compensation of up to 12 months of your last rent, moving and storage costs, a rent abatement, and an administrative fine of up to $10,000 or the Small Claims Court limit, whichever is greater (section 57 (3)). Separately, getting a unit back through a bad-faith notice is an offence, with fines of up to $100,000 for an individual and $500,000 for a corporation (sections 233 and 238).

What a tenant can do

• Check the notice. Is it the LTB form? Does it name the person moving in and their relationship? Is the date at least 60 days away and the last day of a rental period? Is it signed? A notice with missing information may be void.
• Check the compensation. With 60 to 119 days’ notice, you must receive one month’s rent by the termination date. If you do not, the landlord cannot take back the unit, and you can apply to the LTB to collect it (section 135 (1.1)).
• You have the right to stay and wait for the hearing. Keep paying rent. At the hearing you can challenge whether the landlord is acting in good faith.
• If you decide to leave, you can go early with 10 days’ notice on Form N9. You still get the compensation.
• After you move, keep an eye on listings. Screenshots of the unit advertised for rent or sale are evidence for a T5 application.

Buying or selling a home with a tenant

If you buy a tenanted house or condo and plan to live in it, the seller must serve the N12 on your behalf before closing. This only works if the building has three or fewer units or the unit is a condominium. If your closing date comes before the tenant’s termination date, you take over the home with the tenant in it, and if the tenant stays, you wait for the LTB hearing.

The one month’s compensation is paid by the seller. Writing a "vacant possession" condition into the purchase agreement is a common approach, but the seller may be unable to meet it if the tenant does not leave. Talk to your lawyer and to me before you sign for a tenanted property.

If you buy as an investment and keep the tenant, no N12 is needed. The existing lease, rent and rent deposit carry over to you as the new landlord.