N13 notice (demolition, conversion or major repairs)N13 통지 (철거·용도 변경·대수선 퇴거)

What is it?

N13 is the name of an official Landlord and Tenant Board (LTB) form. Its full name is "Notice to End your Tenancy Because the Landlord Wants to Demolish the Rental Unit, Repair it or Convert it to Another Use".

It is a "no fault" notice: the tenant has done nothing wrong. It comes from section 50 of the Residential Tenancies Act. When a landlord uses renovations as an excuse to push a tenant out, people often call it a "renoviction" (renovation + eviction), and the N13 is the notice at the centre of that problem.

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).

Only three reasons count

• Demolition: the landlord will tear down the unit.
• Conversion: the landlord will change the unit to a non-residential use (for example, an office or a store).
• Major repairs or renovations: the work is so big that it needs a building permit and the unit must be empty (vacant possession). Both are required.
• Work like painting or new flooring, which needs no permit or can be done while you live there, is not a reason.
• If the landlord wants to move in, that is an N12 notice, not an N13.

Notice period and dates

The termination date must be at least 120 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 must be the end of the lease (section 50 (2)).

The tenant may leave sooner. At any time before the date in the notice, you can end the tenancy on an earlier date by giving at least 10 days’ notice (section 50 (4)–(5)).

An N13 for repairs must tell the tenant that, to move back in after the work, they must tell the landlord in writing before moving out (section 50 (3)).

Compensation: one or three months, depending on building size

Compensation depends on how many residential units are in the building (the law says "residential complex") and, for repairs, on whether the tenant moves back (sections 52 and 54). Instead of money, the landlord may offer another unit the tenant accepts.

The money is due no later than the termination date in the notice (section 55.1). If the demolition or repairs were ordered under another law (for example, a city property standards order), no compensation is owed.

If a building with 5 or more units was split (severance) into one with fewer than 5, and the N13 is given less than 2 years later, the 3-month rule applies (section 55).

Your right to move back in (repairs only)

• A tenant who gets an N13 for repairs or renovations has the right to move back into the unit first when the work is done (the "right of first refusal", section 53 (1)).
• The condition: tell the landlord in writing before you move out (section 53 (2)). If your address changes, tell the landlord in writing each time (section 53 (4)).
• The rent: no more than the landlord could have lawfully charged if you had never left (section 53 (3)). The landlord cannot raise it to market rent because the unit is newly renovated.
• If you give written notice on or after September 21, 2026: the landlord must, without delay, tell you in writing the expected ready date, any change to that date, and when the unit is ready (section 53 (2.1)). Also, if the unit becomes ready on or after September 21, 2026, the landlord must give you at least 60 days, counted from the day it is ready, to move back in (section 53 (2.2)).
• If the landlord does not honour this right, the former tenant can apply to the LTB. The deadline is the later of 2 years after moving out or 6 months after the work is finished (section 57.1 (2)).

Things you still need to confirm

• An expert report: a 2023 amendment says an N13 for repairs must come with a report by a qualified person saying the unit must be empty, and that the notice is void without it (section 50 (3) (b) and (3.1)). But as of October 27, 2026, e-Laws still shows this part as not in force, and we did not find a regulation setting out who may write the report. The LTB brochure, on the other hand, already says the report is required and the notice is void without it. Ask the LTB or a legal clinic whether a report is required right now.
• City rules: some cities may have their own rules (by-laws) about renovation evictions. We have not checked city rules, so this page does not cover them. Check your city’s website or call 311, for example in Toronto.
• Condo units and unit counts: if you rent out a single condo unit, we have not confirmed how the "number of units" for compensation is counted. Ask the LTB or a lawyer.

If the tenant does not leave: the LTB hearing

1. The landlord files Form L2 with Schedule A at the LTB within 30 days after the termination date (section 69 (2)).
2. Before ordering an eviction, the LTB must be satisfied that the landlord really intends (in good faith) to do the work, and has the permits needed (or has taken all reasonable steps, if permits cannot be issued until the unit is empty) (section 73 (1)). Schedule A of the L2 asks for copies of the permits for the tenant and the LTB.
3. The landlord must list every N12 and N13 notice given in the past two years for this or any other unit (L2 Schedule A), and the LTB can use this to judge good faith (section 73 (2)).
4. No eviction order is issued until the compensation is paid (section 83 (4)). If the LTB refuses the application, it can order the tenant to pay back the compensation (section 73.1).
5. Even with an eviction order, only the Sheriff (the court enforcement office) can carry it out. A landlord who changes the locks or puts your things out is breaking the law.

If the N13 was fake (bad faith)

If, after the tenant moves out, the landlord does not demolish, convert or repair the unit within a reasonable time, the notice may have been given in bad faith. The former tenant can file a T5 application with the LTB within 1 year after moving out (section 57 (1) (c) and (2)).

The LTB can order: the extra rent you pay at your 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, if higher) (section 57 (3)). Getting a unit back with a bad-faith notice is also an offence, with fines of up to $100,000 for a person and $500,000 for a corporation (sections 233 and 238).

Unlike an N12 (own use), there is no rule in the law that presumes bad faith if the unit is re-rented within a year for an N13 (section 57 (5) applies only to section 48 notices). That makes evidence more important. After you move out, keep an eye on rent or sale ads for the unit, whether work is happening, and the city’s building permit records, and save what you find.

Example

This is an example for reference only. The actual compensation depends on the building, the work and the lease, and the LTB decides.