What to Do When You Get an N12 Notice

What an N12 Actually Is

An N12 is a notice that your landlord intends to end your tenancy because the landlord, their immediate family, or (in small buildings being sold) the purchaser requires the unit for their own residential use. It comes from section 48 of the Residential Tenancies Act, which requires that the landlord "in good faith requires possession of the rental unit for the purpose of residential occupation" — for at least one year.

Receiving an N12 does not mean you must move by the date on it. Only the Landlord and Tenant Board can evict you, after a hearing, if you do not leave voluntarily.

Your Baseline Rights

• 60 days minimum: the termination date must be at least 60 days after you receive the notice, and it must fall on the last day of a rental period (section 48(2)).
• One month's compensation: under section 48.1, the landlord must pay you one month's rent (or offer an acceptable alternative unit) before the termination date.
• Good faith is the whole ballgame: at the hearing, the landlord must prove genuine intention that the named person will actually move in for at least a year. Affidavit or declaration evidence from the person is required.

Heads Up: The Rules Change September 21, 2026

Bill 60 amendments to the RTA come into force on September 21, 2026. From that date, a landlord who gives at least 120 days' notice (ending on a period or term end) will not owe the one-month compensation. Until then, the compensation requirement applies to every N12.

The Bad-Faith Problem — and Your Remedy

The N12 is the most abused notice in Ontario. The classic pattern: tenant leaves, unit is re-listed at a higher rent weeks later. If that happens to you, file a T5 application (bad-faith notice) at the Board — within one year of moving out. Remedies can include the difference between your old and new rent for up to a year, moving costs, general compensation, and administrative fines against the landlord.

Practical evidence to keep: the N12 itself, all correspondence, photos of the unit, and — after you move — listing screenshots for your old unit (rental sites, Kijiji, Facebook Marketplace).

What to Do, Step by Step

1. Do not panic and do not immediately move. Verify: is the notice on the proper form, is the date at least 60 days out on a period end, has compensation been paid?
2. Decide whether to contest. If anything smells off — a landlord who "needs" the unit right after you complained about repairs, or a serial N12 building — you can stay and require a hearing.
3. At the hearing, the landlord bears the burden of proving good faith. Past N12 history and re-listing evidence matter.
4. If you move and the move-in never happens, file the T5 within one year.

An N12 is a claim, not a verdict. Make the landlord prove it.