Got an N12 notice?

An N12 says the landlord, a buyer, one of their close family members or a caregiver plans to move into your home. It is not an eviction. If you stay, your landlord must apply to the Landlord and Tenant Board and prove they really mean it.

Who can move in

• The landlord, their spouse, a child or parent of either of them, or someone who provides care to one of them. The landlord has to be a person, not a company, and the person moving in must plan to live there for at least a year.
• A buyer who has signed an agreement to buy the home, or the buyer’s spouse, a child or parent of either of them, or their caregiver. This is only allowed in buildings with 3 or fewer units, or for a condo unit.

Check the date

The date on the notice must be at least 60 days after you got it, and it must be the last day of a rental period, like the end of a month. If you have a lease for a fixed term, it can’t be before the lease ends. You can move out earlier if you want to, by giving your landlord at least 10 days’ written notice.

You may be owed one month’s rent

Your landlord usually must pay you one month’s rent, or offer you another place you accept, by the date on the notice. If the N12 was given on or after September 21, 2026 and the date on it is at least 120 days after you got it, they don’t have to. That exception doesn’t apply when a buyer is moving in. If your landlord owes it and hasn’t paid, the Board can’t order you out.

If nobody moves in

If you move out and the person the notice was for doesn’t move in, you can apply to the Board with Form T5 and may get money. Apply within one year after you move out.

For T5 applications filed on or after September 21, 2026, if the person the notice was for (the landlord, their close family or a caregiver) doesn’t move in within 60 days after the date on the notice, or within 60 days after you moved out if you left later, the Board will assume the notice was not honest unless the landlord proves otherwise. The same applies if, between when you got the notice and a year after you moved out, the landlord advertised or rented the home to someone else, advertised it for sale, demolished it, or started converting it to another use. These presumptions don’t apply when the notice was for a buyer.

If you do move out, keep an eye on whether someone really moves in, and keep any ads you see.

Based on: Residential Tenancies Act, 2006, ss. 48, 48.1, 49, 49.1, 55.1, 57, 72 and 83; O. Reg. 240/26, s. 1; LTB Interpretation Guideline 12. Sources: Residential Tenancies Act, 2006 · O. Reg. 240/26 (prescribed period of time) · Landlord and Tenant Board Rules and Interpretation Guidelines.