Ontario renter guide
Last verified: August 27, 2026. Last updated: .
The short answer: a lease in Ontario is a binding contract, but you are not trapped. You can leave early through a mutual agreement with your landlord (an N11), by assigning your lease to a new tenant (and if your landlord refuses or ignores that request, you gain the right to leave with 30 days' notice), or through a confidential 28-day process if you or a child living with you has experienced domestic violence or abuse.
Not without consequences. If you walk away in the middle of a fixed term, say a one-year lease, you can be held financially responsible for the remaining months' rent. The good news: Ontario law gives you several legal ways out. Use one of them instead.
The N11 form (Agreement to End the Tenancy) is the Ontario form a tenant and landlord sign together to end a tenancy by mutual agreement, on a move-out date the two of you choose.
A mutual agreement is often the simplest exit from a lease. If your landlord agrees, you both sign the form and the tenancy ends on the agreed date. The N11 does not automatically erase existing rent arrears, damage claims, or separate obligations, so read any related agreement carefully before signing.
Assigning means you move out permanently and transfer your lease, at the current rent, to a new tenant you've found. You need your landlord's written consent, and the rules protect you here:
With a sublet, you rent your unit to someone else for a set period and come back before the lease ends. You stay the legal tenant and remain responsible to the landlord. Both subletting and assigning need the landlord's written consent. Skipping that step is an illegal transfer, and the landlord can ask the LTB to evict both you and the person living there.
If you or a child living with you has experienced domestic violence or sexual abuse, you can end your tenancy with 28 days' notice using an N15 form, together with a signed statement or a copy of a peace bond or restraining order. The process is confidential: the landlord cannot tell other tenants, or the abuser if they're on the lease, why you are leaving.
The N9 form is the written notice a tenant in Ontario gives their landlord to end the tenancy. The termination date must follow the notice and timing rules printed on the form. If you're past your fixed term or rent month-to-month, you generally have to give at least 60 days' written notice, and the date has to line up with the last day of a rental period, usually the end of a month.
There's one faster path: if your landlord refuses assignments in general, or ignores your written request to assign for 7 days, you gain the right to end the tenancy with just 30 days' notice on an N9, even in the middle of a fixed term.
Not unilaterally without potential financial responsibility for the remaining months. Use a mutual N11 agreement, a lease assignment, or the N15 process if it applies to your situation.
Ask in writing for permission to assign your lease. If the landlord refuses assignments in general or ignores the request for 7 days, you can serve an N9 with 30 days' notice, even in the middle of a fixed term.
Subletting is temporary, you return before the lease ends and stay responsible. Assigning is permanent, the new tenant takes over your lease and its current rent.
At least 60 days, in writing, on an N9 form, ending on the last day of a rental period.
Direct links to the Residential Tenancies Act, the Landlord and Tenant Board, and the Ontario Standard Lease are on our RTA resources page.
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The information provided on Tenant.ca is for educational purposes and does not constitute legal advice. Landlord and tenant matters in Ontario are governed by the Residential Tenancies Act (RTA) and adjudicated by the Landlord and Tenant Board (LTB). Please consult the LTB or a legal professional for guidance on your specific situation.
