Managing your rental
When an Ontario landlord can give an N12 to move in, who can move in, the 60-day notice, when one month's compensation is owed and the 120-day exception.
By the Tenant.ca teamUpdated 3 min read
Section 48 of the Residential Tenancies Act lets a landlord end a tenancy if the landlord in good faith requires the unit for at least one year of residential occupation by the landlord, the landlord's spouse, a child or parent of either of them, or a person who provides or will provide care services to one of them and lives or will live in the building. The landlord must be an individual, and the unit must be owned at least in part by an individual: a corporation cannot give one.
This page is general information, not legal advice. It reflects the Residential Tenancies Act, the province's pages and the Landlord and Tenant Board's forms as checked on October 19, 2026. If a tenancy is already in dispute, speak to a lawyer or licensed paralegal.
Section 49 lets a selling landlord give the notice on behalf of a buyer who has signed an agreement of purchase and sale and requires the unit for the same people. For a building with up to three residential units, or a condominium unit, the buyer's own use qualifies; in a larger building it does not. The compensation rule for a buyer's notice is in section 49.1.
The date on the notice has to meet all of these:
The landlord must pay the tenant one month's rent or offer another rental unit the tenant accepts (section 48.1), no later than the termination date in the notice (section 55.1). Since the 2025 amendments, section 48.1 removes that requirement for a landlord's-own-use notice that gives at least 120 days and ends on the last day of a rental period or term. The Board's N12 instructions say the same.
A buyer's notice under section 49 still carries one month's rent or another acceptable unit (section 49.1).
If the tenant does not move out, the landlord applies on Form L2, with a copy of the N12 and a certificate of service, no later than 30 days after the termination date, according to the Board's instructions. Only the Court Enforcement Office can carry out an eviction order.
Section 57 lets a former tenant apply to the Board if the notice was given in bad faith and the person named did not move in within a reasonable time. Give an N12 only when the move-in is genuine and planned for at least a year.
For the owners we manage for, we check the dates against the rental period, prepare the notice on the Board's form, arrange delivery, track the compensation deadline and handle the move-out inspection and deposit. Whether to give the notice is always your decision.
Management is $98 per month plus HST for a condo or apartment and $148 per month plus HST for a house, and the first 60 days of the agreement are a trial period.
