Which N form to use to end a tenancy in Ontario

This guide is for landlords and property managers renting homes in Ontario. Ending a tenancy in Ontario always starts with the right form from the Landlord and Tenant Board, and the form depends on the reason. Unpaid rent is an N4. Damage, disturbance or overcrowding is an N5. Needing the unit for yourself, your family or a buyer is an N12. Demolition or major repairs is an N13. If both sides simply agree, it’s an N11. Some of the rules changed on September 21, 2026, and this guide reflects them.

The forms are named by number, which is hard to remember, so it’s easier to start from what’s actually happening.

Rent isn’t being paid

If rent is owed now, use the N4, Notice to End your Tenancy Early for Non-payment of Rent. Since September 21, 2026, it gives the tenant 7 days. The tenant can void it by paying everything owed, including any new rent that has come due, before you apply to the Board.

If rent does get paid but is late again and again, the N4 isn’t the right tool for the pattern. Use the N8, Notice to End your Tenancy at the End of the Term, for persistent late payment. It needs 60 days for a monthly tenancy and has to end on the last day of a rental period or the term. Keep a record of every late payment, because the Board will want to see the pattern.

The tenant is causing problems

What the tenant is doing decides between three forms.

For damage, disturbing other residents or the landlord, or too many people living in the unit, use the N5. A first N5 gives 20 days, and the tenant can void it by fixing the problem within 7 days, such as paying for the damage, stopping the disturbance or reducing the number of people.

For something more serious, the N7 is for wilful damage, seriously impairing someone’s safety, or substantially interfering with the landlord in a building of three or fewer units where the landlord lives. It gives 10 days, and the tenant can’t void it by fixing the problem.

For an illegal act or business in the unit, use the N6. It gives 10 days if the illegal act involves drugs, and 20 days for other illegal acts or for misrepresenting income in a rent-geared-to-income unit.

You need the unit back

If you, a close family member or a caregiver will move in, or you’ve sold the home and the buyer will, use the N12. It needs at least 60 days and must end on the last day of a rental period or fixed term.

The September 2026 change affects compensation the most. For notices served before September 21, 2026, you owe the tenant one month’s rent, or another unit they accept, by the termination date. For notices served on or after that date, no compensation is owed for your own use if you give at least 120 days’ notice ending at the end of a period or term. The buyer route needs compensation unless the same 120-day conditions are met.

The N12 has to be in good faith, and the person moving in must intend to live there for at least a year. The Board looks closely at these, and a landlord who uses an N12 and then re-rents the unit can face serious penalties.

You’re demolishing, renovating or converting

For demolition, converting the unit to something other than housing, or repairs so extensive the unit has to be empty, use the N13. It needs 120 days.

Compensation depends on the reason and the size of the building. For demolition or conversion, it’s three months’ rent in a building with five or more units, or one month’s rent in a smaller one. For repairs, a tenant who isn’t coming back gets the same amounts, and a tenant who plans to return is compensated for rent during the repairs, up to the same maximum. For repairs, the notice also has to include a report from a qualified professional, or it’s void.

You both want it to end

If the tenant wants to leave and you’re happy for them to, or you’ve talked it through and agreed on a date, use the N11, Agreement to End the Tenancy. Both of you sign it. No notice period applies, and it’s often the quickest and least stressful way to end a tenancy.

The tenant is giving notice

When the tenant is the one ending it, they use the N9, Tenant’s Notice to End the Tenancy. It needs 60 days for a monthly tenancy or fixed term, ending no earlier than the last day of the lease, and 28 days for a weekly one. A tenant leaving because of sexual or domestic violence or abuse uses the N15, which has its own shorter rules.

All of it at a glance

Situation	Form	Notice
Rent owed	N4	7 days
Repeated late rent	N8	60 days (monthly)
Damage, disturbance or overcrowding	N5	20 days (first notice)
Serious damage or safety	N7	10 days
Illegal act involving drugs	N6	10 days
Other illegal act	N6	20 days
Landlord, family or buyer moving in	N12	60 days
Demolition, conversion or major repairs	N13	120 days
Both agree	N11	None

What happens after the form

An N form doesn’t end the tenancy on its own. If the tenant doesn’t move out or fix the problem, the next step is an application to the Landlord and Tenant Board, which holds a hearing and decides. Only the Board can order an eviction, and only the Sheriff can carry it out. Changing the locks, removing belongings or cutting off utilities to push a tenant out is illegal, whatever the tenant has done.

Many cases that go wrong at the Board go wrong on the form itself: the wrong form for the reason, the wrong dates, a missing amount or a notice served the wrong way. Fill it in carefully, keep a copy and record how and when you served it. How to fill out the Ontario Standard Lease covers the lease side of the same tenancy.