Breaking The Lease 101: What Every Landlord & Tenant in Ontario MUST Know About Residential Tenancy Rights and Forms!

Unlock the essentials of landlord and tenant rights in Ontario! This episode of Building Wealth Through Real Estate...Brick by Brick dives into key protections under the Residential Tenancies Act, the rights and responsibilities of both parties, and a breakdown of the main forms used to end a tenancy, including but not limited to the N12 (Landlord's/Owner’s Use), and the under-utilized N11 (Mutual Agreement). Perfect for landlords, tenants and interested consumers seeking clarity and compliance.

Link to Landlord & Tenant Tribunal

Be sure to seek additional resources from the Landlord and Tenant Board, a lawyer or paralegal, and your trusted real Estate advisor.

Ciao ciao 😊

Transcript

Nico James-Bock (00:01.856)
A large portion of the population is in a rental situation. So landlords and tenants are involved in a relationship. Because of the large number of units rented in the GTA, a landlord and rental tenant tribunal was set up in order to help navigate this type of accommodation.

Today's episode of Building wealth Through Real Estate Brick by Brick, I want to talk about the different forms that are used, the most common forms used to end a residential tenancy. In most cases, when a notice is given, the notice period should be 60 days from from the beginning of a period to the end of a period. The end of a period, as I want it to be known, is at the end of the month, okay, for a monthly tenancy. The vast majority of tenancies are monthly tenancies. The first term of a tenancy is one year, after which it automatically turns into a month to month. The end of any term it's 60 days notice and the termination date is at the end of the month. So generally speaking, when notice is given, the time that you calculate the notice should be the beginning of the month to the end of the month. So 60 days is not from the date you serve the notice on the landlord or tenant. It is from the beginning of the month to the end of the month.

I like to use the 20th of the month as the final date to serve notices. So that gives you 10 full days in order to execute that service. And the start of the 60-day notice will start at the first of the month. And it will be 60 days from that. And the end of that term, the termination date, will be the end of the month. So 60 days after that.

Nico James-Bock (02:28.907)
The termination date is at the end of the term and I want you to be sure to consult with the Landlord and Tenant Tribunal so that you can get informed about the forms that are used, the relevant dates of service, and your rights as a landlord or a tenant.

Having said that, my name is Nico James-Bach. I am a broker with Royal Page Signature in downtown Toronto. The first form that I want to talk about is the N11. N11 is not a notice. It is an agreement. An agreement that can be drawn up by either the landlord or the tenant. So this form can be used by either the landlord or the tenant. The N11, as I mentioned, is an agreement to end the tenancy. So the termination date can be any date that the landlord or the tenant agree upon. Okay, so this is not a notice, as I mentioned before, it is an agreement. So you can choose any date as long as both of you agree to it.

The form is signed by both landlord and tenant and it is a more amicable way of ending a tenancy. This form can be used when a property is going up for sale and the landlord, rather than choose to end a tenancy by issuing a notice, an N12, to end the tenancy and hope that the tenant vacates the property on the agreed upon date. I like to suggest that the N11 be used instead before the property goes on to the market so that the tenant can already have vacated the property while the preparation is made to sell the unit. So that way there is no confusion.

Nico James-Bock (04:49.084)
There are no problems or issues with a tenant present because the tenant will have left. Assuming that the agreement is signed by both parties, the termination date would be respected. The tenant dictates the property and the unit can be put up for sale. So that is the N11. Okay, so it is the form that I like to use. It's not well known in the landlord and tenant world, simply because the more popular forms are the ones that are used most often. But that's why I'm presenting this in this podcast as the first form, because it is an agreement between both parties. So all of the terms can be respected by the respective parties.

The next form, this is a form, the next few forms are forms for the landlord. So the first form that I want to speak about is the N8. This form is a notice to end the tenancy at the end of a term. There are only certain reasons why a landlord will choose to use this form.

It cannot be used arbitrarily to end a tenancy at the end of a term. Again, the end of the term is the end of a given month. So, I'm not going to go through the details of each reason, but I will name them so that you will be familiar with them. Once again, this is Form N8. It's a form for a landlord. One of the reasons why a landlord will want to use this form, one of the legal reasons why a landlord can use this form,

is because the tenant has been persistently late in paying the rent. So that's one reason why this form can be used. A second reason is a tenant no longer qualifies to live in public or subsidized housing. Reason number three, the rental unit was made available to the tenant as a condition of employment and the employment has ended. So the tenant no longer has a right to occupy the premises. So the landlord can use form N8.

Nico James-Bock (07:12.088)
to end the tenancy. A fourth reason, the tenancy was created in good faith as result of an agreement of purchase and sale for a proposed condominium unit and the agreement has been terminated. So there will be no condominium unit. So that agreement has terminated. So the landlord can use Form N8 to end the tenancy. The fifth and final reason why a landlord will want to use the Form N08, is the N8, is the tenant is occupying the unit specifically to receive rehabilitative or therapeutic care and the period of tenancy agreed to has ended. So that period of rehabilitative care or therapeutic care has ended. So there's no reason why the tenant should be living in that unit. So the landlord can apply for the N8 or issue the N8.

which is a notice. In all cases, as I mentioned, or the vast majority of cases, the termination date for a tenancy is the end of the term. So 60 days is the required notice. 60 days begins on the first of the month following the date of service and ends 60 days after that.

The third form that can be used for the landlord is the N12. I mentioned the N12 at the beginning of the podcast. It's one of the most popular forms for landlords for ending a tenancy. And the reasons for ending the tenancy are because the landlord needs the space. It has to be a legitimate need for the space, either the landlord, the landlord's spouse.

Or there is a purchaser. Okay, so this cannot be issued if the property is only listed for sale. It has to be, it can only be issued if there's an accepted agreement of purchases and sale and there is a purchaser who does not want the tenant present in the premises. Again, this form should be used only under those two circumstances.

Nico James-Bock (09:41.345)
And the notice term is still the same, 60 days. So you serve the tenant on a particular date. I always advocate before, on or before the 20th of the month. You serve it and give the tenant 60 days from the first of the month following service to the end of the term, 60 days afterwards. That is the end 12.

Other form, the last form that I will talk about with regards to the form for a landlord is an M13. The M13 is because the landlord wants to demolish the unit or make extensive renovations. So there are specific conditions under which a landlord can demolish a unit or extend or perform extensive renovations. So the notice for giving this form is the same as well as the term that it has to be a reasonable amount of time that the landlord will need to demolish the unit and or perform extensive repairs. So M13 is the form to be used and it's to be served upon the tenant with the termination date again at the end of the term. Once any of these forms have been issued, the landlord can apply for an eviction. The eviction form

in the cases that I just mentioned, the N12 or N13, is an L3. So L3 is the application to end a tenancy and evict the tenant. There are obviously other forms and other applications, but for the purposes of this podcast, it is just those forms used to end, the most common forms used to end a residential tenancy.

Nico James-Bock (12:05.234)
We're going to pass over to the forms for the tenant. So the tenant also has certain forms that they can use in order to end tenancy, but the reasons have to be valid and the notice dates have to be respected. The first form that I will talk about is the N9.

The N9 form is a tenant's application to end a tenancy. And the reasons for ending the tenancy can be for not wanting to continue to live on the premises for various reasons. So again, the notice is... 60 days and the date for the termination has to be, can be the end of the term but it doesn't have to be. There are circumstances under which a tenant can give just 10 days notice in order to end the tenancy. One of those circumstances is if the tenant receives an N12 or an N13 which I just mentioned.

The termination date does not have to be the last day of the rental period. But that's only if the tenant uses N9 to end the tenancy after having received an N12 or an N13.

The next form is the form that I spoke about with regards to being common to both. That is the N11. So the tenants can also use the N11 to end the tenancy. And again, there does not have to be a 60-day requirement or the end of a period. It is an agreement. This is not a notice, it's an agreement.

Nico James-Bock (14:15.715)
So the tenant and the landlord can agree upon a date by which the tenant will vacate the premises. That concludes the major most common forms as well as the lesser known form of the N11, which should be thoroughly investigated and considered prior to the other forms being used.

include a link to the landlord and tenant board so you can have a look at the forms for landlord and for tenant as well as the respectable time frame in order to serve the forms. Under all circumstances, I repeat, you should seek legal advice before undertaking any kind of action against a tenant or a landlord.

You can refer to a paralegal, a lawyer, and you should also consult your trusted real estate advisor. That concludes this episode. We'll be in touch. All of my contact information is in the various channels, so it's really, really easy to reach out to me. The end of month...

Stats for November will be out in a few days. I'll be back with another podcast to discuss the activity that took place during the month of November. Ciao ciao.