GTA Rental Guide
An N12 notice can be used for qualifying personal use by a landlord or purchaser. The notice must meet specific occupancy and timing rules. Whether compensation is required depends on who intends to occupy the unit, when the notice was given, and how much notice it provides.
General information only, not legal advice. If you've received an active N12, the timeline matters - talk to a paralegal, a lawyer, or the Landlord and Tenant Board directly before you act on anything here.
N12 snapshot
Know the rules before you respond.
Direct Answer
An N12 is a notice for qualifying personal use by a landlord under section 48 or a purchaser under section 49, not for renovations or a sale alone. The intended occupancy must be genuine. Landlord-own-use requires at least one year of intended occupancy; section 49 does not state the same one-year minimum for purchaser-own-use. An N12 needs at least 60 days' notice, ending on the last day of a rental period or fixed term. One month's rent or another unit acceptable to the tenant is normally required by the termination date. The exception is a section 48 landlord-own-use notice given on or after September 21, 2026 with at least 120 days' notice and the required term- or period-end date. The exception does not cover purchaser-own-use N12 notices.
What Is N12
An N12 (Notice to End your Tenancy Because the Landlord, a Purchaser or a Family Member Requires the Rental Unit) concerns qualifying personal use by a landlord or purchaser. It's not a tool for general renovations, unit conversions, or demolition - those go through a different notice, an N13, with its own separate rules and its own separate compensation framework. If your notice cites construction, repairs, or a change of use rather than someone actually moving in, you likely received the wrong form, or a form that doesn't match the stated reason.
The occupancy has to be genuine, not a formality. For section 48 landlord-own-use, the intended occupant must plan to live in the unit for at least one year. Re-listing it for rent or sale after the tenant leaves can be relevant to a bad-faith T5 application, but the LTB decides whether the notice was given in bad faith. Minimum notice is 60 days, and the termination date on the notice has to land on the last day of a rental period (for month-to-month tenancies) or the end of the fixed term in a lease.
Family Members
For landlord-own-use notices under section 48: the landlord, their spouse, a child or parent of either, or a caregiver for one of them if the person receiving care resides or intends to reside in the building, related group of buildings, mobile home park or land lease community.
For section 48 landlord-own-use: siblings, extended family (grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins), friends and roommates are not qualifying occupants. A corporate landlord cannot serve a section 48 N12 for its own use; purchaser-own-use under section 49 is a separate category.
This list is narrower than most tenants - and some landlords - assume. If a landlord-own-use N12 names someone outside this section 48 list, that's worth raising directly, ideally with a paralegal or through the LTB.
See the LTB's Guideline 12 on qualifying occupants and caregivers.
Compensation
When compensation is required
For section 48 landlord-own-use notices that do not meet the exception below, and for section 49 purchaser-own-use notices, the landlord must pay one month's rent or offer another rental unit acceptable to the tenant by the termination date. The LTB will not issue an eviction order unless any required compensation obligation has been met.
Section 48 exception in force since September 21, 2026
If a section 48 landlord-own-use N12 was given on or after September 21, 2026, gives at least 120 days' notice, and ends on the last day of a fixed term or rental period, the landlord does not have to pay compensation or offer another unit. This does not apply to earlier section 48 notices or to purchaser-own-use notices under section 49. Check the LTB's Guideline 12 on N12 compensation and see our Bill 60 tenant changes guide for the effective-date overview.
Bad Faith
File a Form T5 - Tenant Application for Compensation for Landlord's Bad Faith Notice to End a Tenancy - with the LTB. This is a separate application from anything related to the original N12 eviction itself.
You have up to 12 months after you moved out to file, so acting quickly isn't a barrier if you're still gathering evidence.
Evidence may include the unit being advertised for rent or sale, or occupancy that differs from the stated purpose. These facts can matter, but bad faith is decided by the LTB, not automatically proven by suspicion.
If the LTB finds bad faith, remedies can include general compensation of up to one year's rent and a separate administrative fine; the outcome depends on the case.
For a T5 filed after September 21, 2026 about a section 48 landlord-own-use N12, a rebuttable bad-faith presumption applies if the named occupant has not moved in within 60 days after the notice's termination date when the tenant left by that date, or within 60 days after the tenant vacated if they left later. This new 60-day presumption does not apply to purchaser-own-use N12 notices. The landlord may rebut it at the hearing; see the LTB's Guideline 12 on T5 bad-faith applications.
For the broader rules landlords have to follow beyond eviction notices - deposits, entry, rent increases - see our Ontario tenant rights guide.
Next Step
Whether you're weighing whether to challenge an N12 or just want a clearer picture of your rights as a tenant, see our Ontario tenant rights guide for the rules that apply beyond eviction notices, or use the Key to GTA Rental Readiness tool if this notice means you're already planning your next rental.
Free readiness check
It takes a few minutes and gives you a clearer view of where your application is strong, what may need work, and what to prepare next.
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General information only, not legal advice - if you've received an active N12, talk to a paralegal, a lawyer, or the Landlord and Tenant Board directly.
An N12 is a notice for qualifying personal use by a landlord or purchaser. It requires at least 60 days' notice with a termination date at the end of a rental period or fixed term. For landlord-own-use under section 48, the intended occupancy is at least one year. Compensation is normally one month's rent or another unit acceptable to the tenant, but qualifying section 48 notices given on or after September 21, 2026 with at least 120 days' notice are exempt. Purchaser-own-use notices remain subject to compensation.
A sale alone is not grounds for an N12. Under section 49, a landlord may give an N12 after entering an agreement of purchase and sale for a condominium unit or a residential complex with no more than three units, if the purchaser, a permitted family member or qualifying caregiver genuinely intends to occupy the unit. The landlord-own-use one-year occupancy requirement is not stated for purchaser-own-use N12 notices. See the LTB's Guideline 12 for the sale and occupancy conditions.
You may file a T5 within 12 months of moving out if you moved out because of the N12 notice or a related L2 application or order and believe the notice was given in bad faith. For a section 48 landlord-own-use N12, a rebuttable bad-faith presumption can apply to a T5 filed after September 21, 2026 if the named occupant does not move in within 60 days after the N12 termination date when you left by that date, or within 60 days after you vacated if you left later. It does not apply to purchaser-own-use notices. The landlord can rebut the presumption; the LTB decides the case and any remedies.
For section 48 landlord-own-use N12 notices given on or after September 21, 2026, compensation is not required if the notice gives at least 120 days and the termination date is the last day of a fixed term or rental period. For earlier or shorter section 48 notices, and for purchaser-own-use notices under section 49, the landlord must pay one month's rent or offer another unit acceptable to you by the termination date. The LTB cannot order eviction unless any required compensation obligation is met.