How Residential Leases End in Ontario: Notice, N9, N11 and Eviction

This article is part of our complete guide to leasing in Ontario. It goes deeper on ending a lease in Ontario: the notices, the timing and the mistakes that cost landlords and tenants the most.

What Happens When a Lease Expires in Ontario?

Nothing ends automatically. When a fixed-term lease in Ontario runs out and no new agreement is signed, the tenant can stay as a monthly tenant. The Landlord and Tenant Board’s guide to the Residential Tenancies Act confirms this. All the rules of the old lease still apply, although the rent can be increased once a year as the Act allows.

So the end of a term is not a reason for a landlord to end a lease in Ontario. Likewise, a tenant who wants to leave at the end of the term still has to give proper notice. Ending a lease in Ontario always comes down to a notice, an agreement or a Board order.

How Does a Tenant End a Lease in Ontario?

A tenant ends a lease in Ontario by giving the landlord written notice on the Board’s Form N9. The Board’s brochure on how a tenant can end their tenancy sets out the notice periods:

• Monthly tenancy. At least 60 days, ending on the last day of a rental month.
• Fixed-term lease. At least 60 days, ending no earlier than the last day of the term.
• Weekly or daily tenancy. At least 28 days’ notice, ending on the last day of the applicable rental period.

For example, if rent is due on the first and a tenant gives notice on April 5, the earliest valid end date is June 30, not June 4. There’s one seasonal exception. A tenant moving out at the end of February can give notice by January 1, and one leaving at the end of March can give notice by February 1. Also add five days if the notice is mailed.

Why a Text Message Isn’t the Same as an N9 Notice

Use a completed N9 and an authorized delivery method. Don’t assume that a casual text or email ends your tenancy. Whether another written communication is legally effective can depend on its contents and the circumstances. Without valid notice, the tenant may owe rent until the unit is rented to someone else. At most, it’s owed until the earliest date proper notice could have ended the tenancy.

Can a Tenant Break a Lease Early in Ontario?

A tenant generally can’t end a fixed-term lease early simply because they want to move. However, an agreement, a statutory notice option, or a Board order may allow an earlier termination. A tenant who needs out before ending a lease in Ontario on its normal date can try any of these:

• Agree with the landlord. Both sides can sign an N11 for an agreed date, as the next sections explain.
• Ask to assign the lease. A new tenant takes over on the same terms. If the landlord refuses or doesn’t reply within seven days of the request, the tenant can give notice on an N9. It must be given within 30 days of asking, with at least 30 days’ notice (28 for a daily or weekly tenancy). If the landlord agrees to assignment but refuses the specific person proposed, the remedy is an application to the Board instead.
• Use the standard lease rule. If the landlord doesn’t provide the required standard lease within 21 days of a written request, the tenant can end the lease. They can give at least 60 days’ notice, ending on the last day of a rental period, even during a fixed term. If the landlord does provide the standard lease after the request, the tenant can decline to sign it and give the same notice, no later than 30 days after receiving it.

Situations That Allow Shorter Notice

Two situations let a tenant leave on shorter notice:

• Respond to an N12 or N13. After receiving one, a tenant can give an N9 with at least 10 days’ notice, and the termination date doesn’t have to fall at the end of a rental period. That helps a tenant who has found another place.
• Give an N15. A tenant experiencing sexual or domestic violence can end the tenancy with 28 days’ notice on Form N15, with a statement or court order.

If a Tenant Leaves Without Proper Notice

Meanwhile, a tenant who simply leaves early, without properly ending a lease in Ontario, stays liable for rent under the same rule as defective notice. Landlords, for their part, are expected to make reasonable efforts to re-rent the unit rather than let the rent build up.

How Does a Landlord End a Tenancy in Ontario?

A landlord can end a lease in Ontario only for a reason the Residential Tenancies Act allows, using the Board form that matches that reason. The Board’s brochure on how a landlord can end a tenancy lists each one. These are the most common:

• N4, non-payment of rent. 7 days for notices given on or after September 21, 2026.
• N5, damage or substantial interference. 20 days for a first notice. A first N5 generally gives the tenant seven days to correct the stated problem and void the notice. Different rules apply to a qualifying second notice, which needs at least 14 days.
• N6, illegal act. 10 days for an illegal act involving the production or trafficking of an illegal drug, and 20 days for most other illegal acts.
• N7, serious problems. 10 days, for example for wilfully causing undue damage or seriously impairing another person’s safety.
• N8, persistent late payment. 60 days, ending on the last day of a rental period or term (28 days for daily or weekly tenancies).
• N12, landlord’s or purchaser’s own use. At least 60 days. Our article on N12 notices in Ontario covers compensation, the 120-day rule and bad faith claims.
• N13, demolition, conversion or major repairs. 120 days.

What Counts as Persistent Late Payment

Since September 21, 2026, rent counts as persistently late when it arrives more than seven days after the due date at least three times within six months. That’s set out in the Board’s operational update. However, a payment doesn’t count as late if the landlord applied it to another amount the tenant owed. This isn’t the only pattern that can support a finding of persistent late payment, so it shouldn’t be treated as a seven-day grace period.

Use the Current Forms

Several forms changed in September 2026, including the N5, N6, N8, N12 and N13. The Board will no longer accept previous versions as of November 30, 2026. So download a fresh copy from the Board’s forms page each time.

Can a Landlord and Tenant Agree to End a Lease Early?

Yes. A landlord and tenant can agree to end a tenancy at any time, usually on Form N11. Because it’s an agreement, there’s no minimum notice period. However, a landlord can’t force a tenant to agree. Nor can a landlord require a tenant to sign an agreement to end the tenancy at a later date, apart from limited exemptions such as student housing and care homes.

If a tenant who signed an N11 doesn’t move out, the landlord can apply for an eviction order without notice to the tenant. The order is usually issued without a hearing. The tenant has 10 days to ask the Board to set it aside. Since September 21, 2026, though, the Board can do so only if it wouldn’t be unfair. It also can’t consider changes in the tenant’s circumstances after the agreement was signed. For that reason, an N11 sets an agreed date, but it doesn’t guarantee the unit will be empty on that date.

What Happens If a Tenant Doesn’t Leave After Notice?

A notice doesn’t force anyone out. If the tenant stays, the landlord has to apply to the Landlord and Tenant Board for an eviction order. Most applications must be filed within 30 days of the termination date in the notice. However, there’s no deadline for non-payment of rent or an abandoned unit.

The Board holds a hearing in most cases, and the tenant can dispute the application or ask for more time. For non-payment applications filed on or after September 21, 2026, the rules are stricter. A tenant who wants to raise other issues at the hearing must first pay the landlord half the arrears claimed, at least seven days before the hearing.

Only the Sheriff Can Enforce an Eviction

Even with an order, the landlord can’t remove the tenant or change the locks. Only the Court Enforcement Office, known as the Sheriff, can enforce an eviction order. Since July 1, 2026, an illegal lockout can bring a fine of up to $100,000 for an individual and $500,000 for a corporation.

How long all of this takes depends on the type of application and the Board’s schedule, which changes. Before planning a move, a renovation or a sale around a contested tenancy, check the Board’s published reports and build in a generous buffer.

What Mistakes Cost the Most When Ending a Lease in Ontario?

Most costly mistakes when ending a lease in Ontario are technical, and each one usually means starting again. These are the ones we see most often:

• Assuming the lease ends at the end of the term. It continues month to month until proper notice or an agreement ends it.
• Giving notice by text or verbally. Use the correct written form.
• Choosing the wrong termination date. The required date depends on the notice and the reason for ending the tenancy. Some notices must end on the last day of a rental period or fixed term; others don’t.
• Using the wrong form, or an old version. Each reason has its own form, and older versions of the forms updated in September 2026 won’t be accepted as of November 30, 2026.
• Pressuring a tenant to sign an N11. A landlord can’t make signing one a condition of the tenancy.
• Changing the locks. Only the Sheriff can enforce an eviction.

If you’re selling, also read our article on selling a tenanted property in Ontario. For showings while a tenant is still there, see access and showings during a tenancy.

What Happens After a Lease Ends in Ontario?

At the end of a tenancy, the last month’s rent deposit covers the rent for the final rental period. That means the tenant doesn’t pay that month again. During the tenancy, the landlord must also pay the tenant interest on the deposit every year, at the rent increase guideline rate, which is 2.1% for 2026.

Damage deposits aren’t allowed in Ontario. Instead, a landlord who believes a former tenant wilfully or negligently damaged the unit can apply to the Board on Form L10. The deadline is one year after the tenant moved out. Move-in and move-out photos and a written condition report make that much easier to prove. For lease terms that won’t hold up, read illegal lease clauses in Ontario and Ontario lease clauses, and for the wider relationship, tenant rights and landlord obligations.

We are not lawyers or paralegals, and this article is general information, not legal advice. It covers ordinary private residential tenancies under the Residential Tenancies Act and Landlord and Tenant Board guidance as of October 2026; social housing and other accommodation can follow different rules. These rules can change. Before serving or responding to a notice, speak with an Ontario lawyer or a licensed paralegal.