How to Evict a Tenant for Personal Use

This process starts with serving a form called an N12. This form is specifically to evict a tenant because you require personal use for the unit. 

So, you wish to serve your tenant with an N12 notice to End your Tenancy Because the Landlord, a Purchaser or a Family Member Requires the Rental Unit. 

This process seems simple enough, however many independent landlords who try to complete an N12 often end up with errors in the application that would prove to be fatal at a hearing. 

What is a form N12?

Firstly, what is an N12? An N12 is a notice you can serve on your tenant to evict the unit for one of two reasons:

1. You, a member of your immediate family or a person who provides or will provide care services to you or a member of your immediate family wants to move into the rental unit and occupy it for at least one year. 

2. The purchaser, a member of the purchaser’s immediate family or a person who provides or will provide care services to the purchaser or a member of the purchaser’s immediate family wants to move into the rental unit, and,  the complex contains no more than three residential units, and,  you have entered into an agreement of purchase and sale of the complex. 

The N12 may only be used in one of the two above cases. Any other reasons would leave the N12 to be found in 'Bad Faith' during a hearing at the Landlord and Tenant Board.

How do I Serve an N12?

The landlord most only serve an N12 in the above to situations. In addition to that, there is a notice period for every N12 that is served. The tenant must be given at least 60 days notice before the following application, an L2, can be filed with the Landlord and Tenant Board. Also, the date must be on the last day of the rental period or, if the tenancy is for a fixed term, the last day of the fixed term. 

• E.g. The tenancy is month-to-month and rent is paid on the first of each month. If the landlord decides to give this notice on August 1st, and the landlord is handing the notice to the tenant, the earliest date the landlord could fill in as the termination date is September 30th (60 days from August 1st and falling on the last day of a rental period). If the landlord is serving the notice via mail, an extra 5 days must be added to account for travel time through the mail. 

The notice must also be served in one of a few different ways. Leaving/taping the notice to the door is not acceptable and would not be accepted at a hearing with the Landlord and Tenant Board. 

Here are the following ways an N12 notice may be served:

1. Hand it directly to the tenant or to an adult in the rental unit;

2. Leave it in the tenant's mailbox or where mail is ordinarily delivered;

3. Place it under the door of the rental unit or through a mail slot in the door; 

4. Send it by fax to a fax machine where the tenant carries on business or to a fax machine in their home;

5. Send it by courier; or 

6. Send it by mail. 

How to Apply to the Landlord and Tenant Board

It is important that you keep a copy of the notice you give your tenant. You can apply to the Landlord Tenant Board (LTB) for an order to terminate the tenancy immediately after giving the notice to the tenant. To make this application, you need an Application to End a Tenancy and Evict a Tenant (Form L2). You will also need to file a copy of the Notice to End your Tenancy at the End of the Term (Form N12) you gave the tenant, and a Certificate of Service to tell the LTB when and how you gave the notice to the tenant. 

You must apply no later than 30 days after the termination date you put in this notice. 

Arguably, one of the important parts to the N12 notice is the requirement to provide compensation to the tenant. 

You must either pay the tenant an amount equal to one month’s rent as compensation or offer the tenant another rental unit that is acceptable to them. If you pay the tenant compensation it must be paid on or before the termination date in the notice. Compensation may also include waiving one month's of rent that the tenant would otherwise have to pay.

Failure to provide the tenant with compensation before the termination date will always result in your application being dismissed. 

Cash for Keys Agreement

If you have researched this topic, you will likely have heard the phrase 'Cash for Keys'. This refers to a private agreement outside of the Residential Tenancies Act, where the Landlord and Tenant come to a private agreement to vacate the unit. Normally this comes with providing 'extra' compensation to the tenant.

The compensation here depends entirely on what the parties agree to. For example, compensation may be:

• One month of rent

• A few months worth of rent

• Paying first and last for a new unit

• Forgiving previously owed rent arrears

• Any combination of the above or more.

Negotiating a Cash for Keys agreement can be stressful. To get the best agreement, consider hiring a licensed paralegal to negotiate this agreement for you. 

To prevent your application from being dismissed due to error, please contact an experienced Licensed Paralegal such as us at Kaufman Paralegal Services. 

Restrictions to Evicting for Personal Use

There are a few restrictions to evicting a tenant for personal use. For example, you can not evict the tenant just to sell the unit, or rent it out to a new tenant at a higher rate. If there is proof of this, it is a bad-faith eviction. Being found acting in a bad-faith eviction may lead to a fine up to $50,000 for the Landlord. 

The Landlord (Or person listed on the form), but live at the unit for at least a year. The person does not need to move in right away; but when they do move in, they need to live there for at least one year. If the Landlord acts in bad faith or does not move in at all, the former tenant may file an application against the Landlord with the Landlord and Tenant Board.

If you are a Landlord who requires personal use of their unit, please consider hiring a professional to help. Kaufman Paralegal Services has extensive experience in this area. Any small error in your forms or application can lead to dismissal of your matter; don't give it up to change. Hire an experienced paralegal who will complete your matter right, the first time. 

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Michael Joseph Kaufman

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