Evictions & Ending a Tenancy
N13 Renovation Evictions in Ontario: The Process, Grounds, and Tenant Protections
How Ontario's N13 notice works for renovation, repair, and demolition evictions — the grounds, the good-faith requirement, permits, and the tenant's right to return.
An N13 is the Ontario notice a landlord serves to end a tenancy for demolition, extensive renovation, or conversion to non-residential use — but it only holds up when the work genuinely requires the unit to be vacant, the landlord follows the LTB’s process in good faith, and the displaced tenant is offered the right to move back in once the work is done.
What Is the N13 Notice, and When Can a Landlord Use It?
The N13 is the Landlord and Tenant Board’s official form for ending a tenancy because the landlord intends to demolish the unit, extensively renovate or repair it, or convert it to non-residential use — and it only applies when the work can’t reasonably be done with the tenant living there.
It is not a general-purpose eviction tool. A landlord who wants a tenant out for reasons unrelated to a genuine demolition, renovation, or conversion plan is in the wrong-form territory, and using the N13 that way is what turns an otherwise valid process into a bad-faith problem later.
What Counts as “Extensive” Renovation Under an N13?
Extensive renovation means work disruptive enough that the tenant cannot safely or reasonably continue living in the unit while it happens — not cosmetic upgrades a tenant could live through.
Replacing flooring, patching or repainting walls, and similar cosmetic refreshes don’t meet the bar on their own. A clearer example is remediation work that creates a genuine health-and-safety issue for an occupied unit — that kind of scope is what the N13 is built for. If the work could realistically be completed around a tenant, an N13 is the wrong notice, and a tenant can successfully challenge it on that basis alone.
The N13 Process, Step by Step
Serving a valid N13 means working through a defined sequence — skipping or rushing a step is the most common way landlords end up with a stalled or overturned notice.
- Confirm the grounds. Verify the work is demolition, extensive renovation/repair, or conversion to non-residential use — genuinely requiring the unit to be vacant, not just convenient timing.
- Line up documentation before serving notice. Depending on the renovation type, the LTB will expect either the required building permits or evidence of all reasonable steps taken to obtain them where they can’t be issued until the unit is vacant — confirm what’s required and realistic timelines first.
- Serve the official LTB N13 form on the tenant, providing the minimum termination notice period the LTB currently requires.
- Expect a possible dispute. A tenant who disagrees with the notice does not have to move out on the strength of the N13 alone, and can bring the matter to a hearing.
- Attend the LTB hearing prepared on permits. Be ready to show either the required permits or all reasonable steps taken to obtain them where they can’t be issued until the unit is vacant, and advocate for an eviction order — the notice itself doesn’t force the tenant out.
- Obtain the eviction order. Only the LTB, not the landlord, decides whether the tenancy actually ends.
- Carry out the work as represented in the notice — genuinely, and within a reasonable timeframe.
- Offer the right of first refusal. Once the work is complete, the displaced tenant must be given the opportunity to move back in — at a rent no higher than what the landlord could have lawfully charged had the tenancy never been interrupted, not a reset to market rate.
Some municipalities — Toronto among them — have added their own licensing and compensation requirements on top of this provincial process; landlords should confirm whether their municipality has done the same before relying on the N13 alone.
The Good-Faith Requirement — What It Means and Why It Matters
Good faith under an N13 means the landlord genuinely intends to do exactly what the notice states — demolish, renovate, or convert the unit as described, not use the notice as a pretext to remove a tenant.
Bad faith is the absence of that genuine intent: serving an N13 to remove a tenant paying below-market rent without a real renovation plan, or claiming an intent to demolish with no actual plan to demolish. Because an N13 is a no-fault notice — the tenant hasn’t done anything wrong — the law treats a landlord who doesn’t follow through on what they represented as having misused the process, and attaches real financial consequences to it. Landlords should treat the stated intent as a commitment, not a formality.
Tenant Rights Under an N13
A tenant served an N13 keeps three core protections: the right to stay unless the LTB orders otherwise, the right to challenge the notice, and the right of first refusal to return once work is complete.
| Right | What it means for the tenant |
|---|---|
| Right to stay | The tenant does not have to move out simply because the landlord has served an N13 — only an LTB eviction order can end the tenancy. |
| Right to challenge | At a hearing, the tenant can argue the landlord doesn’t genuinely intend to complete the work, that the work could be done without vacating, or that the landlord hasn’t been able to obtain the required permits. |
| Right of first refusal | Once the renovation, repair, or demolition-and-rebuild is complete, the tenant can move back in at a rent no higher than what the landlord could have lawfully charged had the tenancy continued — not a reset to market rate. |
Building Permits and the LTB Hearing
Permits matter at an N13 hearing — depending on the type of renovation, the LTB expects the landlord to show either that the necessary permits have been obtained, or that they have taken all reasonable steps to obtain them where a permit genuinely can’t be issued until the unit is vacant.
This is one of the most common ways an N13 stalls: a landlord serves the notice with neither the permits nor evidence of reasonable steps toward them, then can’t move the eviction order forward when the tenant disputes and the matter reaches a hearing. Confirming permit requirements and realistic approval timelines before serving notice — not after — avoids that gap.
How Landlords Get N13s Overturned for Bad Faith
An N13 gets overturned, or exposes the landlord to a bad-faith application, when the landlord doesn’t actually follow through on what the notice described — the tenant is entitled to challenge or later sue over that gap.
Common triggers for a bad-faith finding: never starting the renovation after the tenant vacates, denying a returning tenant the right of first refusal, or re-renting the unit to someone else at a higher rate instead of honoring the return right. Former tenants who gave written notice of their intent to move back in — and were denied that opportunity — can bring a bad-faith application; check the LTB’s current filing deadlines, which run longer for N13-related bad-faith claims than for some other no-fault notices. Bad-faith findings carry real financial consequences under the current Residential Tenancies Act penalty provisions, which is why getting legal advice before serving an N13 is the standard recommendation from landlord-tenant paralegals.
Where to Get Help With an N13
Because an N13 combines a strict notice-and-permit process with a good-faith standard that gets tested after the fact, landlords should get legal advice before serving one rather than after a tenant disputes it.
A paralegal or lawyer experienced in landlord-tenant matters can confirm current notice periods, permit requirements, and — where they apply — any municipal licensing or compensation rules layered on top of the provincial process, before a notice goes out rather than after it’s challenged.
This guide is written for general information; always confirm current notice periods, permit requirements, compensation rules, and filing deadlines directly with the Landlord and Tenant Board before serving an N13.