N9 Form: What Ontario Landlords Need to Know When a Tenant Gives Notice

The N9 is the Ontario form a tenant uses to give the landlord written notice that they are ending the tenancy and moving out. This page explains, for the landlord who receives one, what a valid N9 looks like, which notice periods apply, and what to do if the tenant does not leave.

At a glance

What the N9 is for

Section 47 of the Residential Tenancies Act, 2006 (RTA) lets a tenant end a tenancy at the end of a rental period or fixed term by giving notice that meets the periods in s. 44. Section 43(1) requires the notice to be in the Board-approved form, identify the unit, state the termination date, and be signed by the person giving it or their agent. The N9 is that form.

If the tenant moves out in accordance with a valid N9, the tenancy ends on the termination date (s. 37(2)). If the tenant does not leave, the N9 is the basis for the landlord's L3 application under s. 77.

When to use it (and when not to)

The N9 fits a tenant who simply wants to leave. These situations use different rules or forms:

• Tenant received an N12 or N13. The tenant may end the tenancy on at least 10 days' notice, on any day (ss. 48(3)–(4), 49(4)–(5), 50(4)–(5)).
• Landlord refused an assignment. If you refused, or did not respond within seven days, the tenant may give notice within 30 days of the request (s. 95(4)). The period is the lesser of the normal period and 30 days (s. 96(2)), on any day.
• Care home. A care home tenant may end the tenancy on at least 30 days' notice at any time (s. 145(1)), and may give 10 days' notice to stop care services and meals (s. 145(2)).
• Standard lease not provided. If a required standard form of lease was demanded in writing and not provided within 21 days (or provided and not signed), the tenant may end even a fixed term on 60 days' notice ending on the last day of a rental period (s. 47.0.1).
• Sexual or domestic violence. A tenant leaving for that reason uses the N15, which has a 28-day period and strict confidentiality rules.
• Both sides agree on a date. If you and the tenant agree to end the tenancy on a date the N9 rules would not allow, sign an N11 Agreement to End the Tenancy instead (s. 37(3)).

A landlord cannot make a tenant sign an N9 when the lease is signed or as a condition of renting. A notice given that way is void (s. 37(4)). The exceptions are students in accommodation provided by, or under an agreement with, a post-secondary institution (s. 37(6)), and certain care home units for rehabilitative or therapeutic services described on the N9.

Deadlines and limitation periods

Notice periods (s. 44).

• Monthly tenancy: at least 60 days, ending on the last day of a rental period. If rent is due on the 1st, the date must be the last day of a month.
• Yearly tenancy: at least 60 days, ending on the last day of a yearly period.
• Fixed term: at least 60 days before the expiry date, effective on that date. The N9 cannot set a date before the end of the term (apart from s. 47.0.1).
• Daily or weekly tenancy: at least 28 days, ending on the last day of a rental period (for rent due Mondays, a Sunday).

February and March (s. 44(5)). A notice for the last day of February is treated as 60 days' notice if given by January 1; for the last day of March, if given by February 1.

Counting. Count calendar days, excluding the day the notice is given and including the termination date, even where the Act says "at least" (Legislation Act, 2006, s. 89(3)). A notice sent by mail is deemed given on the fifth day after mailing (s. 191(3)); courier is deemed served the day after it is given to the courier, or the next business day if that day is a Saturday, Sunday or holiday (Rule 3.9; Rule 1.1 defines "holiday" to include weekends). Example: for a monthly tenancy with rent due on the 1st, an N9 handed over on August 28 can end the tenancy on October 31. One handed over on September 5 cannot, and its earliest valid date is November 30.

After the termination date.

• A notice of termination becomes void 30 days after its termination date unless the tenant has moved out or the landlord has applied for an eviction order (s. 46(1)).
• The L3 must be filed no later than 30 days after the termination date (s. 77(3)).

How to fill out the N9, section by section

The current form is version 01/04/2022 and has three pages. Pages 1 and 3 are filled in; page 2 is information from the LTB.

1. To (Landlord's name). The landlord's legal name, or the company name.
2. From (Tenant's name). The form says to include all tenant names.
3. Address of the Rental Unit. Full address with unit number and postal code.
4. Termination date. The last day of the tenancy, written dd/mm/yyyy. This is the field most often wrong; check it against the periods above.
5. Statement. "I will move out of the rental unit on or before the termination date" is pre-printed.
6. Signature block (page 3). Tick Tenant or Representative, then signature, first and last name, phone number and the date signed. A representative may sign as the tenant's agent (s. 43(1)(c)).
7. Office use only. Left blank.

Serving it

The tenant gives the N9 to you, not the LTB. Section 191(1) allows hand delivery to you or your employee with authority over the complex, leaving it in your mailbox, or mailing it to where you live or carry on business. Rule 3.1 adds courier and email (if you consented in writing). A notice served another way is still valid if it actually reached you in time (s. 191(2)). Record when and how it arrived.

If you are the landlord responding

1. Check it the day it arrives. Confirm the form, the unit, every tenant's signature, and that the date meets the right period and falls on the last day of a period or term. Keep the original and proof of when it arrived.
2. If the date is wrong, deal with it now. A short or wrongly dated N9 is a risk on an L3. Ask for a corrected N9, or agree on a date in an N11.
3. Showing the unit. Once notice has been given, you may enter without written notice to show the unit to prospective tenants between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m., after informing or making a reasonable effort to inform the tenant (s. 26(3)).
4. Rent after notice. Accepting rent or compensation after an N9 does not waive the notice or create a new tenancy unless you agree otherwise (s. 45). If you want the tenancy to continue, put that agreement in writing.
5. If the tenant leaves early or without proper notice. Rent is owing up to the earliest date a proper notice could have ended the tenancy (s. 88(1)). It stops when a new tenant is entitled to move in (s. 88(3)), and you must take reasonable steps to re-rent and limit your loss (ss. 16, 88(4)).
6. If the tenant does not leave. File an L3 by the deadline. You do not have to wait for the termination date.
7. Belongings left behind. If the tenant moves out in accordance with the N9, you may sell, keep or dispose of property left in the unit (s. 41(1)(a)).

Mistakes that get it refused, voided or dismissed

1. Termination date too early. Less than 60 (or 28) days, or before the end of a fixed term outside the exceptions, so the notice does not comply with ss. 44 and 47.
2. Date not the last day of a rental period. Where s. 44 requires an end-of-period date, a mid-month date is defective even with enough days' notice.
3. Signed at lease signing. Void under s. 37(4), outside the student and care home exceptions.
4. Missing tenants. If only one of several tenants signs, the landlord may struggle to prove that every tenant gave notice. Ask all tenants to sign.
5. Letter or text instead of the form. Section 43(1) requires the approved form. A landlord who relies on an informal message instead of an N9 or N11 is taking a risk.
6. Landlord waits too long. If the tenant stays and the landlord does not file within 30 days after the termination date, the L3 is out of time (s. 77(3)) and the notice becomes void (s. 46(1)).

What happens next

If the tenant moves out on or before the termination date, the tenancy ends and nothing is filed. If the tenant stays, the landlord files an L3 on the Tribunals Ontario Portal with an affidavit verifying the notice (s. 77(2)). The LTB may issue an eviction order without a hearing, effective no earlier than the N9 termination date (s. 77(5)).

The tenant can file an S2 within 10 days, which stays the order (s. 77(6)–(7)). Since September 21, 2026, the LTB sets the order aside only if that would not be unfair, without regard to changes in the tenant's circumstances after the N9 (O. Reg. 516/06, s. 8.2).

Frequently asked questions

How much notice does a tenant have to give in Ontario?

At least 60 days for monthly, yearly and fixed-term tenancies, ending on the last day of a period or term; 28 days for daily or weekly tenancies. Shorter periods apply after an N12 or N13, in care homes and after a refused assignment.

Can a tenant break a one-year lease with an N9?

Generally no; the date cannot be before the end of the term, except under s. 47.0.1. The tenant can ask to assign the unit (and may give notice if you refuse or do not answer within seven days), or you can agree on a date in an N11.

Can a tenant cancel an N9 after giving it?

The RTA does not set out a way for a tenant to withdraw an N9 on their own. If you and the tenant agree that the tenancy will continue, record that in writing so there is no doubt later.

Official sources

• Residential Tenancies Act, 2006, ss. 16, 26, 37, 41, 43–47.0.1, 48–50, 77, 88, 95–96, 145, 191
• N9 – Tenant's Notice to End the Tenancy (PDF)
• O. Reg. 516/06, s. 8.2
• Legislation Act, 2006, s. 89
• LTB Rules of Procedure, Rules 1.1, 3.1, 3.9
• LTB Forms, filing and fees
• LTB Operational Update, September 21, 2026

Last reviewed October 31, 2026. This page is general information, not legal advice for your situation. Always use the current version of the form from the LTB.