Few words spark more anxiety in Ontario’s rental market than renoviction. A tenant receives an N13 notice, sees a renovation on the horizon, and fears losing their home for good. A landlord, meanwhile, may believe that a genuine renovation is a simple ticket to a vacant unit. Both are missing the full picture. The N13 is one of the most demanding notices in Ontario tenancy law, layered with strict requirements, tenant protections, and increasingly, municipal rules that add even more obligations. Understanding what the N13 truly demands protects everyone involved.

MTS Paralegal Services P.C. represents both landlords and tenants before the Landlord and Tenant Board across Kitchener, Waterloo, Cambridge, Guelph, Hamilton, and Southwestern Ontario. Here is what the N13 actually requires.

When an N13 Is Even Permitted

The N13 is not a general-purpose eviction tool. Under the Residential Tenancies Act, 2006, it may only be used in three specific situations: the landlord intends to demolish the rental unit, to convert it to a non-residential use, or to carry out repairs or renovations so extensive that a building permit is required and the unit must be vacant for the work to proceed. That last condition is the one that matters most in a renoviction. Cosmetic upgrades, routine maintenance, or work that can be done with the tenant in place do not qualify.

This threshold is deliberately high. The renovation must be genuinely extensive, requiring both a building permit and vacant possession. A landlord who serves an N13 for work that does not truly demand an empty unit is on shaky ground, and a tenant who suspects the renovation claim is a pretext to remove them and re-rent at a higher price has strong reason to challenge the notice. Sorting a legitimate N13 from a disguised attempt to raise the rent is exactly the kind of assessment an experienced licensed paralegal makes before either side takes action.

The 120 Day Notice and the Building Permit

The N13 carries one of the longest notice periods in Ontario tenancy law. A landlord must give the tenant at least 120 days notice before the termination date, and that termination date must fall on the last day of a rental period. This lengthy runway reflects the serious disruption of displacing a household, and it stands in sharp contrast to the 60 days required for an N12. A notice that miscounts the period or sets the wrong termination date is defective and can be challenged.

Just as important is the requirement to have the necessary building permit in hand. A landlord generally must obtain the required building permit before the Landlord and Tenant Board will grant an eviction based on an N13, because the permit is what demonstrates the work is real and extensive enough to require a vacant unit. Layered on top of this, several municipalities have introduced their own renoviction rules. Hamilton, among the first in Ontario, requires landlords to obtain a municipal renovation licence, and cities including Toronto and London have adopted similar programs that impose additional steps and deadlines after an N13 is served. A landlord in these municipalities who satisfies the provincial rules but ignores the local bylaw can still find the process derailed.

Compensation: What the Tenant Is Owed

A renoviction is not free for the landlord. The Residential Tenancies Act, 2006 requires compensation, and the amount generally depends on the size of the residential complex. For a building with five or more residential units, a landlord evicting for demolition, conversion, or extensive renovation generally must pay compensation equal to three months rent, or offer the tenant another acceptable rental unit. For a building with fewer than five units, the compensation is generally one month rent or an acceptable alternative unit.

Because the exact compensation owed depends on the specific circumstances, the nature of the work, and recent and upcoming changes to the law, both landlords and tenants should confirm the precise figure that applies to their situation rather than assume. What is clear is that compensation is mandatory where the Act requires it, and a landlord who fails to provide it can see the eviction application fail at the Board. This is one of the most common ways an otherwise valid N13 comes apart, and it is entirely avoidable with proper guidance.

The Right of First Refusal

One of the most important and most overlooked features of the N13 is the tenant’s right of first refusal. Where a tenant is displaced for a renovation, they generally have the right to move back into the unit once the work is complete, at the same rent they were paying before, rather than the higher rent the renovated unit might command. This right is precisely what discourages bad-faith renovictions aimed at resetting the rent.

The right is conditional, and the condition catches many tenants off guard. To preserve the right of first refusal, the tenant must give the landlord written notice, before moving out, that they intend to return to the unit after the renovation. A tenant who simply vacates without giving that written notice can lose the right entirely. When the tenant has properly preserved the right, the landlord must notify them when the unit is ready and give them the opportunity to move back in. It is worth noting that Ontario has legislative changes to the right of first refusal rules taking effect in the near future, which makes current advice especially valuable for anyone navigating an N13 right now.

Do Not Navigate a Renoviction Alone

The N13 sits at the intersection of provincial law, municipal bylaws, strict timelines, mandatory compensation, and a conditional right to return. For a landlord, a single misstep in any of those areas can void the notice and send the process back to the start after months of delay. For a tenant, understanding these requirements is the difference between losing a home unnecessarily and preserving both compensation and the right to return. Getting it right matters enormously on both sides. Timothy Ellis of MTS Paralegal Services P.C. has spent over two decades guiding landlords and tenants through Landlord and Tenant Board matters across Southwestern Ontario.

Anyone serving or receiving an N13 can reach the firm through the contact page at mtsparalegalservices.com before taking the next step.

A renovation may be real. That does not make the eviction automatic.

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