Form N9: Notice Periods, Filling It Out, and Serving Your Landlord

Form N9 is the Ontario Landlord and Tenant Board’s Tenant’s Notice to End the Tenancy — the one-page form a residential tenant fills out and delivers to a landlord to end the tenancy voluntarily. You can download it from the LTB at tribunalsontario.ca, complete it by hand or in Adobe Reader, and serve it on your landlord within the notice period that fits your situation.¹ The details that decide whether the notice actually works are the termination date you write on it and the way you deliver it.

When the N9 Is the Right Form

The N9 covers every situation where an Ontario tenant ends a tenancy voluntarily. There are no checkboxes on the form for choosing a reason; the same form is used regardless of scenario. What changes with the scenario is how much notice you owe and whether your termination date has to fall on the last day of a rental period.²

Ending a month-to-month tenancy, or leaving at the end of a fixed-term lease rather than renewing.
Responding to an N12 (landlord’s own use) or N13 (demolition or major renovation) from your landlord by choosing an earlier move-out date.
Your landlord refused to let you assign the unit, or did not respond to your assignment request within seven days, under Section 95 of the Residential Tenancies Act.³
Your tenancy began on or after April 30, 2018, your landlord was required to provide the Ontario Standard Form of Lease, and more than 21 days have passed since you demanded it in writing without receiving one.
You live in a care home.
You are experiencing domestic or sexual violence. Section 47.1 of the RTA sets a shortened timeline; call the LTB at 1-888-332-3234 or a community legal clinic for the specific documentation required.

Notice Periods and Picking a Valid Termination Date

The termination date you write on the N9 has to do two things: give the landlord at least the minimum notice, and, for most scenarios, fall on the last day of a rental period. The minimums come from Sections 44 and 47 of the Residential Tenancies Act.³

Monthly and Fixed-Term Tenancies

At least 60 days’ notice, and the termination date has to be the last day of a rental period. A rental period usually runs one month from your rent-due date. If rent is due on the first, the last day of the rental period is the last calendar day of the month. If rent is due on the fifteenth, the last day is the fourteenth of the following month.

The way this plays out in practice: count 60 full days forward from the day you plan to deliver the notice, then use the next last-day-of-period on or after that mark. Say rent is due on the first and you deliver notice on March 3. Sixty days out is May 2, but the next last-day-of-period is May 31. Your termination date is May 31, which is close to 89 days of actual notice. Choosing April 30 would fall short of the 60-day minimum and void the notice.

Daily and Weekly Tenancies

At least 28 days’ notice, with the termination date still falling on the last day of a rental period — the last day of the week your tenancy treats as a full period.³

Scenarios with Shorter or Flexible Timelines

Responding to an N12 or N13: at least 10 days’ notice, and the termination date does not have to be the last day of a rental period.²
Refused assignment: at least 30 days’ notice, no alignment requirement, and the N9 has to be given within 30 days of the assignment request.³
Care home: at least 30 days’ notice, no alignment requirement.
No standard lease provided: early termination is available once the 21-day demand period lapses without a standard lease, or where a standard lease was provided but you haven’t signed it within the last 30 days.²

A single date miscalculation can void the whole notice and leave you responsible for another month of rent. Giving more than the minimum is always fine; giving less is fatal.

Filling In the Form

The N9 itself is short. What you enter:²

To (Landlord’s name): the landlord’s full legal name, or the property management company’s name if that is who appears on your lease.
From (Tenant’s name): every tenant on the lease who is giving notice. A co-tenant whose name is not on the form has not given notice and remains bound by the lease.
Address of the rental unit: the complete municipal address, including unit or apartment number.
Termination date: the last day of your tenancy, in dd/mm/yyyy format. This is where most errors happen. Check it against the rules above.
Signature, name, phone number, and signature date: each tenant listed signs and dates the form. What counts legally is when the landlord receives the notice, not when you signed it.

Keep a copy for yourself before you serve it.

Serving It on Your Landlord

How you deliver the N9 sets the date the LTB treats as delivery, and that date starts the notice clock. Different methods have different “deemed received” rules, and the wrong one can push your effective service date past the minimum and make your termination date invalid.⁴

Hand delivery to the landlord or their agent: deemed received the same day.
Landlord’s mailbox or mail slot: deemed received the day you leave it there.
Email: deemed received the day you send it, but only if the landlord has agreed in writing to accept documents by email, through the standard lease or a signed Consent to Service by Email form. Without that written agreement, email service is not valid.
Fax: deemed received on the date shown on the fax confirmation.
Courier: deemed received the first business day after sending.
Regular mail: deemed received five days after mailing. If you are close to your 60-day, 30-day, or 28-day minimum, those five days can push your effective service date past the line.

Courier and regular mail are not interchangeable. Courier adds about one business day; regular mail adds five calendar days.

Keep proof of delivery: a photo of the notice in the mailbox, a courier confirmation, a fax transmission report, or a screenshot of the sent email. If you later file anything with the LTB about this tenancy, you will also need a completed Certificate of Service stating when, where, and how you served the notice.⁵

What You Still Owe and Handle Before Move-Out

Once the N9 is properly served, the tenancy ends at midnight on the termination date. You cannot unilaterally take the notice back; continuing the tenancy after giving notice requires the landlord’s agreement.

Rent through the termination date. If you paid a last month’s rent deposit at the start of the tenancy, that deposit covers your final month. Confirm with your landlord that the deposit amount matches the current rent, since landlords can require the deposit to be topped up when rent increases legally.
Interest on your rent deposit. Ontario landlords owe annual interest on last month’s rent deposits based on the provincial rent increase guideline. If it hasn’t been paid, you can deduct the owed amount from your rent.
Unit condition. Return the unit in the condition you received it, minus normal wear and tear. You are responsible for damage beyond ordinary use, not for scuffed walls or worn carpet.
Belongings. Remove everything by midnight on the termination date. Anything left behind may be disposed of by the landlord.
Keys, fobs, and access cards. Return them all. Keeping keys after the termination date can suggest you have not actually vacated.
Forwarding address. Give it to the landlord so any correspondence, including any deposit interest owed, can reach you.

Leaving Without a Valid N9

Walking out mid-lease without a valid N9, or with an N9 that has the wrong termination date, does not end your legal obligations. There is no automatic lease-breaking fee in Ontario, but you remain liable for rent until the tenancy is properly terminated.

The landlord has a duty to mitigate by making reasonable efforts to re-rent the unit. Until a new tenant moves in, you can be responsible for the gap in rent and reasonable costs like advertising. To recover those amounts, the landlord would file an L10 application with the LTB within one year of the date you vacated. Talking to your landlord about an early termination agreement or helping find a replacement tenant almost always costs less than an L10 proceeding.

Getting Help From the LTB

If you are not sure which notice period applies or you want the form checked before you serve it, the Landlord and Tenant Board can be reached at 416-645-8080 in the Toronto area or 1-888-332-3234 toll-free. The N9 form and instructional brochures are at tribunalsontario.ca/ltb.²

1
Tribunals Ontario. Forms, Filing and Fees
2
Tribunals Ontario. N9 Tenant’s Notice to End the Tenancy
3
Government of Ontario. Residential Tenancies Act, 2006
4
Tribunals Ontario. How to Serve a Landlord or Tenant with Documents
5
Tribunals Ontario. Certificate of Service