Notice Requirements / Serving the Notice / Frequently Asked Questions
A landlord can serve a tenant with a notice to terminate a periodic tenancy for specific reasons, none of which mean the tenant did something wrong. The only reasons a landlord can end a periodic tenancy are:
- major renovations or demolition of the property
- conversion to a condominium
- termination of employee of the landlord
- the landlord or the landlord’s relative is going to live in the property
- conversion from residential to non-residential (e.g., business) usage
- the property is sold and the new owner or a relative of the new owner wants to move in
- the property sold is a detached or semi-detached home or condo unit and the new owner requests in writing that the landlord give the tenant a notice to end the tenancy
- the landlord is an educational institution and the tenant is no longer a student or will no longer be a student as of the tenancy termination date
Notice Requirements
Condominium Conversion or Major Renovations
To terminate a periodic tenancy for condominium conversion or major renovations, the landlord’s notice must meet the following requirements:
- be in writing
- give the address of the property
- contain the landlord’s signature
- state the reason for the tenancy ending (e.g., condo conversion or major renovations);
- state the date the tenancy ends
- served on the tenant at least 365 days before the termination date
Landlord’s Employee
To terminate a periodic tenancy of an employee of the landlord, the following requirements must be met:
- the employee must have been renting the property because of their employment
- the employment must have ended
- the notice must be in writing, give the address of the property, have the landlord’s signature, state the reason for the tenancy ending (e.g., termination of employment), and the date it ends and
- the landlord must give the employee/tenant advance notice that is equal to the period of notice that the law requires to terminate employment or the period of notice agreed upon by the landlord and tenant/employee or one week’s notice (whichever period is longest).
Any Other Allowable Reason
To terminate a periodic tenancy for any of the other allowable reasons, the landlord’s notice must meet the following requirements:
- be in writing
- give the address of the property
- have the landlord’s signature
- state the reason for the tenancy termination (the reason must be one of the reasons listed above)
- set out the termination date and
- be served according to the notice periods listed in the Residential Tenancies Act (see below).
The amount of notice that a landlord must give a tenant to end the tenancy depends on the type of periodic tenancy (except for termination for major renovations, condominium conversions, and employment):
- For a week-to-week periodic tenancy, the landlord must give at least one week’s tenancy notice. They must give notice on or before the first day of the tenancy week for the termination to be effective on the last day of the tenancy week. For example, the landlord must give notice on Sunday if the tenancy week starts on a Monday.
- For a month-to-month periodic tenancy, the landlord must give three tenancy months notice. They must give notice on or before the first day of the three month period. For example, if the tenancy ends on November 1, the landlord must serve the notice on or before August 1.
- For a yearly periodic tenancy, the landlord must give at least 90 days notice before the end of the tenancy year. They must give notice on or before the 90th day of the last day of a tenancy year to be effective on the last day of the tenancy year.
Serving the Notice
The landlord must properly give (or serve) the tenant with the Notice of Terminate on or before the deadline dates listed above. To serve the notice, the landlord must personally give it to the tenant or send it by registered or certified mail.
If these methods do not work, then the landlord can give the notice to another adult that lives in the unit, or the landlord can post the notice in plain sight on some part of the premises (e.g., the door to the unit). If none of these methods work, the landlord can send the notice electronically, as long as it will result in a print copy of the notice receivable by an electronic device that is within the premises.
