Ontario's N15 is a short-notice exit: 28 days. It is for a tenant who fears harm by staying because they, or their child in the home, went through sexual or domestic violence or abuse. A signed Tenant's Statement or a recent court order goes with it. The landlord who gets one is bound by tight confidentiality rules, and breaking them is an offence.

Key facts
Given by Any tenant or joint tenant who fits s. 47.3 of the RTA
Timing Whenever needed, in a monthly or yearly tenancy or during a fixed-term lease
Notice required 28 days or more; any calendar date works, with no need to match a rent period or lease end
Delivery To the landlord, with the supporting document attached; never filed with the LTB
Cost Free
Possible next form Usually none. If all tenants signed and nobody moves out, the landlord may file an L3

Where the right comes from

Two sections of the Residential Tenancies Act, 2006 (RTA) do the work. Section 47.1 covers a whole tenancy and s. 47.2 covers a single joint tenant's share. Either applies to monthly, yearly and fixed-term tenancies, The test is in s. 47.3(1): the tenant, or a child residing with the tenant, must be "deemed to have experienced violence or another form of abuse." Like any termination notice, it has to meet s. 43(1). Section 47.1(4) also says it must come with one supporting document:

Option Requirement
The Tenant's Statement About Sexual or Domestic Violence and Abuse (LTB form) Tenant's signature on it
A Criminal Code s. 810 peace bond, a Family Law Act s. 46 restraining order, or a Children's Law Reform Act s. 35 restraining order Copy of an order issued 90 days or less before the notice is given

Who counts as the abuser? For domestic violence or abuse, the person must be a spouse, conjugal partner or dating partner (now or in the past), or a relative residing in the unit (s. 47.3(4)). For sexual violence, the person can be anyone at all (s. 47.3(1)(e)). The Statement does not have to say what happened or identify anyone (s. 47.3(5), para. 4). And the LTB may look only at whether the document is genuine and the right type; whether the allegation is true is not something it decides (s. 47.3(6)).

Which version of the notice applies

  • Everyone on the lease is going. With all tenants signing, s. 47.1 ends the tenancy as a whole on the chosen date.
  • One person (or a few) is going. A joint tenant who qualifies can end their own interest, either alone or with some co-tenants but not all of them (s. 47.2). Whoever stays keeps the tenancy, and the rent deposit remains with it for them (s. 47.2(8)).
  • Leaving for a different reason. The N15 is not the right form; give an N9 instead, or sign an N11 with the landlord.

Counting the days

  • 28 days minimum. Between the day the notice is given and the termination date there must be at least 28 days (ss. 47.1(3), 47.2(3)). Under s. 89(3) of the Legislation Act, 2006, leave out the day you give it and include the last day. Example: hand the N15 to the landlord on Wednesday, March 3, 2027, and the earliest termination date you can choose is Wednesday, March 31, 2027.
  • 90-day limit on court orders. An order used in place of the Statement must be no more than 90 days old when the notice is given. A restraining order issued December 10, 2026 could support a notice given on March 3, 2027 (83 days later), but not one given after March 10, 2027.
  • A partial notice the tenant does not follow through on. If the departing tenant has not left by the termination date, the s. 47.2 notice becomes void for that tenant (s. 47.2(5)).
  • Those who stay behind. Once a joint tenant has gone under s. 47.2, the remaining tenants can together end a yearly or fixed-term tenancy with 60 days' notice (s. 47.2(9)).

Filling in the two forms

The N15 (version 01/07/2022). Enter the landlord's name, the name of each tenant who is giving notice, the rental unit address and the termination date (dd/mm/yyyy, 28 days or more away). A checkbox records the attachment: either the Statement, or a court order (peace bond or restraining order) dated within the past 90 days. Page 2 has room for up to three tenant signatures and for a representative's information.

The Tenant's Statement. It asks for both parties' names and the address of the unit. Then come checkboxes: the relationship and type of harm from the printed list, and/or sexual violence within the meaning of s. 47.3(2). It ends with the tenant's signature and date.

Delivering it

The tenant gives the landlord the N15 together with the attachment, using a method permitted by s. 191 of the RTA. There is nothing to file with the LTB.

What each side should do

If you are the tenant

Pick a termination date that is at least 28 days away, attach either the signed Statement or a qualifying order no older than 90 days, and keep a copy of everything you deliver. You do not have to explain what happened or name the person responsible. If you are a joint tenant leaving alone, remember the notice becomes void for you if you are still in the unit after the termination date. You remain responsible for any breaches that happened before you left (s. 47.2(6)).

If you are the landlord

Keep it confidential. Under s. 47.4(1), you cannot reveal to anyone, co-tenants included, the fact of the notice, and you cannot share the N15, what was attached to it, or any of their contents. Only these disclosures are allowed:

  • your lawyer or licensed paralegal;
  • an agent such as a property manager or superintendent, if their job requires them to know (they then carry the same duty);
  • a law enforcement agency, only when it asks as part of an investigation;
  • Ministry investigators looking into an offence under the Act;
  • the Board, where a case turns on whether the notice was validly given;
  • anyone, if the tenant consents, if the information is already public, or if another law requires it.

For the co-tenants who stay after a s. 47.2 notice takes effect, s. 47.4(3) permits exactly two pieces of information: a notice of that kind was given, and the date it ended.

Re-renting. Any ad placed while the notice runs has to leave the unit unnamed and unidentifiable (s. 47.4(4)). Prospective tenants cannot be shown through until the departing tenant (or every joint tenant) is gone in accordance with the notice (s. 47.1(5)).

Day-to-day handling. File the papers securely, away from the general tenant file. Confirm receipt only to the tenant. Ask no questions about the allegations. Belongings left behind can be handled the same way as after any notice (s. 41(1)), though the N15 says this applies only where no other tenant still lives there.

Penalties. Section 234(b.1) makes a s. 47.4(1) breach an offence. Section 233(d.1) does the same for knowingly false or misleading information about an N15. Fines can now reach $500,000 for a corporation and $100,000 for an individual (s. 238).

Defects that genuinely matter

A landlord may legitimately notice the problems below, but should raise them carefully and only with the people on the permitted list.

  1. Nothing attached. With no Statement or qualifying order, the notice falls short of s. 47.1(4)(b).
  2. The wrong kind of order, or one over 90 days old.
  3. A Statement without a signature, or written on something other than the Board's approved form (paras. 1 and 6 of s. 47.3(5)).
  4. A termination date under 28 days out.
  5. Reading a partial notice as ending everyone's tenancy. It ends only the departing tenant's interest, and only if that tenant leaves on time; a tenant who stays on loses the notice under s. 47.2(5). Nor can a partial notice support an L3, because it is not a notice of termination for that purpose (s. 47.2(7)).

Afterwards

A move-out on or before the date ends the tenancy; with a partial notice, it ends only the leaving tenant's share. The departing tenant still answers for breaches committed before leaving (s. 47.2(6)). According to the N15, if all tenants signed and none moves out, the landlord can ask the Board for an eviction order.

Recent changes

The printed N15 and Statement (version 01/07/2022) are out of date on penalties: they show a $50,000 cap for individuals and $250,000 for companies. Section 238 of the RTA has since doubled those to $100,000 and $500,000, as the LTB confirmed in its July 1, 2026 operational update. Go by the statute, not the printed form.

Frequently asked questions

Does the tenant have to prove the abuse to the landlord?

No. The Statement is the evidence the Act asks for, and it need not describe events or name anyone. The Board does not decide whether the allegation is true either. Its review is limited to whether the document is real and of the proper kind.

May the landlord explain to the roommates why someone is leaving?

No. Section 47.4 names co-tenants expressly. After a partial notice takes effect, they may learn only that such a notice exists and its termination date.

Official sources