The N7 is Ontario's notice for serious trouble caused by a tenant, a guest or someone else living in the unit. It covers four kinds. Someone's safety was seriously impaired. The property was damaged on purpose. The unit's use is causing serious damage. Or, where the landlord lives in the same small building, the landlord's own enjoyment was substantially interfered with. Ten days is all the notice required, the tenant has no remedy to cancel it, and the landlord may file an L2 on day one. Because the N7 is so quick and so final, the LTB expects the landlord to prove the exact ground selected.

Key facts
Used by A landlord dealing with a safety incident, deliberate damage, serious misuse, or interference in a building of three units or fewer where the landlord lives
Timing Served after the incident
Notice period Termination date set no sooner than 10 days after service, longer if mailed or couriered
Service Each tenant must be served using a permitted method (taping to the door is not permitted)
Fee Free to serve. Filing the L2 costs $201, or $186 online through the Portal
Next form The L2: file it immediately if you like, and within 30 days after the termination date at the latest

The four grounds

The four reasons on the form come from three sections of the Residential Tenancies Act, 2006 (RTA), and every one of them permits a 10-day termination date:

  • Reason 1, impaired safety (s. 66). An act or omission, inside the residential complex, by the tenant, a fellow occupant or someone the tenant permitted there, that seriously impairs or has seriously impaired a person's safety.
  • Reason 2, wilful damage (s. 63(1)(a)). Undue damage to the unit or the complex, caused on purpose by the tenant, an occupant or a person the tenant permitted in.
  • Reason 3, use inconsistent with residential premises (s. 63(1)(b)). A non-residential use of the unit or complex, with damage (actual, or reasonably expected) significantly beyond the level an ordinary damage notice deals with.
  • Reason 4, interference in a small building (s. 65). The landlord lives in the building, it has three residential units or fewer, and the tenant, an occupant or one of their visitors substantially interferes with the landlord's reasonable enjoyment, or with some other lawful right, privilege or interest of the landlord.

A first N5 gives the tenant a chance to fix things. An N7 does not. Sections 63(3) and 65(3) expressly shut off the N5's 7-day remedy rules for these notices.

Choosing the N7, or something else

Use it only for serious events you can prove. On wilful damage, the LTB's instructions do not soften anything: pick Reason 2 and you have to prove at the hearing that the damage was intentional, failing which the application is dismissed.

Pick a different notice when:

  • Intent may be hard to prove. Go with the N5, which reaches negligent damage as well as wilful damage. That is also what the N7 instructions advise.
  • You do not live there, or there are more than three residential units. Interference then belongs on an N5; Reason 4 is closed to you.
  • The conduct is an illegal act, drug trafficking for example. Serve an N6. A single incident may fit two notices (think of an assault in the complex, which is a crime and a safety issue at once), but read the warning about confusing notices below.
  • You want the tenant out and the repair bill paid. Serve the N7 to end the tenancy, and add the repair cost to the L2 (Guideline 10).

Timelines

Termination date. Whatever the reason, ss. 63(1), 65(1) and 66(2) require at least 10 days from service. Count the termination date but not the service date (Rule 1.13).

Extra days for the method. Mail adds 5 days (RTA s. 191(3)). With a courier, service is deemed to happen one day after the courier receives it, rolling to the next business day when that falls on a weekend or holiday (Rule 3.9; Rule 1.1's definition of holiday takes in weekends); the instructions put it as adding one business day. A fax is served on the date it shows.

Worked example. Served by hand on Monday, November 16, 2026, the earliest termination date is Thursday, November 26. Sent by courier that Monday, it is deemed given Tuesday the 17th, so the earliest date becomes Friday, November 27. Mailed on the 16th, the earliest date is Tuesday, December 1.

The L2. Section 71 lets you file as soon as the notice is served. Section 69(2) closes the window 30 days past the termination date. If no application is in by then, the notice is void (s. 46(1)).

None of these periods can be shortened or extended by the LTB (Guideline 10).

Completing the N7

On October 31, 2026 the LTB's forms page was still posting the older N7 layout with its 2015 instructions. No new N7 came with the September 21, 2026 changes. Download whatever is posted on the LTB forms page, save a copy locally, and only then fill it in.

The parties and the address

  • To: each tenant in possession, and any subtenant or assignee. Leave out guests and children.
  • From: you, or every landlord if there are several.
  • Address of the Rental Unit: this layout gives you one box. Fit in the street address, the unit, apartment or suite number (or "Basement"), the municipality and the postal code.

The termination date

A real date, dd/mm/yyyy, 10 days or more after service, with mail or courier days added. Right after it, the form tells the tenant that you may apply to the Board straight away.

The reasons

In the section titled My Reason(s) for Ending your Tenancy, shade completely every box that fits. Leave out any reason you cannot back up.

The details

The table under Details About the Reasons for this Notice has Date/Time and Details of the Events columns. Describe what the tenant, occupant or guest did. According to the instructions, cover:

  • the person responsible: tenant, other occupant, or guest;
  • when each event happened, date and time;
  • the facts of what happened; and
  • the people affected.

On Reason 2, describe the damage and why you say it was intentional. On Reason 3, explain the non-residential use and the serious damage, done or expected. On Reason 4, confirm two facts: your home is in this building, and the building has no more than three residential units. Extra pages are fine as long as they are served along with the notice.

Signature

Choose Landlord or Representative, add a first name, last name and phone number, and sign and date.

Representative Information

If a representative signs, this older version asks for a name, an "LSUC #", a company name, a mailing address with municipality, province and postal code, a phone number and a fax number. LSUC stands for the old name of today's Law Society of Ontario; enter the current LSO licence number in that box.

Serving it

Allowed methods under the instructions: hand it to the tenant, or to an adult in the unit; put it in the mailbox or the spot where mail arrives; slide it beneath the door or push it through a mail slot; or send it by mail, courier or fax. Under Rule 3.1, emailing it requires the tenant's prior written consent. Posting it on the door is not allowed.

Every tenant gets served. Hold on to a copy and complete a Certificate of Service. Upload the two together with the L2; if you cannot, Rules 4.4 and 4.5 allow 5 calendar days from filing.

Mistakes that sink an N7

Once served, a defective N7 cannot be amended (Guideline 10). Small errors that do not significantly prejudice the tenant can sometimes be saved by RTA s. 212.

  1. "Wilful" damage with no proof of intent. The instructions say dismissal follows. If intent was doubtful, the N5 was the notice to use.
  2. Reason 4 without qualifying. Section 65 needs you living in the same building, and the building holding three residential units or fewer.
  3. Run-of-the-mill damage under Reason 3. Section 63(1)(b) demands damage significantly beyond ordinary undue damage, caused by non-residential use.
  4. A safety incident that was minor, or happened elsewhere. Section 66 requires serious impairment, from something that occurred in the residential complex.
  5. Too short a termination date, whether under 10 days outright, or because the 5 mail days or the courier business day were forgotten.
  6. Too little detail. From the notice alone, the tenant has to be able to understand what is alleged (RTA s. 43(2); Guideline 10). Give date, time, who and what for each incident.
  7. An N5 and an N7 for the same conduct. One notice says the tenant can cure the problem; the other says you may apply no matter what. The LTB has called that combination confusing and thrown out applications based on all the notices (Guideline 10). If you serve both, keep them on different conduct, or be sure a reasonable tenant would not be confused.
  8. An L2 filed past day 30 after the termination date. Section 69(2) requires dismissal.
  9. Skipping the basics. Every tenant in possession named and served, the whole unit address, an approved service method, and a signature.

If you received an N7

You cannot cancel an N7 by fixing the problem; there is no remedy period. But the notice ends nothing by itself. The landlord still has to file an L2 within 30 days after the termination date and prove the specific reason chosen at a hearing. Check that the termination date gives at least 10 days plus any mail or courier days, that the notice explains each incident clearly enough for you to respond, and, for Reason 2, whether the landlord can actually prove the damage was deliberate. Reason 4 applies only if the landlord lives in your building and it has three or fewer residential units. At the hearing you can dispute the facts, and the LTB must consider whether to refuse or delay eviction under s. 83.

After serving

Next comes the L2, filed on the Tribunals Ontario Portal with the N7 and the Certificate of Service attached. The fee is $186 on the Portal, or $201 by other means. To recover repair costs too, claim compensation on that same L2 and show how you arrived at the figure (Guideline 10). Disclose your evidence before the hearing as the Rules require: photographs, invoices, reports from police or the fire service, statements from witnesses.

Under RTA s. 84, an eviction order on an N7 includes a request that the Sheriff expedite enforcement. Even so, the LTB has to consider refusing or delaying eviction (s. 83). If the landlord does not consent, a delay now requires compelling grounds plus a finding that the delay is not unfair to the landlord or other tenants (O. Reg. 516/06, s. 8.4). Review requests on orders dated July 1, 2026 or later have a 15-day limit.

Recent changes

  • Because the N7 was not reissued on September 21, 2026, the old-version cut-off of November 30, 2026 has no effect on it. Still, check the forms page each time before you serve, in case a new N7 is posted.
  • September 21, 2026: tougher test to delay eviction where the landlord does not agree.
  • July 1, 2026: reviews of LTB orders issued on or after that date must be requested within 15 days instead of 30.

Common questions

Can a tenant void an N7?

No. No correction period exists. The landlord can file the L2 immediately after service, and the tenant's answer is to contest it at the hearing.

How do the N5 and N7 differ on damage?

The N5 reaches negligent as well as wilful damage, runs 20 days, and falls away if the tenant repairs or pays within 7 days. The N7 is limited to intentional damage (or serious damage from misuse) and runs 10 days with no way to void it, but the landlord carries the burden of proving intent.

My tenant lives below me. Which notice covers interference?

Where you live in the building and it has three residential units or fewer, N7 Reason 4 covers interference with your own enjoyment. A larger building, or interference with another tenant, means an N5.

How soon after an N7 can the L2 be filed?

Right away. The outside limit is 30 days after the termination date.

Has the N7 been updated?

Not so far. On October 31, 2026 the posted N7 was still the older layout with 2015 instructions, and the September 21, 2026 form updates did not include it.

Official sources