Ontario T5 Bad-Faith Claims: When an N12 or N13 Wasn't Genuine (2026 Rules)

You moved out because of an N12 (landlord's or buyer's own use) or an N13 (demolition, conversion or renovation), and now it looks like the reason was never real. In Ontario, the claim goes to the Landlord and Tenant Board (LTB) on Form T5, and only an ex-tenant can bring it. It also covers a renovation tenant who asked to come back and was shut out. Since September 21, 2026 there is a new T5 form and a new presumption about N12 move-ins, so the rules below are the current ones. Landlords on the receiving end will find their side covered too.

Key points

Grounds

The Residential Tenancies Act, 2006 (RTA), s. 57(1), gives the Board power to make orders in three situations:

In every case there is a causation requirement: the move-out has to flow from the notice, or from an application or order relying on it.

Right of first refusal (s. 57.1). A distinct claim. A renovation tenant who told the landlord in writing, under s. 53, that they intended to come back, and who was then denied that, may apply.

"Bad faith" means the landlord never genuinely intended to do what the notice said. Normally the tenant has to prove every element. The presumptions below flip that burden in particular situations.

When bad faith is presumed

Own-use N12s (s. 48). The Board presumes bad faith, and the landlord must disprove it on a balance of probabilities, in either of these cases:

(a) Nobody moved in within 60 days. For any T5 filed from September 21, 2026 forward: no s. 48(1) person occupied the unit inside the window prescribed by O. Reg. 240/26 (see s. 57(6.1) and (7)). That window is 60 days, starting from:

• the termination date on the N12, for a tenant gone by that date; or
• the real departure date, for a tenant who stayed past it.

Example. An N12 sets a termination date of May 31, 2027. If the tenant leaves that day, the 60-day window closes July 30, 2027. If the tenant stays until June 15, 2027, it closes August 14, 2027.

(b) The landlord acted as if the unit was never for personal use. Somewhere between service of the N12 and the first anniversary of the tenant's departure, the landlord (s. 57(5)–(6)):

• advertised it for rent or let it to a new tenant;
• offered the unit or the whole building for sale;
• tore it down; or
• began converting it to something other than housing.

Purchaser N12s and N13s get neither presumption.

First refusal (s. 57.1(1.1)). Two situations count as a refusal by deeming:

• the tenant's written intent-to-return notice is dated September 21, 2026 or later, and the landlord failed to keep the tenant informed in writing, without delay, of the projected completion date, any revision to it, and actual readiness (s. 53(2.1)); or
• the unit was ready from September 21, 2026 onward and the tenant was given less than 60 days from readiness to reoccupy it (s. 53(2.2)).

Right form, wrong form

• Still living in the unit? No T5 for you yet; argue bad faith when the L2 is heard.
• Compensation never paid? That's a T1 claim, though a T5 can include it where the request is explicit.
• The occupant arrived quickly and lived there twelve months or longer? The instructions rule out Reason 1.

Time limits

Reasons 1 to 3. One year after the former tenant moved out, and no later (s. 57(2)).

Reason 4 (first refusal). Section 57.1(2) gives two candidate deadlines (24 months after vacating; half a year after the renovation or repairs wrapped up) and you get the later one. Example: a tenant moves out on March 1, 2027 and the work finishes on December 1, 2028. Two years after move-out is March 1, 2029; six months after completion is June 1, 2029. The deadline is June 1, 2029.

The longer Reason 4 period started September 21, 2026, and it reaches pending applications that had not been finally decided by then (s. 57.1(3)). Anyone whose earlier application was thrown out as late under the previous limit may start over (s. 57.1(4)).

An earlier good-faith finding doesn't block a T5. Under s. 57(4), a prior ruling that the notice was genuine does not stop a later bad-faith finding, and Guideline 12 says the same holds where the L2 ended in a consent order.

Completing the form

Use the 2026/09 version: six pages and an information page.

Part 1 – General Information. Rental address, linked files, and for each ex-tenant: name, present address, phone, email and how they want to be contacted (choose email and you agree to email service). Then the landlord, and the date you left. Use the T5 Schedule of Parties for extra tenants or landlords and, critically, for a purchaser; per the instructions, leaving a purchaser off can stop the hearing in its tracks.

Part 2 – Reasons. 1. Own-use N12. 2. Purchaser N12. 3. N13 work not done. 4. First refusal not honoured.

Then a "Describe in Detail" box.

Part 3 – Remedies. Six boxes: rent abatement; an LTB fine; twelve months of rent difference; moving and storage; general compensation capped at a year's rent; and other relief (an order against the buyer, say, or a return to the unit).

Part 4 – Signature. Add representative details if any; payment comes last.

Filing

Filing options: the Portal ($48), or post, courier or an LTB-accepting ServiceOntario counter ($53). Joint applications for more than one unit run $53 plus $5 a unit after the first, topping out at $450, and are paper-only (mail or courier). Ask for a fee waiver if you need one. Rule 5.1 puts service of the Notice of Hearing on the Board.

Building your case: both sides

Former tenant (applicant)

• Check your deadline. One year from move-out for Reasons 1–3; for Reason 4, the later of the two dates above.
• Look for a presumption. Own-use N12, T5 filed from September 21, 2026: was the unit occupied by a listed person inside 60 days? Any rental ad, new tenant or sale listing in the year after you left? Save screenshots and note the dates.
• Name everyone. A purchaser N12 claim needs the buyer on the Schedule of Parties.
• Show you left because of the notice, not for some unrelated reason.

Landlord (respondent)

1. Start with the deadline. Twelve months from vacating ends Reasons 1–3; Reason 4 needs both candidate dates calculated.
2. Is a presumption in play? Own-use N12 and a post-September 20, 2026 T5? Run the O. Reg. 240/26 sixty-day count. A late move-in, or any ad, re-letting or sale listing inside the s. 57(6) period, shifts the onus to you to prove good faith.
3. Proof of real occupation (N12). Updated ID, utility accounts and home insurance in the occupant's name, mail arriving there, movers' invoices, evidence the occupant gave up the previous home, and reasons for any delay or an early departure. Section 48(1) requires an intention to stay a year or more.
4. Proof the N13 work happened. Building permits, contracts, invoices, a timeline, date-stamped photographs, and when the job ended. On first-refusal claims add the tenant's intent-to-return letter, copies of each written update (projected date, revisions, the ready notice) and evidence of the 60-day reoccupation window.
5. Purchaser N12s. Ontario's Court of Appeal has confirmed the Board's power to find bad faith on a buyer's part and make the buyer pay. Guideline 12 allows liability to be split between seller and buyer. Sellers: retain the buyer's declaration and any correspondence about how the buyer meant to use the unit.
6. Compensation. Prove that whatever ss. 48.1, 49.1, 52, 54 or 55 required was in the tenant's hands by the termination date (s. 55.1). Exception: an own-use N12 served from September 21, 2026 that gave 120 days or more and ended on the last day of a period or term required no payment (s. 48.1(2)).
7. Disclose on time: a week ahead for your evidence, five days ahead for reply (Rules 19.1–19.2).
8. Understand the exposure. Section 57(3) remedies include twelve months of rent differential, general compensation up to a year's rent, moving and storage, an abatement, an administrative fine capped at the larger of $10,000 and the Small Claims Court limit, and any other suitable order. Per the instructions, $50,000 is the overall monetary ceiling.

Why T5 claims fail

1. The tenant still lives there. Only former tenants qualify.
2. Too late. Past one year for Reasons 1–3, or past the later Reason 4 date.
3. No purchaser named on a purchaser-N12 claim. Expect delay, or worse.
4. The tenant didn't leave because of the notice. No causal link, no claim; a tenant who left for other reasons, or before being served, risks failing here.
5. Relying on a presumption that doesn't apply. Sixty days is an own-use N12 rule, for T5s filed from September 21, 2026 only. Buyer N12s and N13s don't get it.
6. No fee and no waiver. The application isn't accepted.

After filing

A hearing follows. Where bad faith, or a breach of first refusal, is proven, the order lists each remedy and the party responsible for it (a named buyer included). Orders from July 1, 2026 onward can be reviewed on a request made within 15 days, or appealed on a point of law to the Divisional Court within 30 days (s. 210).

Recent changes

Four things happened on September 21, 2026. A new T5 (2026/09) replaced the old one, which stops being accepted November 30, 2026. The sixty-day own-use presumption and the landlord's new first-refusal obligations began. Reason 4's limitation period got longer. And Guideline 12 was revised. Details are in the LTB Operational Update.

FAQ

How quickly does the landlord or family member have to move in after an N12?

"A reasonable time" is the legal standard, with a plan to stay twelve months or more. On T5s filed from September 21, 2026, missing the sixty-day mark (from termination, or from actual departure if later) triggers a rebuttable presumption of bad faith.

The L2 ended with a consent order. Can the tenant still bring a T5?

Yes. Section 57(4) lets the Board reach a bad-faith finding regardless of an earlier good-faith one, and Guideline 12 confirms a consent order is no bar.

Is a purchaser's N12 covered by the 60-day rule?

No. Section 57(6.1) speaks only to s. 48 own-use notices. Buyer cases are still decided on two questions: was occupation reasonably prompt, and was the notice genuine?

Official sources

• Residential Tenancies Act, 2006, ss. 48–57.1, 135, 207, 210
• O. Reg. 240/26, Prescribed Period of Time
• T5 Instructions
• T5 application (PDF)
• T5 Schedule of Parties (PDF)
• Interpretation Guideline 12
• LTB Rules of Procedure, Rules 5.1, 19, 26
• LTB Operational Update, September 21, 2026
• LTB Forms, filing and fees