Moving Home May Not Be So Easy...
If you’ve decided to rent your family home while you work or travel abroad, it’s important to understand that sometimes moving home isn’t as easy as you may have hoped.
If the tenants are still in an active lease term – a notice to terminate their tenancy cannot be served. In these instances, if possession is required, we can assist in the facilitation of a termination agreement, often involving a buy-out. If, however the tenants have fulfilled the life-cycle of their lease agreement and have transitioned to a monthly tenancy, an N12 notice can be issued.
The N12 can be given to a tenant for one of two reasons only:
1) You, or a member of your family or a person who provides or will provide care services to you or a member of your immediate family needs to move into the rental unit.
2) You have sold the property, and the purchaser or member of their immediate family or a person who provides or will provide care services to the purchaser or their immediate family needs to move into the rental unit.
The termination date of the tenancy must be at least 60 days after the date you give the tenant notice. Also, the date must be on the last day of the rental period. It’s also important to note that once the notice has been served the tenant can end their tenancy on an earlier date, by giving 10 days written notice. This can result in unexpected vacancy losses and the refunding of any pre-paid rent to the tenant.
With the recent unveiling of the Rental Fairness Act outlining ways to combat fraudulent N12 notices, we’ve noticed a trend which has seen several of our tenants contesting the validity of these notices – this has resulted in combative and defiant tenants, as well as displaced property owners.
We’ve come up with a few ways to safeguard yourself and your home to ensure that you and your family can return on schedule and assume vacant possession:
1) Often, clients will deliver the N12 notices to their tenants and simply expect that everything will go smoothly. We do not recommend this. Once the notice is given to the tenant you can immediately file an application with the Landlord Tenant Board for a hearing. Both the tenant and a Landlord representative will have to attend and an adjudicator will review the details and issue an order to terminate the tenancy. Alternatively, if the tenant wants to contest the notice an adjudicator may allow an extension. It’s best to arrange for a hearing as quickly as possible so any extensions to timelines can be prepared for in advance.
2) Negotiate directly with the tenants in an attempt to have them complete an N11, which is a document allowing for a mutually agreeable dissolution of tenancy. This form is much more difficult to contest at a hearing and will allow for more security in terms of securing an eviction order if necessary.
While both options offer their benefits and their draw-backs, it’s important to remember that strong negotiation and preparation are two of the most effective tools.
It’s always best to avoid a hearing. Even in the event that an adjudicator finds in your favour – a tenant can still appeal the order which will likely delay the process by enough time that you’ve been displaced and spent money on temporary accommodations. Rather than escalate to the LTB it’s often best to have our team work to mediate the situation and come to a compromise.