What we do
Find out who is living there
We review the lease, who pays rent, whether your tenant still lives in the unit and any consent you gave.
Check the 60 days
We confirm when you discovered the occupancy, or when the subtenancy ended, and work back from the deadline.
Deal with a spouse who stayed
If your tenant left owing rent and their spouse stayed, we prepare the N14 within the 45-day window.
Prepare and file the A2
We name every party the form requires, claim compensation where it applies and file the application.
Present your case
We give your evidence to the other parties and represent you at the hearing.
The forms involved
- A2
Application about a Sublet or an Assignment
Asks the Board to end the tenancy and evict an unauthorized occupant or a subtenant who stayed.
Form and instructions at the Landlord and Tenant Board (opens in a new tab) - N14
Landlord's Notice to the Spouse of the Tenant who Vacated the Rental Unit
Gives a spouse who stayed 15 days to say they will stay and agree to pay the rent owing.
Form and instructions at the Landlord and Tenant Board (opens in a new tab)
How the timing works
- Occupancy discoveredDay 0. Not counted. No notice to the tenant first.
- A2 can be filedRight away. Mailed, it counts five business days later.
- Filing deadline60 days after you discover the occupancy.
- Deadline missedTreated as an assignment you consented to.
- Subtenant stays onApply within 60 days after the subtenancy ends.
- Eviction orderExpires unless filed with the Sheriff within six months.
How the process runs
An assignment hands the whole tenancy to someone new, on the same terms. A sublet lets someone live in the unit for a set period while your tenant is away, and your tenant keeps the right to return. Both need your consent. You may refuse an assignment outright, and your tenant may then end the tenancy. But if you are open to an assignment, or you are asked about a sublet, you cannot refuse a proposed person “arbitrarily or unreasonably”. If you do, your tenant has one year to apply, and the Board can authorize the assignment or sublet, end the tenancy or order a rent abatement.
Someone is an unauthorized occupant when your tenant hands them the unit without an authorized assignment or sublet, or when they stay on after your tenant leaves. You give no notice first. You file an A2 no later than 60 days after you discover the occupancy, and the Board cannot extend that deadline. If the time passes with no application and no new tenancy agreement, the Act treats the occupation as an assignment you consented to. You can instead sign a new agreement with the person. If you do so within the 60 days, the rent you first charge becomes the lawful rent.
The Board can end the tenancy and evict both the tenant and the occupant. If the occupant is still in the unit when you file, it can also order compensation for their use of the unit, plus NSF cheque charges. Accepting compensation does not create a tenancy unless you both agree. A subtenant has no right to stay after the sublet ends. You or your tenant can apply to evict them within 60 days after it ends.
Most of these rules, including the 60-day limit, do not apply to many social, non-profit, rent-geared-to-income, student and staff units.
Where applications go wrong
- Your tenant still lives there. A roommate living with your tenant is not an unauthorized occupant, and it is not a sublet that needs your consent. Your tenant answers for their conduct, and overcrowding that breaks health, safety or housing standards is a separate ground.
- The A2 is filed late. The 60 days run from discovery. The A2 cannot go through the Tribunals Ontario Portal, and a mailed application counts as filed on the fifth business day after mailing.
- A party is left off. The A2 must name the tenant and the occupant, or the tenant and the subtenant.
- Compensation is claimed after the occupant leaves. It is available only if they are still in the unit when you file.
- A spouse is overlooked. If your tenant left without notice or an agreement, a spouse whose home is the unit can become the tenant, up to the order, by saying they want to stay and agreeing in writing to pay any rent owed. An N14 given within 45 days of your tenant leaving shortens that to 15 days. This does not apply in a building of three or fewer units where you live.
Guests and roommates
The Act does not define an occupant or a roommate. The Board treats them as people living in the unit at your tenant’s invitation, under the tenancy. They have no tenancy with you, even if they pay your tenant, and they cannot bring an application. If they pay you directly, whether they become a tenant depends on the facts. They are not named on notices or applications against your tenant, and an eviction order requires them to leave too.
Fees
The steps below are each priced on their own. Board filing fees are separate and are paid to the Board.
Board application
Application filed with the Board, with evidence collected and submitted.
Hearing representation
Preparation and representation at the Board or Divisional Court.
No two matters are alike, so we price yours once we know the facts. You will know the fee before any work starts.
Screening call: 15 minutes, complimentary. Full consultation: 45 minutes, $150 incl. HST.
Book the complimentary callQuestions
My tenant moved someone in without asking me. Can I evict them?
Not while your tenant still lives there. A roommate or other occupant living with your tenant is not an unauthorized occupant, and it is not a sublet that needs your consent. They live there under your tenant’s tenancy, not one with you. If their conduct or the number of people causes problems, the Act lets you give your tenant notice for damage, interference or overcrowding. If your tenant moves out and the person stays, you can file an A2 within 60 days of finding out.
If I take money from the person living there, do they become my tenant?
Not just by accepting it. You are entitled to compensation while an unauthorized occupant lives in the unit, and taking it does not create a tenancy unless you both agree otherwise. Whether regular rent payments make someone a tenant depends on the facts. You can choose to sign a new tenancy agreement with them. If you neither sign one nor file an A2 within 60 days of discovering the occupancy, the Act treats the person as an assignee you consented to, on the original terms.
Can I refuse my tenant's request to sublet or assign?
For an assignment, yes. If you refuse outright, or do not reply within seven days, your tenant can give notice to end the tenancy within 30 days of asking. But if you are open to an assignment, or the request is to sublet, you cannot refuse a proposed person “arbitrarily or unreasonably”. The Board also considers the Human Rights Code. Within one year, your tenant can ask the Board to authorize the assignment or sublet, end the tenancy or order a rent abatement.
Sources (36)
Legal statements on this page come from Ontario's laws and regulations, the Landlord and Tenant Board's own forms, instructions and rules, and the other official sources listed below.
- A tenant may assign a rental unit with the consent of the landlord (RTA s. 95(1)). Ontario e-Laws (opens in a new tab)
- After an assignment the tenancy agreement continues on the same terms; the assignee is liable for the period after the assignment and the former tenant for the period before it (RTA s. 95(8)). Ontario e-Laws (opens in a new tab)
- Subletting means the tenant vacates, gives another person the right to occupy for a term ending on a specified date before the end of the tenant's term or period, and has the right to resume occupancy after that date (RTA s. 2(2)). Ontario e-Laws (opens in a new tab)
- A tenant may sublet with the consent of the landlord (RTA s. 97(1)). Ontario e-Laws (opens in a new tab)
- On a general request, or a request naming a potential assignee, the landlord may refuse consent to the assignment of the rental unit (RTA s. 95(2)(b), (3)(c)). Ontario e-Laws (opens in a new tab)
- If the landlord refuses consent to an assignment, or does not respond within seven days, the tenant may give a notice of termination within 30 days after the request (RTA ss. 95(4), 96). Ontario e-Laws (opens in a new tab)
- A landlord shall not arbitrarily or unreasonably refuse consent to an assignment to a potential assignee, or withhold consent to a sublet to a potential subtenant (RTA ss. 95(5), 97(2)). Ontario e-Laws (opens in a new tab)
- The tenant or former tenant may apply within one year; the Board may authorize the assignment or sublet or another one proposed by the tenant, terminate the tenancy, or order a rent abatement (RTA s. 98(1)-(3)). Ontario e-Laws (opens in a new tab)
- If a tenant transfers occupancy other than by an authorized assignment or sublet, the landlord may apply for an order terminating the tenancy and evicting the tenant and the person to whom occupancy was transferred (RTA s. 100(1)). Ontario e-Laws (opens in a new tab)
- An occupant or roommate who does not vacate when the tenant vacates becomes an unauthorized occupant, and the landlord may apply under s. 100 (LTB Interpretation Guideline 21, Unauthorized Occupants). Tribunals Ontario (opens in a new tab)
- Unauthorized occupant: landlord may apply without giving the tenant a notice, on Form A2, and must name both the tenant and the occupant (LTB brochure How a Landlord Can End a Tenancy, Table 24). Tribunals Ontario (opens in a new tab)
- The application must be made no later than 60 days after the landlord discovers the unauthorized occupancy (RTA s. 100(2)). Ontario e-Laws (opens in a new tab)
- The Board may not extend or shorten deadlines for filing applications, other than those listed in s. 190(1) of the Act (O. Reg. 516/06, s. 56, para. 2; RTA s. 190). Ontario e-Laws (opens in a new tab)
- Days are counted by excluding the first day and including the last day (LTB Rules of Procedure, Rule 1.13). Tribunals Ontario (opens in a new tab)
- Occupation is deemed an assignment with the landlord's consent, from the date the unauthorized occupancy began, if no new tenancy agreement is made within 60 days of discovery and no application is made under s. 100 or s. 101 within the 60-day periods (RTA s. 104(3), (4)). Ontario e-Laws (opens in a new tab)
- The landlord may negotiate a new tenancy agreement with a person who occupies after an assignment made without consent (RTA s. 104(1)). Ontario e-Laws (opens in a new tab)
- Sections 113 and 114 apply to such an agreement if made no later than 60 days after discovery; under s. 113 the lawful rent for the first rental period is the rent first charged (RTA ss. 104(3), 113). Ontario e-Laws (opens in a new tab)
- Compensation for use and occupation may be claimed from the unauthorized occupant if they are in possession when the application is made; NSF cheque charges may be included (RTA s. 100(3), (4), s. 87(5)). Ontario e-Laws (opens in a new tab)
- The landlord is entitled to compensation for use and occupation by an unauthorized occupant, and accepting it does not create a tenancy unless the landlord and occupant agree otherwise (RTA s. 103). Ontario e-Laws (opens in a new tab)
- A subtenant has no right to occupy the rental unit after the end of the subtenancy (RTA s. 97(5)). Ontario e-Laws (opens in a new tab)
- If a subtenant stays after the subtenancy ends, the landlord or the tenant may apply to evict within 60 days after the end of the subtenancy (RTA s. 101). Ontario e-Laws (opens in a new tab)
- Sections 95 to 99, s. 100(2), ss. 101, 102 and 104 do not apply to the social, non-profit, educational and other units listed in RTA s. 7(1); RTA s. 8(2) excludes most of them for rent-geared-to-income tenants. Ontario e-Laws (opens in a new tab)
- An occupant or roommate may live in the unit with or without the landlord's consent provided the tenant also resides there; they live there at the invitation of the tenant and under the terms of the tenancy, have no contractual relationship with the landlord even if they pay the tenant, and cannot file an application at the LTB; where an occupant pays part of the rent directly to the landlord, whether they are a tenant depends on the facts (LTB Interpretation Guideline 21, Occupants and Roommates). Tribunals Ontario (opens in a new tab)
- A tenant who does not vacate but lets another person live with them does not create a sublet, and no landlord consent is required (LTB Interpretation Guideline 21, Vacate the rental unit). Tribunals Ontario (opens in a new tab)
- Notice of termination may be given for conduct of the tenant, another occupant of the rental unit or a person permitted in the complex by the tenant (RTA s. 64(1)). Ontario e-Laws (opens in a new tab)
- Notice of termination may be given if the number of persons occupying the unit on a continuing basis contravenes health, safety or housing standards (RTA s. 67(1)). Ontario e-Laws (opens in a new tab)
- Occupants who are not tenants should not be named on a notice or application against the tenant; eviction orders grant vacant possession, so all tenants and other occupants must move out (LTB Interpretation Guideline 10, Naming the parties). Tribunals Ontario (opens in a new tab)
- If the landlord is applying to evict an unauthorized occupant, both the tenant and the current occupant are other parties; to evict a subtenant, both the tenant and the subtenant (A2 instructions, Part 1). Tribunals Ontario (opens in a new tab)
- A2 applications can be filed by email, mail, courier or at ServiceOntario; the Tribunals Ontario Portal takes L1, L2, L3, L4, L9, L10, T1, T2, T5, T6, C1 and C2 (LTB Forms, filing and fees page). Tribunals Ontario (opens in a new tab)
- A document is considered filed on the day received by email, the day after it was given to a courier, or the fifth day that is not a holiday after mailing; a holiday is any Saturday, Sunday or other day the LTB's offices are closed (LTB Rules of Procedure, Rules 1.1 and 4.8). Tribunals Ontario (opens in a new tab)
- A spouse whose principal residence is the unit is included as a tenant when the tenant vacates without a notice of termination or an agreement to terminate, unless an exception applies, including a building of not more than three residential units where the landlord resides (O. Reg. 516/06, s. 3(2), (3), para. 1). Ontario e-Laws (opens in a new tab)
- A spouse can become the tenant by telling the landlord, before an order under s. 100 is issued, that they intend to stay and, if rent is owed, agreeing in writing to pay it; if the landlord gives an N14 within 45 days, the spouse has 15 days (O. Reg. 516/06, s. 3(3), paras. 3-5). Ontario e-Laws (opens in a new tab)
- N14 is used when the tenant moved out without notice or agreement, the spouse still lives there and the tenant owes rent; it must be given within 45 days and the spouse has 15 days to return the signed agreement (N14 form, v. 01/04/2022). Tribunals Ontario (opens in a new tab)
- The LTB serves the Notice of Hearing with the application unless it orders otherwise; the applicant must give their evidence directly to the other parties (LTB Rules of Procedure, Rule 5.1). Tribunals Ontario (opens in a new tab)
- An eviction order expires six months after it takes effect if not filed with the sheriff (RTA s. 81). Ontario e-Laws (opens in a new tab)
- Official form titles: Form A2, Application about a Sublet or an Assignment (A2 form, v. 01/04/2022); N14, Landlord's Notice to the Spouse of the Tenant who Vacated the Rental Unit (N14 form, v. 01/04/2022). Tribunals Ontario (opens in a new tab)