What is a renoviction?

What is a renoviction?

A renoviction is when a landlord evicts a tenant in order to carry out major renovations or to demolish the unit. The idea is that the renos are so extensive that a tenant can’t stay on the premises while they are being done and therefore must move out.

When done in good faith (i.e. there are legitimate renos that are needed), major repairs can be a necessary, if disagreeable, part of the rental process involving the maintenance or improvement of rental properties.

Unfortunately, some landlords act in bad faith and evict a long-standing tenant (who often pays a lower rent than the going market rate due to rent control regulations) because their goal is to carry out minor repairs and then secure a new tenant at a much higher rent. Because a landlord is legally allowed to evict a tenant when performing major repairs or to demolish a rental unit, there is often little a tenant can do in response to a renoviction.

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Is renoviction legal?

By and large, renovictions are legal in Canada. A landlord can legally evict a tenant if they want to do major repairs that are so extensive that a person can’t live in the rental during the repair process.

That being said, each province and territory has its own rules about the actual process a landlord must follow to legally evict a tenant (so be sure to consult your regional provisions). There are strict guidelines that landlords and property management companies must follow to evict someone to revamp a unit. For example, they may be required to provide a minimum number of days notice to a tenant before proceeding with an eviction for renovation purposes.

Renoviction bylaws

Interestingly, the rise in renovictions has led some Canadian cities to introduce renoviction bylaws to try to protect tenants from unscrupulous landlords.

For example, recently in Hamilton, Ontario, the city council passed Ontario's first anti-renoviction bylaw. This bylaw requires landlords who want to evict tenants for renovations to get a special licence from the city at a cost of $715. Among other rules, the bylaw forces landlords to get an engineer's report stating that the repairs can’t be done while the tenant remains on the property.

The renoviction bylaw came about because Hamilton had experienced a whopping 983% increase in N13 notices (the notice legally required to evict a tenant for renovations) between 2017 to 2022. The bylaw aims to prevent bad-faith evictions and ensure that tenants' rights are protected by mandating that landlords either provide temporary accommodations or financial compensation if tenants are required to move during renovations.

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The renoviction process

Each province and territory has a different renoviction process (note also, as in the case of the city of Hamilton, there may be special additional bylaws in place concerning renovictions). In Ontario, for example, the renoviction process is governed mainly by the province’s Residential Tenancies Act, 2006, SO 2006,  and goes as follows:

1. Notice: The landlord must provide the tenant with 120-day notice using an official Form N13 from the Landlord and Tenant Board. To be legal, the renovations must be so extensive that the rental must be vacated. Furthermore, a building permit is required to validate the need for such extensive work.
2. First Refusal: In Ontario, a tenant has the right of first refusal to live in the newly renovated unit (at the same rent they would have had to pay had they not moved out). They must inform the landlord of their intention to move back in once the reno is completed.
3. Oppose: The tenant has the right to oppose the eviction if they think the renovations are not so extensive that they need to move out or if they believe the landlord did not apply for a building permit for the renos, among other reasons.
4. Hearing: The tenancy board will schedule a hearing to determine if the renovations are necessary and if the landlord has acted in good faith. The landlord must prove that the renovations cannot be done with the tenant in place and that they intend to carry out the renovations within a reasonable time after the unit becomes vacant.
5. If the renovation was not legal (for example, no N13 form was used or no building permit was obtained) the tenant could be awarded compensation from the Landlord and Tenant Board of up to three months rent.

FAQs

Is renoviction legal in Ontario?

Yes, renoviction is legal in Ontario as long as a landlord can prove that they need to make major repairs to the unit or that they are going to demolish the rental. If the landlord says they are doing major renovations, the renos must be so extensive that the tenant has to be evicted because they could not live on the premises during the repairs. Furthermore, landlords must follow the rules outlined in the Residential Tenancies Act, including things like giving a 120-day notice and applying to the Landlord and Tenant Board for an order to end the tenancy (form N13). If a tenant believes a renoviction was not legal, they can apply to the LTB for compensation.

Are renovictions legal in Quebec?

Quebec has in particular struggled with a low vacancy rate. As of June 6, 2024, a new law (that will be in effect for up to three years or until the province reaches a vacancy rate of 3%) was introduced in Quebec that made renovictions very strictly limited. While the law is in force, a landlord can’t evict a tenant for reasons like subdividing rental housing, to do renovations, enlarging a unit or even potentially to change its use.

How long does it take to evict a tenant in Canada?

Every province and territory has its own rules that govern how a landlord must perform a legal eviction. The amount of notice required also depends on the type of eviction (for example, the eviction notice would be different if the tenant has stopped paying rent versus a renoviction). In Ontario, in the case of a renoviction, a landlord must give a tenant 120 days notice. However, in the province of Alberta, a landlord must give 365 days notice of a renoviction. It’s essential to consult with your regional legislation to know how much notice is required for an eviction.

How much notice do you have to give a landlord in Canada?

The notice period for terminating a rental agreement varies significantly across provinces and territories, and it may also be specified in your rental contract. If your rental agreement doesn’t set out rules about how much notice you need to give, then you’ll have to consult your province’s legislation. For example, in Ontario, for a month-to-month tenancy, you must give 60-days notice, whereas in BC you only need to give one month’s written notice.

Sources

1. CanLII: Residential Tenancies Act, 2006, SO 2006, c 17