Your Rental Was Converted to Condos or the Lot Was Severed: Can a New Owner Evict You for Their Own Use?
Ontario blocks some own-use notices after a condo conversion or a severance, but not all of them. Start with the form number on the notice, then check two dates.
If my rental building was turned into condos, or the lot was split off and sold, can the new owner end my tenancy to move in?
Often not, as long as you were already the tenant when the change happened, but the protection only blocks own-use notices. Under the Residential Tenancies Act, a landlord may not give a section 48 or 49 notice (landlord or purchaser moving in) to someone who was the tenant when the building was registered as a condominium (s.51(1)) or when a severance consent or plan of subdivision was approved (s.56). It does nothing against a demolition, conversion or major-renovation notice under s.50, and it does not reach anyone who moved in after the change. It also switches off entirely for a newer building registered within two years of its first rental, if no unit there was rented before July 10, 1986 (s.51(3)).
Source: Residential Tenancies Act, 2006, S.O. 2006, c. 17, ss. 48, 49, 50, 51, 55 and 56 (Ontario e-Laws, consolidation from September 21, 2026)
I’m Arthur Zhao, a real estate broker with AZ Real Estate Partners. When a tenant shows me a notice to end their tenancy, the first thing I look at is not the move-out date. It is the short code in the top corner of the form.
Landlord and Tenant Board notices are numbered, and two of them matter here. An N12 says the landlord, a buyer or a family member wants to live in the unit. An N13 says the landlord wants to demolish the unit, repair it, or convert it to another use. If your building has been converted to condominiums, or the land has been severed into separate lots, Ontario law treats those two forms very differently.
This piece is built as a self-check: what the form number tells you, which two dates decide whether the protection applies, the exception for newer buildings, and what the rules mean if you are the one buying a converted unit with a tenant already in it. It explains how the law works in general. It is not legal advice for your situation.
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First, read the form number
The Landlord and Tenant Board titles the N12 as a notice to end your tenancy “because the landlord, a purchaser or a family member requires the rental unit.” That form is how a landlord uses section 48 (the landlord or their family moving in) or section 49 (a buyer or the buyer’s family moving in).
The N13 is the notice for wanting to “demolish the rental unit, repair it or convert it to another use.” It rests on section 50.
The conversion and severance protections in the Act are written against sections 48 and 49 only. So the form number is not a formality. It tells you whether the rest of this checklist is even relevant.
What each notice means after a conversion or severance
⚠️An N13 is not covered by these protections. Sections 51 and 56 only bar notices under sections 48 and 49. A landlord can still give a s.50 notice to demolish, convert to non-residential use, or carry out renovations so extensive that they need a building permit and vacant possession, with at least 120 days notice.
Then, line up two dates
The protection is tied to timing, so you need two dates side by side: the day your tenancy started, and the day the change took legal effect.
Condo conversion. The relevant event is when the building, or part of it, became subject to a registered declaration and description under the Condominium Act. According to the Condominium Act, 1998 (s.2(3)), that registration is what divides the land into units and common elements and creates the condominium corporation. RTA s.51(1) covers registrations on or after June 17, 1998, and protects a person who was the tenant of the unit at that moment.
A unit sold before registration. If the landlord signs an agreement to sell a “proposed unit” (a condo unit that does not formally exist yet), s.51(2) bars a section 48 or 49 notice to whoever was the tenant on the day that agreement was signed.
Severance or subdivision. Under s.56, when a rental unit becomes property that can be sold separately because of a consent under s.53 of the Planning Act or a plan of subdivision under s.51 of that Act, a section 48 or 49 notice cannot be given to the person who was the tenant at the time of the consent or approval.
One more detail: under s.51(4), if a protected tenant later assigns the unit to someone else, the person taking over is not treated as the protected tenant for s.51(1), (2) or (5).
The exception for newer buildings
Section 51(3) switches off the condo conversion protection in s.51(1) and (2) when both of these are true:
- no rental unit in the building was rented before July 10, 1986; and
- all or part of the building was registered as a condominium within two years after the first unit was first rented.
In practice, this is aimed at buildings that were rented out briefly before registration, not long-standing rental buildings converted years later. If your building is older than that or was a rental for longer than two years before registration, this exception should not apply. The s.51(3) exception is written into the condo conversion section; s.56 for severances does not contain an equivalent.
ℹ️Who is not protected by s.51(1): a tenant who moved in after the condominium was registered, and a person to whom a protected tenant later assigned the unit (s.51(4)).
💡 My own read: the costliest mistake in this situation is treating a notice as if it were an order. Under s.37(1), a tenancy can end only in accordance with the Act, and if you stay past the date on the notice, the landlord’s route is to apply to the Board under s.69. That is where a tenant who was there at registration, or at the severance approval, gets to raise s.51 or s.56. Moving out first and checking the dates later gives that up. I would look at the form number and the two dates before packing anything, and get legal advice if the dates are close or unclear.
Severance: one rule blocks, another pays
A severance can bring in two separate sections.
Section 56 works like the condo rule: an own-use notice (N12) cannot be given to the person who was the tenant at the time of the consent or approval.
Section 55 deals with the N13 side. If the severance created a new building with fewer than five units out of an original building that had at least five, and the landlord gives a s.50 notice less than two years after the severance, the landlord must pay the tenant three months’ rent or offer another rental unit the tenant finds acceptable. The idea is that splitting a building into smaller pieces should not lower what a tenant is owed when the unit is demolished, converted or renovated.
For comparison, s.52 is a different situation: it sets compensation when a unit is demolished or converted to non-residential use. Converting to condominiums is not a conversion to non-residential use; the units are still homes.
If the landlord sells your converted unit, you may get first call
According to the Residential Tenancies Act, 2006 (s.51(5)), a right of first refusal belongs to a tenant who was the tenant on the date of registration and still lives in the unit. If the landlord receives an acceptable offer to buy that unit, the tenant can buy it at the same price and on the same terms. The same right applies to an acceptable offer for a rental unit intended to become a condo unit.
The landlord must give the tenant at least 72 hours notice of the offer before accepting it (s.51(6)). The right does not apply if the offer is for more than one unit, or if the unit has already been bought on its own since registration (s.51(7)).
If you are the one buying a converted unit with a tenant in it
From the buyer’s side, the same dates carry a price. Before you rely on getting vacant possession for your own use, it is worth confirming when the current tenant moved in compared with the condominium’s registration date. If the tenant was already there at registration and s.51(3) does not apply, the seller cannot give an N12 on your behalf under s.49(2), and once you own the unit you cannot give one under s.48 either.
The sale process itself can be affected too. If the tenant still holds the s.51(5) right of first refusal, the seller has to give them notice of your offer and at least 72 hours before accepting it. A tenant who moved in after registration is not covered by s.51(1); in that case the normal s.49(2) purchaser route is available, with at least 60 days notice and, under s.49.1, one month’s rent or another acceptable unit paid by the seller.
These are general points. On a specific purchase, the tenancy history and the registration date are things your lawyer should confirm before you firm up.
Your Landlord Just Listed the Place: A Tenant’s Rights Map for Ontario →The N13 Ends the Tenancy — Not the Right to Demolish →You Can Prove Everything and Still Not Get an Eviction Order: Section 83 at Ontario’s LTB →First-Time Renter Guide →
Frequently Asked Questions
My building became a condo after I moved in. Can the new owner of my unit move in?
Not through an own-use notice, as a rule. RTA s.51(1) bars notices under s.48 and s.49 to anyone who was the tenant when the building was registered as a condominium (for registrations on or after June 17, 1998). The exception in s.51(3) applies to newer buildings with no unit rented before July 10, 1986 that were registered within two years of the first rental, and a s.50 notice (N13) is still possible.
I moved in after the building was already a condo. Am I protected?
Not by s.51(1), which covers only the tenant at the date of registration. A buyer of your unit can have the seller give you notice under s.49(2) if the buyer or their family will live there, with at least 60 days notice ending on the last day of a rental period or term. Under s.49.1, the seller must pay you one month’s rent or offer another acceptable unit.
Does it matter whether the notice is an N12 or an N13?
Yes, it is the first thing to check. An N12 is an own-use notice under s.48 or s.49, which s.51 and s.56 can bar. An N13 is a notice under s.50 for demolition, non-residential conversion or major renovation, which those sections do not bar, and it needs at least 120 days notice.
My landlord got a severance and sold the new lot. Can the buyer take my unit for themselves?
Under RTA s.56, a s.48 or s.49 notice cannot be given to the person who was the tenant at the time the severance consent or plan of subdivision was approved. If the new building has fewer than five units, came from one with at least five, and you get a s.50 notice within two years of the severance, s.55 requires three months’ rent or another acceptable unit.
Do I get a chance to buy my unit before someone else does?
Possibly. Under RTA s.51(5) and (6), a tenant who was there at registration and still lives in the unit can match an acceptable offer, and the landlord must give at least 72 hours notice before accepting. The right does not apply to offers for more than one unit or if the unit has already been sold on its own since registration (s.51(7)).
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