Applications for personal use eviction are up 77% in Toronto, worrying advocates

Data shows the number of applications landlords have filed to evict tenants for personal use in 2023 so far has already surpassed the total number of applications in 2022. 

In Ontario, landlords can use something called an N12 eviction notice to force tenants to move out of an apartment if the owner, a member of their immediate family, or a caregiver wants to move in. An N12 can also be issued for the same reasons by someone who's just bought a property. 

From January through September 2023, 1,767 N12 evictions have been applied for in Toronto, according to data from the Landlord and Tenant Board (LTB). That's well above the total applications made in 2022: 1,312. 

N12 applications have increased 77 per cent in 2023 so far based on a comparison of the first nine months of 2022 and 2023. 

Tenants served with N12s face the prospect of eviction through no fault of their own, which can be a stressful experience, says jes saches, who spells their name using lowercase letters. 

saches was served with an N12 in March 2022. They've spent more than a year fighting the eviction through the LTB, at the expense of their own work as an artist. 

"I'm getting a little tired. I'm constantly considering doing a fundraiser to recover the income I've lost," saches said. 

saches is disabled and is concerned about having to move from the apartment they've called home for more than a decade. 

"I, ultimately, was nervous," they said, "having accessibility concerns, like, how possible would it be for me to find housing right away?"

Tenant advocates say N12s are a major issue in Toronto, because landlords could use them to drive up the price of their unit and renters have limited options to push back. The average cost of a one bedroom in Toronto is now $2,614, a 4.9 per cent increase from the previous year, according to the Rentals.ca September report.

With an N12, all a landlord needs to prove is that they, a family member, or caregiver, intends to move in, said Samuel Mason, a lawyer at Parkdale Community Legal Services, who is also representing saches at the LTB.

Needing only to  prove an intention makes the N12 one of the easiest ways landlords can evict a tenant, Mason said — which landlords may find tempting as rental prices soar given they can raise the price on rent-controlled units between tenants. 

Tenants can go to the LTB after they've been evicted if the landlord, their family member or caregiver doesn't move into the unit, he said. 

"But even if they are successful someday, that doesn't get them back into their rent-controlled unit," he said.