The short version
- Toronto's Rental Renovation Licence has been in force since July 31, 2025.
- You have seven days from giving the N13 to apply. Missing that alone carries a fine of up to $1,000.
- The application needs the building permits and a report supporting the need for the unit to be vacant.
- Tenants planning to return get temporary housing or compensation for the rent difference, plus moving expenses.
- Hamilton and London have their own licences, with their own fees and their own timelines.
01The N13 is now the first of two steps
An N13 is the provincial notice used where a unit has to be vacant for demolition, conversion, or repairs extensive enough to need a building permit. It requires 120 days' notice and the termination date has to land at the end of a rental period.
In Toronto, that notice now triggers a municipal clock as well. Since July 31, 2025, a landlord who gives an N13 for renovations must apply to the City for a Rental Renovation Licence within seven days of giving the notice.
Seven days is short, and it starts from the notice, not from when you get around to the paperwork. This is the part people miss, because provincial process and municipal process have never run on the same calendar before.
02What the application actually asks for
- 1
The building permits
Not an intention to apply for permits. The actual permits for the work you say requires the unit to be empty.
- 2
A report supporting vacancy
Professional evidence that the work genuinely cannot be done with the tenant in place. This is the substantive test, and it is the one that separates a real renovation from a renoviction.
- 3
A tenant information package
Tenants have to be told about their right of first refusal and what compensation they are entitled to, in a form the City prescribes.
- 4
Accommodation or compensation
This sits on top of what the Act already requires on an N13, which is three months' rent in a complex of five or more units and one month's rent in a smaller one, or an acceptable alternative unit. Under the Toronto bylaw, a tenant who intends to return also gets comparable temporary housing or monthly compensation covering the gap to market rent, plus a moving allowance.
03It is not only Toronto
The pattern is the same in all three: prove the work is real, prove the unit has to be empty, look after the tenant, and register with the City before you start. The specifics differ enough that a process built for one city will not survive being used in another.
| City | In force | What it is called |
|---|---|---|
| Toronto | July 31, 2025 | Rental Renovation Licence |
| Hamilton | January 2025 | Renovation licence, with engineer's evidence |
| London | March 2025 | Rental Unit Repair Licence |
04What this changes about planning a renovation
05Keep the whole file in one place
A renovation eviction now generates two parallel records: the provincial notice trail and the municipal licence trail. They reference each other, and both get looked at if anything is disputed.
TenantBay keeps notices, tenant communications, vendor work and property documents against the unit, so the two trails sit next to each other instead of in a filing cabinet and an email folder. When the City asks when the notice was given, or the Board asks what the tenant was told about coming back, the answer is one record away.
Questions landlords actually ask
Do I need a renovation licence for every N13 in Toronto?
The Rental Renovation Licence applies to N13 notices given for renovations or repairs. You have seven days from giving the notice to apply, with permits and supporting evidence.
What happens if I do not apply in time?
Toronto sets a fine of up to $1,000 for missing the deadline, up to $10,000 per day for continuing offences, and up to $100,000 for serious violations such as not completing the approved work.
Does a tenant have the right to move back in?
Yes. A tenant who gives written notice that they intend to return keeps a right of first refusal at the same rent, and under the municipal bylaws is also entitled to temporary accommodation or compensation while the work is done.
Do these rules apply outside Toronto?
The Toronto bylaw applies only in Toronto. Hamilton and London have their own licences with their own requirements. Elsewhere in Ontario the N13 process under the Act applies on its own.
Sources
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