How to Break a Lease Early in Ontario

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By Matthew Roberts
Last updated on March 19, 2026

5 minute read

MyChoice follows a strict content review process designed to ensure reliable and unbiased information.

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Rules & Penalties for Breaking a Lease Early in Ontario

  • In Ontario, you can end a lease early, but only if certain legal conditions are met. These include reaching a mutual agreement, assigning the lease, or meeting specific exceptions.
  • It is usually more difficult to end a fixed-term lease early. Most of the time, you have to wait until the lease ends unless you qualify for an exception.
  • You must give proper notice to legally end your tenancy. If you do not, you could still be responsible for paying rent.
  • Assigning your lease is a common way to leave early. This means another tenant takes over your lease.
  • If you break your lease the wrong way, you might have to pay penalties. This can include paying rent until someone new moves in.
  • In Ontario, there is no cooling-off period after you sign a lease. Once you sign, you are legally committed to the agreement.

Can You Terminate a Lease Early in Ontario?

You can end a lease early in Ontario, but only under specific conditions, such as mutual agreement with your landlord, assigning the lease, or qualifying under certain legal exceptions.

If you opt to give notice, your notice should tell your landlord the last day you intend to live in your home in Ontario. This day will be considered the termination date for legal purposes.

When to Give Notice for Ending Your Lease Early

If you don’t give notice to your landlord, your tenancy will continue even if you leave on the termination date. Here are the guidelines for when your termination date should be in your notice, depending on the terms of your tenancy:

In a fixed-term tenancy, the renter and landlord agree that the lease will last for a specified period of time. This lease agreement must include the start and end dates. Both the tenant’s and the landlord’s rights and obligations are fixed within this lease term.

For fixed-term leases, you generally cannot end the lease before the term ends unless you qualify for specific exceptions. The termination date on your notice can’t be before the last day of your lease’s fixed term.

In a non-fixed-term tenancy, the landlord and the tenant don’t have an agreed-upon end date. If rent is paid monthly, this is known as a month-to-month tenancy. If you pay your rent every week, this is typically known as a weekly tenancy.

This is the minimum notice you need to give and when to fix a termination date for your notice, depending on whether you have a monthly or weekly tenancy:

  • Monthly tenancy with no fixed term: In most cases, you must still provide proper written notice, though timelines may vary depending on when the request was made and the landlord’s response.
  • Weekly tenancy with no fixed term: If you rent your space weekly or daily and are not in a fixed-term tenancy, you need to give your landlord at least 28 days’ notice. The termination date on your notice needs to be the last day of a rental week.

When a Tenant Can Terminate a Lease Early

Rental properties in Ontario are regulated by the Residential Tenancies Act. Here are the typical situations covered by this law for breaking your lease in Ontario early:

You and your landlord agree to end the lease:

The easiest and least stressful way to terminate your Ontario lease early is to come to a mutual agreement with your landlord. Get this agreement in writing.

You are a victim of sexual or domestic violence:

You can terminate your lease early if you show that staying in your rental property constitutes an unsafe living situation due to domestic or sexual abuse. Note that, in this case, you must present two documents:

  • A notice to your landlord to end your tenancy due to fear of sexual or domestic abuse
  • Either a statement about the abuse or a copy of a court order (e.g. a restraining order)

Your landlord didn’t provide the standard lease form:

For tenancy agreements entered into on or after April 30, 2018, these must be provided by your landlord in the standard lease form. If your landlord doesn’t provide your lease in the standard form, you can make a written demand for a signed copy of the standard lease form. If they don’t give you a copy within 21 days of your demand, you can give notice to your landlord to break your lease early.

What if my landlord gives the standard lease form?:

You may still opt not to enter the tenancy agreement and give notice instead to your landlord to end the tenancy. However, you need to give this notice no later than 30 days after your landlord has given you the standard lease form.

Note that, in either case, you still have to provide the landlord with a written notice for termination of the lease at least 60 days before the last day of a rental period. The notice’s termination date does not have to be the last day of the fixed tenancy agreement.

You assign the tenancy to another person:

Your landlord may allow you to break your lease and assign it to another person. This allows the third person to take on your tenancy when you permanently leave the unit. Note that an assignment is not the same as subletting, which is strictly regulated and may make you liable for any property damage caused by a sublessee.

The Landlord and Tenant Board (LTB) issued an order ending the lease:

The LTB can allow you to break your lease early if your landlord fails to meet certain legal obligations. Some of these obligations include unlawfully entering your rental property, renter harassment, and failure to maintain health and safety standards.

Your landlord didn’t respond to a request to assign a rental space in seven days:

If you apply to have your lease assigned to someone else and your landlord doesn’t respond within seven days, you can file for your lease to be terminated immediately.

Your landlord rejected a new assignment with no justifiable reason:

While your landlord has the right to refuse a person you’ve suggested for assignment to your tenancy, they can’t refuse arbitrarily. If they reject the assignment and you don’t think there was a justifiable reason for the refusal, you can contact the LTB and ask them to end the tenancy, authorize the assignment, or order your landlord to pay a rent rebate.

When a Tenant or Landlord Can Terminate a Lease Early

When a Landlord Can Terminate a Lease Early

If you’re a landlord wondering how to break a lease in Ontario, the LTB only allows landlords to end a lease early for the following reasons:

  • The rental property is required by a family member or purchaser.
  • The tenant has failed to comply with the terms of the lease agreement. Examples of such failures include non-payment of rent, subletting without an agreement, and involvement in criminal activities.
  • The tenant has agreed with the landlord to end the lease early. Note that if you’re a landlord who breaks a lease early this way, you have to fill out Form N11 (Agreement To End Tenancy).
  • The property has to be repaired, demolished, or converted for other uses.
When a Tenant or Landlord Can Terminate a Lease Early2

What Is the Penalty for Breaking a Lease in Ontario?

If you break your lease in Ontario without an agreement with your landlord or giving proper notice, you may face the following penalties:

  • You may be responsible for rent until the unit is re-rented or until the earliest legal termination date.
  • Ontario landlords cannot charge a security deposit. However, your last month’s rent deposit may be applied toward unpaid rent.

Note that even if, legally, you break your lease early in Ontario, you may still have to forfeit your security deposit if you sublet your rented property. Because you’re responsible under the lease for any damage to your rental, your landlord can retain your security deposit to cover the cost of repairs and replacements.

How Long After Signing a Lease Can You Back Out in Ontario?

Once you sign a lease, there is no general cooling-off period in Ontario, but you may still have options to end it early depending on your situation.

You may still break your lease early by following the guidelines we’ve listed above for termination dates and minimum notice periods. Note that this may cause your landlord to charge you rent until a new tenant is found or require you to forfeit your security deposit.

Key Advice from MyChoice

  • Try to work out an agreement with your landlord first. This is usually the easiest and cheapest way to end your lease early.
  • Think about assigning your lease instead of breaking it. This can help you avoid extra rent payments and penalties.
  • Give written notice and keep copies of all documents. This can protect you if there is a disagreement with your landlord.
  • Learn about your rights under the Residential Tenancies Act. This is especially important if you have safety concerns or your landlord is not following the rules.
By Matthew Roberts

With over 7 years in the insurance industry, Matt focuses on home and life insurance, offering sharp analysis and insights on underwriting trends, coverage structures, and how market changes impact consumers.

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