Separating While Renting in Ontario: Who Stays on the Lease and Who Pays Rent

Separation is hard enough without a lease hanging over it. If you and your partner rent, questions come up quickly: who stays, who pays the rent, and whether moving out ends your responsibility to the landlord.

The answers depend on how the lease is set up, whether you are married, and how the tenancy is ended. This guide walks through the general rules in Ontario so you know what to ask before you act.

Joint tenancy: you may each be liable for all of the rent

If you and your partner share a single tenancy agreement, you are in a joint tenancy. In that situation, the tenants are jointly and severally liable for the entire rent, which means the landlord can pursue any one of them for the full amount.

In practical terms, an agreement between the two of you about who pays what does not change what the landlord can demand. Your arrangement with each other is a separate matter from your obligations to the landlord.

When one tenant leaves and the spouse stays

If a tenant moves out without giving notice or agreeing to end the tenancy, and the tenant's spouse stays in the unit as their principal residence, that spouse is included in the definition of tenant under the Residential Tenancies Act, 2006, unless a listed exception applies.

There are exceptions. The spouse does not become a tenant where the unit is in a building of no more than three residential units in which the landlord lives, or where the spouse moves out within 60 days after the tenant leaves.

• Staying on may make the remaining spouse responsible as a tenant, so think before assuming you can simply stay without obligations.
• Whether an exception applies depends on the building and the timing, so confirm your situation before relying on it.

How a tenancy is ended, and what leaving without notice can cost

A tenant ending a monthly tenancy must give at least 60 days' notice on Form N9, with a termination date on the last day of a rental period. For a fixed-term lease, the termination date cannot be earlier than the last day of the term.

The tenant and landlord can also agree to end the tenancy using Form N11.

A tenant who leaves without proper notice may owe rent until the earlier of the date the unit is re-rented or the earliest termination date that would have applied with proper notice.

If there is sexual or domestic violence

A tenant who, or whose child living with them, is a victim of sexual or domestic violence and fears harm can end the tenancy on 28 days' notice using Form N15 at any time. The notice must be accompanied by a Tenant's Statement, or a restraining order or peace bond issued within the last 90 days.

If you are in a joint tenancy and the N15 is not signed by all the tenants, the tenancy continues for the tenants who did not sign it.

A person abused by a spouse or partner can also ask the court for a restraining order, which can require the person to stay away generally or from specific places such as the home, workplace or the children's school. If you are in danger, call 911 or local police immediately.

Who gets the home, and what to do next

Under the Family Law Act, a court may order that one spouse be given exclusive possession of a matrimonial home, or part of it, regardless of who owns it. A matrimonial home is a property in which a spouse has an interest and that the spouses ordinarily occupied as their family residence. How this applies to a rented home depends on your situation, so it is worth confirming with a lawyer. Those matrimonial home rules apply to married people, so unmarried partners should get advice about their options.

• Find your lease and check whether you are both named on a single tenancy agreement.
• Check whether it is a fixed term or monthly, and when the term ends.
• Talk to your landlord before moving out, and ask whether an agreement to end the tenancy on Form N11 is possible.
• Do not assume that moving out ends your responsibility for the rent.
• If safety is a concern, get help and look at Form N15 and a restraining order.
• Check current forms on tribunalsontario.ca before filing anything.
• Speak with a lawyer about your own situation, especially if you are married and both want to stay.

Frequently asked questions