Reasons to Evict a Tenant Before the End of Their Lease Term
Looking at the legal position of landlords if their tenancy becomes problematic.
The Tenant Protection Act does not allow landlords to evict their tenants if there is a lease in place. Once the lease term has finished, the tenancy is deemed to be month-to-month and it follows all the provisions of the original lease. At that point, the landlord may serve notice but must give the tenant at least 60 days advanced notice if they want to terminate the tenancy. Also, the only acceptable reasons for an eviction to a tenant in good standing is if the landlord (or a member of their immediate family) wants to move in themselves or if the landlord is intending to do major work to the rental suite.
Sometimes unfortunately it becomes necessary to evict prior to the end of the lease term, despite there being an active lease in place. There are some circumstances where a landlord can file with the Tribunal for early termination.
These include:
1. Frequent lateness or non-payment of rent
2. Illegal activity happening on the premises
3. Causing excessive damage to the rental unit or property
4. Overcrowding or too many people have moved into the rental unit
All eviction notices must be in writing and landlords must used the prescribed forms (N11,N12,etc). I recommend that if you need to end a tenancy early due to one of these reasons, that you seek out legal advice before serving notice, just to ensure that everything is being done properly and by the book.
