4. Give your landlord the notice
Question & Answer
I rent month-to-month. How should I give notice to move out?After you figure out when you have to give the to your landlord, you need to know how to give the notice. This is sometimes called “serving” the notice.
IMPORTANT: Before you give notice, be sure that you really want to move out. If you do not move out when your notice says you will, your landlord can apply to the Landlord and Tenant Board to have you evicted. Your landlord can do this without telling you or giving you any papers.
You can mail or fax the notice or give it to your landlord in person. You can also send the notice to your landlord's agent. An agent can be someone who works for your landlord, for example, the superintendent or someone who works in the property manager's office.
Make sure to keep a copy of the notice, along with something to prove when you served it. For example, if you give the notice to the landlord or agent in person, you can ask them to sign and date your copy. Or you can take someone with you to watch you the notice. If you fax the notice, keep a copy of the fax confirmation sheet.
If you mail your notice, keep a record of when you mailed it. The best way to do this is to get a receipt from the post office. Remember that the law says you must allow an extra 5 days for your landlord to receive the notice by mail. So, for example, if you need to serve the notice by June 1, and you want to do it by mail, you will have to mail it no later than May 27.
You can only email the notice if your landlord has given you permission in writing to send them things this way. For example, the landlord might have said email was okay in a text message or in your rental agreement. You can use the LTB's Consent to Service by Email form to ask for permission. Or you can ask for permission in a different way.
It is important that you serve the notice on time. If your notice is even one day late, you could owe an extra month's rent.