How many days' notice do you need to give your landlord?

On a month-to-month or other periodic tenancy, yes, in every province covered here: the tenancy carries on until a proper notice ends it. On a fixed-term lease it depends. In Alberta, Saskatchewan, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia the lease ends on its end date and you can leave without notice. In British Columbia, Ontario and PEI it carries on month to month unless you give notice, and in Newfoundland and Labrador a fixed-term tenant gives two months' notice before the term ends.

Put it in writing, sign and date it, and include the rental address and your move-out date. Use your province's form if there is one, such as Form 2 in Alberta, N9 in Ontario, Form C in Nova Scotia or Form 3 in PEI. Make sure the last day is the last day of a rental period, and deliver the notice in a way you can prove, keeping a copy for yourself.

One full rental month in Alberta, British Columbia, Saskatchewan, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, PEI and Newfoundland and Labrador, and one full rental payment period in Manitoba. Ontario requires 60 days. With rent due on the 1st, give notice no later than the 1st of the month you plan to leave (Alberta's example is serving it by September 1 to move out September 30); in British Columbia the landlord has to receive it before that rent day.

Only Ontario counts in days: 60 days for a monthly tenancy and 28 days for a daily or weekly tenancy, plus 5 days if the notice is mailed. The other provinces count in whole rental periods, which is not the same as 30 days. The notice has to cover a full rental month (or week) and end on the last day of a rental period, so the number of days depends on when you serve it.

Only in some cases. Ontario's 60 days works out to about two months for a monthly tenancy, a fixed-term tenant in Newfoundland and Labrador gives two months before the term ends, and Alberta's yearly tenancies need 60 days. Everywhere else, the standard notice for a month-to-month tenancy is one full month.

At any time, as long as the full notice period fits before your move-out date and that date is the last day of a rental period. Alberta requires it on or before the first day of the notice month, Manitoba on or before the last day of a rental payment period, Newfoundland and Labrador no later than the first day of a rental period, and Nova Scotia before the rent due date. In British Columbia, Saskatchewan and PEI, the period counts from the day the landlord receives your notice.

It is risky. Most provinces expect a written, signed notice, and Ontario, Nova Scotia, PEI and Newfoundland and Labrador have set forms. Alberta's Act lets notices be delivered in any other way the landlord and tenant have agreed to in writing, so check your lease. The safest approach is a signed notice delivered in a way you can prove, with a text only as a heads-up.

No. Alberta, British Columbia, Ontario, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, PEI and Newfoundland and Labrador all require written notice, and several also require it to be signed. In Manitoba and Saskatchewan, a dated written notice is the only practical way to prove when the notice period started. If you told your landlord in person, follow up with a written notice right away.

Only when the lease allows it, most often at the end of a fixed term in Alberta, Saskatchewan, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, where the lease ends on its own date. The special exits for family or domestic violence, health and similar situations still need notice, just a shorter one with the right document; in Alberta, for example, it is 28 days with a certificate. In other cases, a tenant who leaves without proper notice stays responsible for rent. See how to get out of a lease agreement.

The tenant can owe rent for the notice period they skipped, or for the rest of a fixed term, but in most provinces the landlord has to make a reasonable effort to re-rent the unit and cannot leave it empty and charge for the whole period. In Alberta, a landlord can charge a re-rental fee only if the lease says so. In Manitoba, a landlord can claim a $75 administration fee when a tenant abandons a fixed-term lease without any notice. British Columbia's own example is a tenant who leaves two months into a one-year lease and faces a claim for 10 months' rent.

First make sure the unit has really been vacated or abandoned; in Alberta, a landlord can enter without notice only with reasonable grounds to believe the tenant has abandoned it. Then advertise the unit promptly, because a claim for lost rent is reduced by what you could have earned by re-renting. Keep records of the condition, your advertising and any rent lost, and file a claim with your province's tenancy office if the tenant will not pay. Belongings left behind are covered by each province's own rules, so check them before removing anything.

Yes. A tenant ends a month-to-month or other periodic tenancy by giving the landlord written notice, and in Nova Scotia the form is called the Tenant's Notice to Quit (Form C). Other provinces use different names: Form 2 in Alberta, N9 in Ontario, Form 3 in PEI and the Tenant's Notice to Terminate (Standard) in Newfoundland and Labrador. The notice generally has to end on the last day of a rental period (in Saskatchewan and PEI, the day before rent is next due), and the table above shows how much notice each province requires.

You can hand in notice on any day, but it still has to cover the full notice period and generally end on the last day of a rental period. In Alberta, for example, a notice served after the first day of the notice month pushes the end of the tenancy to the last day of the next complete tenancy month, so in Alberta a notice that arrives even a day late can move your last day back by a full month.

Many people ask about 30 days' notice, but that is not the standard for a month-to-month tenant in the provinces covered here: Ontario generally needs 60 days (30 days for a tenant in a care home, and the Tribunals Ontario brochure mentions a shorter-notice rule for some February and March dates that we could not confirm, so check it), and the others count whole rental months. Rent is generally still due until the tenancy actually ends, so count the dates before you plan the move.

Start with your proof. Alberta, British Columbia, Ontario, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, PEI and Newfoundland and Labrador all require written notice, so show your signed and dated copy and how you delivered it. In Ontario you add 5 days if you mailed it, and in British Columbia, Saskatchewan and PEI the period counts from the day the landlord received it.

If you only told the landlord in person or by text, our advice is to give a proper written notice now, keep a copy and count the period from the day it is received. If you and the landlord still disagree about whether notice was given, the tenancy office decides (the Landlord and Tenant Board in Ontario).