What can a landlord do if a tenant refuses to move out?

The landlord applies to the province's tenancy tribunal for an order of possession, and if the tenant still stays, a sheriff or court bailiff enforces it. The landlord can usually claim unpaid rent or other compensation too; in Manitoba, for example, the order of possession application can include a compensation claim. In Newfoundland and Labrador, one April 2026 decision ordered the tenant to pay the landlord's sheriff costs, though that was one adjudicator's order rather than a fixed rule.

Do not change the locks, move their belongings out or try to remove them yourself; that is illegal in every province covered here. Check that your notice was valid and its date has passed, or that the lease has really ended, then apply to your tenancy office for an order. Bring a copy of the notice or lease and proof of how and when you served it. See how to evict a tenant for the full process.

Until the termination date on a valid notice, the date in a signed agreement to end the tenancy, or the end of a fixed term in provinces where it simply ends (Alberta, Saskatchewan, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia). Landlord notice periods run from about 10 days for unpaid rent to several months for a landlord's own use; see how much notice a landlord has to give. Once there is an order of possession, the tenant has until the date in the order, after which it can be enforced.

Until an order of possession is enforced, and dispute and appeal windows can add time. In British Columbia a tenant has 5 days to dispute a 10 Day Notice for unpaid rent and 10 days to dispute a One Month Notice for cause. Nova Scotia orders can be appealed within 10 days, New Brunswick eviction orders can go to the Court of King's Bench within 7 days, and PEI orders can be appealed to IRAC within 20 days (7 for non-payment or cause), which puts the order on hold. Applying promptly once the notice date passes is the best way to shorten the wait.

Take the order to the enforcement office your province uses. In Alberta, file it with the Court of King's Bench, serve it and hire a civil enforcement agency; in British Columbia, file it with the B.C. Supreme Court and use a court bailiff. Manitoba and Saskatchewan use a writ of possession carried out by the sheriff, Ontario uses the Court Enforcement Office (Sheriff), and Nova Scotia first makes the order a Small Claims Court order. New Brunswick, PEI and Newfoundland and Labrador send the order to the sheriff.

An N11 sets an agreed date to end an Ontario tenancy, but it does not let the landlord remove a tenant who stays. The landlord has to apply to the Landlord and Tenant Board for an eviction order, and only the Court Enforcement Office (Sheriff) can enforce it. A landlord also cannot require a tenant to sign an N11 in the first place. Changing the locks without giving the tenant a key is illegal, even after an N11.

First make sure the tenant has really moved out or abandoned the unit; until then, their belongings are off limits. Each province sets its own process: Nova Scotia uses Form A, PEI has an abandonment procedure in its Act and bars keeping abandoned property to cover rent, and Manitoba allows abandoned property to be removed, stored, sold or disposed of only under the Act's rules. Newfoundland and Labrador requires the landlord to store belongings for 30 days and never keep, sell or dispose of them to cover money owed, and New Brunswick says a landlord cannot withhold a tenant's belongings or dispose of them without a residential tenancies officer's decision. Check your tenancy office's process before removing or selling anything.

Apply to your tenancy office for an order for the rent owed, and deal with any deposit you hold under your province's deposit rules. File in time: the RTDRS in Alberta allows 2 years from when the claim is discovered, and Newfoundland and Labrador has a one-year limit on applications. If the tenant left before the end of a fixed term or notice period, you must also try to re-rent; Alberta, British Columbia and Ontario all require reasonable steps to keep the loss down. See what to do if a tenant doesn't pay rent.

Yes, to a reasonable standard, though not for normal wear and tear. British Columbia's Act says a tenant must leave the unit reasonably clean and undamaged except for reasonable wear and tear, and Alberta's Act requires the tenant to keep the premises reasonably clean. Manitoba's Residential Tenancies Branch looks at whether the unit was left "ordinarily clean" when deciding who keeps the security deposit. In Alberta, a landlord can deduct cleaning costs from the security deposit only if the tenant agreed to cleaning charges and the inspection reports were done.

It depends on whether the lease actually ended. In Alberta, Saskatchewan, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia a fixed-term lease ends on its date, so you can apply for an order if the tenant stays, as long as you have not created a new tenancy by accepting rent (or, in Saskatchewan, by agreeing to new terms after your Two Month Notice of Intention). In British Columbia without a valid vacate clause, and in Ontario and PEI, the tenancy carries on month to month, so you need a lawful reason and the proper notice before you can apply. In Newfoundland and Labrador you must have given 3 months' notice before the end of the term.

A notice on its own does not remove a tenant. In Ontario the tenant does not have to leave just because a notice was served. If the tenant stays, you apply to the Landlord and Tenant Board, and most applications must be filed within 30 days after the termination date in the notice (applications for unpaid rent have no deadline). The tenant can explain at the hearing why they should not be evicted or ask for more time.

In every province covered here, a landlord needs an order from the tenancy office or tribunal before a tenant who stays can be removed, and the order is then enforced through the sheriff or a court-authorized bailiff (see the table above). Check whether the tenant disputed the notice first: in British Columbia, for example, a tenant has 5 days to dispute a 10 Day Notice and 10 days to dispute a One Month Notice for cause. Do not change the locks or move their belongings out in the meantime.

Once the Landlord and Tenant Board has issued an eviction order and the tenant has not left, file the order with the Court Enforcement Office of the Superior Court of Justice, also called the Sheriff's Office. Only that office can enforce an eviction order, the Board does not enforce it, and the office charges the landlord a fee. The order expires if it is not filed with the Sheriff within six months after it takes effect.

Some steps can pause enforcement: a tenant who moves to set aside an order made without a hearing within 10 days, or who appeals to the Divisional Court within 30 days (on a question of law), gets an automatic stay. A tenant can also ask the Board to review an order within 15 days for orders made on or after July 1, 2026. Changing the locks yourself is illegal in Ontario unless it follows a Sheriff's eviction or you are sure the unit is abandoned.

An agreed date works only if the tenancy really ended on it, for example through a signed agreement to end the tenancy (an N11 in Ontario, form RTB-8 in British Columbia) or a fixed term that ends on its own in Alberta, Saskatchewan, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. If the tenant stays past that date, you still cannot remove them yourself: apply to your tenancy office for an order of possession, which is then enforced through the sheriff or a court-authorized bailiff. Bring the signed agreement or lease and your messages about the move-out date.

Be careful about taking rent after the agreed date, because in Alberta and New Brunswick, accepting rent after a fixed term ends with no new lease creates a new periodic tenancy, and in Nova Scotia a tenant who stays with the owner's consent is treated as month-to-month. As SQRFT advice, send a short written reminder of the date, say that you will apply for an order if the tenant stays, and keep copies.