Selling a Condo With a Tenant in Toronto in 2027

By Jatin Dua · Broker of Record, RE/MAX Quantum Realty · Updated 2 November 2026 · 11 min read — How to sell a tenanted Toronto condo in 2027: the N12 and N11 routes, showing rules, investor math and what condos sold for in 2026.

This guide is for Toronto condo owners who want to sell a unit that has a tenant living in it. You will learn the two legal ways to sell (with the tenant staying, or with the unit delivered vacant), the notice and compensation rules, how showings work, and what condos were selling for going into 2027.

Can you sell a condo with a tenant in Toronto?

Yes. Owning a rented condo does not stop you from selling it. In Ontario, the tenancy does not end because the unit changes hands. The Residential Tenancies Act (RTA) says a landlord’s obligations run with the property, so the buyer takes over as the new landlord on the same lease, at the same rent.

That leaves you with two kinds of buyers:

• An investor who wants the tenant and the rent. The tenant stays, and nothing about their lease changes on closing.
• A buyer who wants to live there. This buyer needs vacant possession, which you can only deliver if the tenant leaves by agreement or through a valid purchaser’s notice (an N12).

Most of the money and stress in a tenanted condo sale comes from choosing between those two paths early, before the listing goes live.

Should you sell your condo tenanted or vacant in 2027?

There are three practical routes. Each one has a different buyer pool, timeline and risk.

Source: Residential Tenancies Act, 2006, ss. 18, 37, 49 and 49.1; Landlord and Tenant Board brochure “How a Landlord Can End a Tenancy”.

If your tenant pays close to market rent, is on a month-to-month tenancy and keeps the unit well, selling to an investor can be the cleanest option. If the rent is far below market, the end-user route often makes more sense, because an investor will price that low rent into the offer. I explain how buyers discount for this in how much less a tenanted condo is worth in Toronto.

How does a purchaser N12 work for a condo unit?

Section 49 of the RTA lets a seller give notice on behalf of a buyer. For a condo, it applies to the unit no matter how many units the building has. The usual three-unit limit is for houses and small buildings, not condo units.

Who can move in

The buyer must, in good faith, need the unit so that one of these people can live there: the buyer, the buyer’s spouse, a child or parent of either of them, or a caregiver for one of those people.

Notice and timing

• You can only serve it after you have a signed agreement of purchase and sale.
• The termination date must be at least 60 days after you give the notice.
• It must fall on the last day of a rental period, or the end of the lease term if the tenant is on a fixed-term lease.
• The tenant may leave earlier by giving you at least 10 days’ written notice.

Compensation

You, the seller, must pay the tenant one month’s rent or offer another unit the tenant accepts. The Act keeps this as the seller’s obligation; it does not pass to the buyer. The 2026 rule that removes compensation when a landlord gives 120 days’ notice applies only to an N12 for the landlord’s own use. The LTB brochure says plainly that those conditions do not apply to a purchaser’s N12. I cover the own-use version in N12 compensation and the 120-day rule.

Can you ask your tenant to leave before you list the condo?

You can ask, but the tenant does not have to agree. A landlord and tenant can end a tenancy by agreement at any time, ideally in writing on Form N11, signed by every tenant on the lease. The LTB brochure also says a landlord cannot force a tenant to sign one.

In practice, this is where a “cash for keys” offer comes in: you offer money, moving help, or a flexible move date in return for the tenant signing an N11. The amount is not set by law. It is a negotiation, so be fair and get it in writing.

Do not serve an N12 for your own use if you are really planning to sell. If the person named does not actually move in, the former tenant can file a bad-faith application (T5) with the LTB.

What rights does your tenant have during showings?

Under section 27 of the RTA, a landlord, or a registered real estate salesperson or broker with the landlord’s written authorization, may enter to show the unit to a potential buyer. The tenant must get written notice at least 24 hours ahead, stating the reason, the day, and a time between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m.

Notice alone rarely gets you a great showing. A tenant who feels ignored can make the unit look bad without breaking any rule. What works better, in my experience:

• Talk to the tenant before you list, and explain what will happen and when.
• Group showings into a few set windows each week instead of daily drop-ins.
• Offer something for the trouble, such as a rent credit for the listing period or a cleaning service before photos.
• Ask for permission before photos or video of their belongings, and respect a “no”.

The fine print on notice, and what counts as a valid entry, is in landlord entry for showings in Ontario.

What are Toronto condos selling for going into 2027?

Condo apartments were the slowest part of the Toronto market in 2026, and prices kept falling. In October 2026, the City of Toronto had 949 condo apartment sales at a median price of $545,000, with an average selling price about 97% of the average list price and 36 days on market. There were 5,251 active condo apartment listings at month end, or more than five months of supply at that sales pace.

The districts with the most condo apartment sales from January to October 2026 show the same pattern:

Source: TRREB MLS data via REALM, condo apartments, January–October of each year (median sold price, average days on market); October 2026 figures from TRREB Market Watch. District figures, not building or neighbourhood prices.

For a tenanted seller, this matters because fewer end users are rushing to buy, and many buyers in this segment are investors who look closely at the rent. Expect a normal sale to take five to six weeks on the market, plus closing time. My guide to how long it takes to sell a Toronto condo in 2027 breaks the timeline down.

What do investors look at when they buy a tenanted condo?

The rent compared with the market

Urbanation reported an average condo rent of $2,604 a month across the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area in the third quarter of 2026, down 0.6% from a year earlier, with condo rental listings down 25%. Rentals.ca put the average asking rent in the City of Toronto at $2,590 in October 2026, up 1.6% year over year. If your tenant pays well below what similar units rent for, an investor will treat that gap as a cost.

Whether rent control applies

The Ontario rent increase guideline is 1.9% for increases taking effect in 2027. But the guideline does not apply to a unit in a building where no part was occupied for residential purposes on or before November 15, 2018. Many newer Toronto condos fall into that group, and buyers will ask about it, because it decides how fast the rent can catch up to the market.

A simple yield check

As an illustration only: a unit renting at $2,600 a month brings in $31,200 a year. At a price of $545,000, that is a gross return of about 5.7% before condo fees, property tax, insurance, vacancy and mortgage interest. Investors run this kind of math on every tenanted listing, so you should too before you set a price.

How do you price a tenanted condo differently from a vacant one?

Start with what the unit would sell for vacant, based on recent sales in the building and nearby. Then adjust for the tenancy. The biggest factors are how far the rent sits below market, whether the lease is fixed-term or month-to-month, whether the unit is exempt from the guideline, how cooperative the tenant has been, and the condition of the suite after years of renting.

I prepare two numbers for every tenanted condo seller: a “sold vacant” price and a “sold tenanted” price. The gap between them, minus what it would cost to get vacant possession, tells you which route puts more money in your pocket. If you are still deciding whether to sell at all, read should I sell or rent out my Toronto condo.

What paperwork do you need to sell a tenanted condo?

• The signed lease and any renewals, plus the current rent and the date it was last raised.
• A rent ledger showing payments and whether the tenant is in arrears.
• Details of any last month’s rent deposit, and the interest owed on it.
• Copies of any notices served (rent increases, N11, N12).
• Who pays which utilities, and whether parking or a locker is in the lease.
• A current status certificate. The condo corporation must provide it within 10 days of a request, for a fee of no more than $100.

Your lawyer and agent will turn this into clauses in the agreement of purchase and sale, covering the tenancy, the deposit transfer and, for an end-user sale, vacant possession. See clauses for tenanted properties in Ontario for the usual wording issues.

What to do next

1. Pull your lease, rent ledger and deposit records together, and confirm whether your building was occupied before November 16, 2018.
2. Get two price opinions: one tenanted, one vacant, both based on recent sales in your building or district.
3. Talk to your tenant before you list, and agree on a showing schedule in writing.
4. If you want vacant possession, decide between an N11 agreement and selling to an end user with a purchaser N12, and speak to a real estate lawyer or paralegal about timing.
5. Book a call with me to compare both routes for your unit, using current numbers.

Frequently asked questions

Sources

• Residential Tenancies Act, 2006 (e-Laws, current consolidation)
• Landlord and Tenant Board: How a Landlord Can End a Tenancy
• TRREB Market Watch, October 2026 (PDF)
• TRREB Community Report, Toronto Central, Q2 2026 (district communities)
• Urbanation: Rental recovery begins in the GTHA as vacancy and incentives fall (Q3 2026)
• Rentals.ca and Urbanation National Rent Report, October 2026
• Government of Ontario: Rent increase guideline
• Condominium Authority of Ontario: Status certificates

Related reading

• Seller Closing Costs in Ontario for 2027: Every Fee Before You Get Paid
• How to Sell a House in Toronto, Step by Step (2027)
• Closing Costs on a New Build in Ontario: What Builders Add
• How Much Is My House Worth in Caledon? (2027)