First confirm all statutory requirements
Under Residential Tenancy Act section 49.1, the unit must be operated by or on behalf of a prescribed public housing body. At the beginning of the tenancy, the tenant or another proposed occupant must have been required to satisfy conditions tied to income, number of occupants, health or similar eligibility criteria. Most importantly, the tenancy agreement must provide for ending the tenancy if the eligibility conditions are lost. A merely lower-than-market rent, without these conditions, does not automatically make the home an eligible subsidized rental unit.
Complete the four-page notice
- Page 1 — Parties and effective date: Enter every tenant's name, the landlord's name, full service/contact addresses, the rental-unit address, and a valid move-out date. The landlord or agent signs and dates the notice. Use RTB-26 for additional parties.
- Page 2 — Details of lost eligibility: Do not simply write “no longer qualifies.” Explain which eligibility requirement applies, what has changed, and how that results in disqualification. The official RTB-32Q expressly warns that this notice is not valid if those details are omitted. Complete the service information and preserve proof.
- Pages 3 and 4 — Rights and instructions: Give the tenant all four pages, including the explanation of effective dates, deemed receipt, dispute resolution and enforcement. Keep a complete copy and record service using RTB-34.
Two-month move-out notice, but only 15 days to dispute
Unless the tenant agrees in writing to an earlier date, the effective move-out date must be at least two months after legal receipt and ordinarily the last day of the rental period. If the tenancy is fixed-term, the effective date cannot precede the term's end. The tenant has 15 calendar days after receipt to apply for dispute resolution. When service is by posting, mailbox, registered mail or authorized email, check the appropriate deemed-receipt period instead of assuming the date sent equals the date received.
Can a tenant move earlier?
For a periodic (for example month-to-month) tenancy, section 50 allows a tenant who receives an RTB-32Q notice to give at least 10 days' written notice to move before the landlord's effective date. The tenant pays rent through the earlier move-out date and is entitled to a refund of prepaid rent for later dates. The Act's separate one-month rent compensation for landlord-use notices under section 49 does not automatically apply to an RTB-32Q loss-of-eligibility notice.
Disputes and enforcement
If the tenant disputes in time, the landlord must substantiate the subsidized-housing classification, contractual eligibility clause, actual loss of qualification and valid notice/service. If the tenant does not dispute, the landlord may seek an order of possession through the RTB process; the notice itself does not permit changing the locks or personally forcing a tenant out. An order must be enforced through the lawful procedure.
Common mistakes
Using RTB-32Q for non-subsidized housing, overlooking the tenancy agreement's eligibility clause, failing to give required facts on page 2, setting an end date before the fixed term expires, counting two months instead of 15 days for the dispute deadline, or serving fewer than all four pages.