Ending a tenancy so the landlord can move in, by country
Every country in the table lets a landlord reclaim a home for personal use, but the gate differs. Ontario and Spain name the relatives who count and Spain adds that the need must be written into the contract; Germany and Norway extend it to household members; the Netherlands and Sweden make a court weigh the landlord's urgency against the tenant, and Japan treats own need as only one factor in a "justifiable reason". Notice runs from 60 days in Ontario to three months in Germany, Norway and Sweden, six months in Japan, and compensation or damages follow in Ontario, Spain, the Netherlands and Austria.
Scope of this guide
Canada: the Canada Labour Code (federal sector) and the Ontario statutes that LawAsked has loaded. Other provinces are not compared.
| Country | Own-use rule and who counts | Notice | What protects the tenant |
|---|---|---|---|
| Austria | Landlord can end the lease only for important grounds; own need (Eigenbedarf) is referred to as one of them | Landlord pays the tenant's moving costs after the eviction | |
| Canada | Landlord in good faith needs the unit to live in for at least one year: landlord, spouse, child or parent of either, or a caregiver | At least 60 days, ending at the end of a rental period or fixed term | One month's rent or another unit the tenant accepts (unless 120 days' notice is given) |
| Germany | Landlord needs the home for self, family members or members of the household | 3 months, plus 3 months after 5 years and 3 more after 8 years of tenancy | Reason must be in the notice; tenant can object if leaving would be an undue hardship |
| Spain | Individual landlord, if the contract states the need at signing: permanent home for self, a first-degree relative (or adoptive) or an ex-spouse by court order | At least 2 months before the date the home is needed, after the first year | If not occupied within 3 months, tenant chooses reinstatement for up to 5 years or one month's rent per remaining year |
| Japan | Landlord's need to use the building is one factor in deciding whether there is a justifiable reason | 6 months from the landlord's notice of termination | Court looks at both sides' need, the lease history, the building, and any payment offered |
| Netherlands | Landlord shows urgent need for own use, so that extending the lease cannot fairly be required, and the tenant can find suitable housing | At least 3 months, plus 1 month per year of tenancy, up to 6 months | Court can award moving costs; landlord owes damages if the intention to move in was not real |
| Norway | Landlord or someone in the household will use the home | 3 months, ending at the end of a calendar month | |
| Sweden | Only for a flat in a one- or two-family house or owner-flat property, not let as a business, where the owner has such an interest that the tenant reasonably ought to move | 3 months, ending at a month-end, for a home | Tenant has a right to an extension unless an exception applies |
Country by country
Austria
- Rule
- Mietrechtsgesetz §§ 30, 31 and 32
- The stored text of § 30(2), the list of important grounds, is missing its list items, so the exact conditions for own need cannot be quoted here. § 32(5) shows that terminations for own need exist ("Kündigung wegen Eigenbedarfs nach § 30 Abs. 2 Z 12").
- Section 31 separately lets a landlord end the lease for only a part of the premises that the landlord or a direct relative needs urgently.
- No notice period is stated in the quoted sections.
Der Vermieter kann nur aus wichtigen Gründen den Mietvertrag kündigen. Der Vermieter hat überdies dem Mieter nach der Räumung die für den Umzug in der Gemeinde erforderlichen Übersiedlungskosten zu ersetzen.Dieser Anspruch auf Ersatz der Übersiedlungskosten besteht auch in den Fällen einer Kündigung aus den Gründen des § 30 Abs. 2 Z 8 oder in den Fällen einer Kündigung wegen Eigenbedarfs nach § 30 Abs. 2 Z 12. Canada
- Rule
- Residential Tenancies Act, 2006 (Ontario) ss. 48, 48.1
- Only an individual landlord who owns the unit, in whole or in part, may use this ground.
- The tenant may leave earlier on at least 10 days' notice.
- Compensation is not due if the notice gives at least 120 days and meets the other conditions of s. 48.1(2).
- Ontario statute only. The Canada Labour Code does not deal with tenancies.
A landlord may, by notice, terminate a tenancy if the landlord in good faith requires possession of the rental unit for the purpose of residential occupation for a period of at least one year bya child or parent of the landlord or the landlord’s spouseThe date for termination specified in the notice shall be at least 60 days after the notice is giventhe rental unit is owned in whole or in part by an individual; and (b) the landlord is an individual. a landlord shall compensate a tenant in an amount equal to one month’s rent or offer the tenant another rental unit acceptable to the tenant Germany
- Rule
- BGB §§ 573, 573c and 574
- The statute calls this a legitimate interest of the landlord and lists it among several (§ 573(2)).
- The hardship objection looks at the tenant, family and household members; lack of suitable replacement housing also counts (§ 574(2)).
- Agreements worse for the tenant than these sections are void.
der Vermieter die Räume als Wohnung für sich, seine Familienangehörigen oder Angehörige seines Haushalts benötigtDie Gründe für ein berechtigtes Interesse des Vermieters sind in dem Kündigungsschreiben anzugeben. Die Kündigung ist spätestens am dritten Werktag eines Kalendermonats zum Ablauf des übernächsten Monats zulässig. Die Kündigungsfrist für den Vermieter verlängert sich nach fünf und acht Jahren seit der Überlassung des Wohnraums um jeweils drei Monate. Der Mieter kann der Kündigung des Vermieters widersprechen und von ihm die Fortsetzung des Mietverhältnisses verlangen, wenn die Beendigung des Mietverhältnisses für den Mieter, seine Familie oder einen anderen Angehörigen seines Haushalts eine Härte bedeuten würde Spain
- Rule
- Ley de Arrendamientos Urbanos, art. 9(3)
- Covers a lease of a home used as the tenant's permanent residence, once the first year has passed, and only where the landlord is a natural person.
- Without the express statement in the contract, the compulsory extension of the lease is not cut short.
- The stored text of art. 10 announces an amendment from 15 November 2026 (Real Decreto-ley 28/2026). That text widens the relatives to the second degree for the no-compensation case; this guide quotes only art. 9(3) as currently in force.
no procederá la prórroga obligatoria del contrato cuando, al tiempo de su celebración, se hubiese hecho constar en el mismo, de forma expresa, la necesidad para el arrendador de ocupar la vivienda arrendada antes del transcurso de cinco años para destinarla a vivienda permanente para sí o sus familiares en primer grado de consanguinidad o por adopción o para su cónyuge en los supuestos de sentencia firme de separación, divorcio o nulidad matrimonial.siempre que el arrendador sea persona físicaal menos con dos meses de antelación a la fecha en la que la vivienda se vaya a necesitarSi transcurridos tres meses a contar de la extinción del contrato o, en su caso, del efectivo desalojo de la vivienda, no hubieran procedido el arrendador o sus familiares en primer grado de consanguinidad o por adopción o su cónyuge en los supuestos de sentencia firme de separación, divorcio o nulidad matrimonial a ocupar esta por sí, según los casos, el arrendatario podrá optar, en el plazo de treinta días, entre ser repuesto en el uso y disfrute de la vivienda arrendada por un nuevo período de hasta cinco añoso ser indemnizado por una cantidad equivalente a una mensualidad por cada año que quedara por cumplir hasta completar cinco años Japan
- Rule
- 借地借家法 第二十七条 and 第二十八条
- No relatives are listed: the statute asks for a justifiable reason (正当の事由) considering both parties' need to use the building.
- The same test applies to a landlord's notice of non-renewal under Article 26(1).
建物の賃貸人が賃貸借の解約の申入れをした場合においては、建物の賃貸借は、解約の申入れの日から六月を経過することによって終了する。 建物の賃貸人及び賃借人（転借人を含む。以下この条において同じ。）が建物の使用を必要とする事情のほか正当の事由があると認められる場合でなければ、することができない。 Netherlands
- Rule
- Burgerlijk Wetboek Boek 7, arts. 271, 274, 275 and 276
- The notice must state the grounds, and the court decides, looking only at the grounds in the notice.
- If the landlord has not taken the home into lasting own use within a year of the lease ending, the intention is presumed not to have existed unless proven otherwise (art. 276(2)).
- The exception for certain tenants in arts. 274c to 274e is stated in the same sub-paragraph of art. 274(1)(c).
indien de verhuurder aannemelijk maakt dat hij het verhuurde zo dringend nodig heeft voor eigen gebruik, vervreemding van de gehuurde woonruimte niet daaronder begrepen, dat van hem, de belangen van beide partijen en van onderhuurders naar billijkheid in aanmerking genomen, niet kan worden gevergd dat de huurovereenkomst wordt verlengd, en tevens blijkt dat de huurder bij opzegging door de verhuurder: een termijn niet korter dan drie maanden, voor elk jaar dat de huurder krachtens overeenkomst ononderbroken het gehuurde in gebruik heeft gehad verlengd met één maand tot ten hoogste zes maanden kan hij een bedrag vaststellen dat de verhuurder aan de huurder moet betalen ter tegemoetkoming in diens verhuis- en inrichtingskosten is de verhuurder jegens de huurder tot schadevergoeding gehouden, indien de wil om het verhuurde duurzaam in eigen gebruik te nemen respectievelijk te verkopen in werkelijkheid niet aanwezig is geweest Norway
- Rule
- Husleieloven §§ 9-5 and 9-6
- The ground applies to a lease of a home with no fixed end date; the statute lists own use, demolition or rebuilding, the tenant's breach, or another objective reason.
- The statute says the rules of § 9-6 on notice may be departed from by agreement.
- The quoted sections state no compensation for the tenant.
En tidsubestemt leieavtale om bolig kan bare sies opp av utleieren dersomhusrommet skal brukes som bolig av utleieren selv eller noen som hører til husstanden Oppsigelsesfristen skal være tre måneder til opphør ved utløpet av en kalendermåned. Sweden
- Rule
- Jordabalken 12 kap. 4 § and 46 §
- Section 46 gives the tenant a right to an extension of the lease when the landlord ends it, except in listed cases; own use by the landlord is one of those cases, but only for the property types in point 6.
- Point 7 gives a similar exception where the landlord rents out a flat that the landlord holds by tenant-owner right (bostadsrätt) and still holds it.
- Notice is three months unless a longer period was agreed (12 kap. 4 §).
har hyresgästen rätt till förlängning av avtalet, utom näravtalet avser en lägenhet i ett en- eller tvåfamiljshus eller inom en ägarlägenhetsfastighet och upplåtelsen inte ingår i en affärsmässigt bedriven uthyrningsverksamhet samt upplåtaren har sådant intresse att förfoga över lägenheten att hyresgästen skäligen bör flytta vid det månadsskifte som inträffar närmast efter tre månader från uppsägningen, när avtalet avser en bostadslägenhet Countries not in this table yet
The United Kingdom (only the Housing Act 2004 is ingested, not the possession grounds in the Housing Act 1988) and the United States (federal law has no landlord own-use rule) are left out because the ingested statutes do not state the rule. Australia and France have no tenancy statute ingested.
How this table was built
Every row is taken from the official, consolidated text of the statute, which LawAsked loads from each government’s legislation service.
Each figure is tied to a passage quoted word for word from that text. When the page is served, it checks that every quoted passage is still in the current text of a law that is in force; if a law is amended and its wording changes, that row is hidden until a person reviews it again.
The table shows the statutory minimum only. Collective agreements, awards and individual contracts often give more than the statute, and some countries let a collective agreement set different terms.
Use this data
The table and the CSV are free to reuse under CC BY 4.0: credit LawAsked and link to this page. Quoted statute text stays under the terms of its official source.
How to cite this page
LawAsked, “Ending a tenancy so the landlord can move in, by country”, https://lawasked.com/guides/eviction-for-own-use (reviewed October 25, 2026).
Important Legal Disclaimer
General legal information, not formal legal advice. The information provided on LawAsked does not constitute formal legal advice and creates no attorney-client relationship. If you require legal assistance, please consult a licensed attorney in your jurisdiction.