Legal grounds for eviction of a tenant, by country
Seven of the eight statutes bind the landlord to a reason: Germany asks for a legitimate interest, Austria for important grounds, the Netherlands and Norway for listed grounds, Ontario for the grounds the Act allows, Japan for a justifiable reason and Sweden gives the tenant a right to renewal subject to exceptions. Spain works differently, with a compulsory minimum term of five years (seven for a company landlord) and a list of causes for ending it early. Own use is an explicit ground in Germany, Ontario, the Netherlands and Norway, but in Sweden it is limited to small houses and in Spain it must be written into the contract.
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 | Landlord needs a reason? | Own use as a ground | Unpaid rent or breach as a ground |
|---|---|---|---|
| Austria | Yes: only for important grounds, and only through the court | Unpaid rent is a ground; paying before the first-instance hearing can undo the notice | |
| Canada | Yes: a tenancy ends only in accordance with the Act, and the notice must give reasons | Yes, in good faith, for at least one year, by the landlord or close family or a caregiver; 60 days' notice; individual landlords only | Unpaid rent: notice effective from the 7th day; paying the arrears before the application voids it |
| Germany | Yes: a legitimate interest (berechtigtes Interesse), stated in the notice | Yes: the landlord needs the home for self, family or household members | Significant culpable breach is a ground; two months of rent in arrears allows immediate termination |
| Spain | Compulsory renewal to a 5-year minimum (7 if the landlord is a company); listed causes allow early termination | Only if the contract says so expressly, after the first year, for the landlord or first-degree relatives | Yes: non-payment of rent or of amounts the tenant took on is a cause for the landlord to terminate |
| Japan | Yes: a justifiable reason (正当の事由) is required for notice or termination | One factor: the need of landlord and tenant to use the building is weighed with other circumstances | |
| Netherlands | Yes: notice on any ground other than those in art. 274(1) is void | Yes, if the landlord needs the home so urgently that extending the lease cannot be required, and the tenant can find other suitable housing | Yes: the tenant has not behaved as a good tenant should |
| Norway | Yes: an open-ended home lease can be ended by the landlord only on listed grounds, and the notice must give reasons | Yes: the landlord or someone in the household will use the home as a dwelling | Yes: the tenant has breached the lease |
| Sweden | Tenant has a right to renewal unless a listed exception applies; forfeiture grounds allow early termination | Only for flats in one- or two-family houses or owner-flats let outside a business letting, where the owner's interest is such that the tenant reasonably should move | Yes: rent more than one week late (homes) forfeits the tenancy, unless the matter is of minor importance |
Country by country
Austria
- Rule
- Mietrechtsgesetz §§ 30, 33
- The landlord must state the grounds briefly in the notice and cannot add others later in that case; if the tenant objects, the landlord must prove the ground.
- The ingested text of § 30(2) does not carry the numbered list of grounds, so the table does not state whether own use is one of them.
- An agreement that widens the landlord's right to give notice is invalid (§ 30(3)).
Der Vermieter kann nur aus wichtigen Gründen den Mietvertrag kündigen.Eine Vereinbarung, wonach dem Vermieter das Kündigungsrecht unbeschränkt oder in einem weiteren als dem vorstehend bestimmten Maß zustehen soll, ist rechtsunwirksam. vom Vermieter jedoch nur gerichtlich gekündigt werdenDer Vermieter hat in der Kündigung die Kündigungsgründe kurz anzuführen; andere Kündigungsgründe kann er in diesem Verfahren nicht mehr geltend machen.und den an dem Zahlungsrückstand kein grobes Verschulden trifft, vor Schluß der der Entscheidung des Gerichtes erster Instanz unmittelbar vorangehenden Verhandlung den geschuldeten Betrag entrichtet, so ist die Kündigung aufzuheben Canada
- Rule
- Residential Tenancies Act, 2006 (Ontario) ss. 37, 48, 58, 59
- Persistent late payment is a separate ground under s. 58, and other grounds (illegal act, damage, interference with others) sit in ss. 60 to 67.
- A landlord who gives a notice must set out the reasons and details, and the landlord needs a Board order to evict (see the eviction process guide).
- Section 48 applies only where the unit is owned in whole or in part by an individual and the landlord is an individual.
- Ontario statute only. The Canada Labour Code does not deal with tenancies.
A tenancy may be terminated only in accordance with this Act. If the notice is given by a landlord, it shall also set out the reasons and details respecting the termination 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 by,The 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 The tenant has persistently failed to pay rent on the date it becomes due and payable. the landlord may give the tenant notice of termination of the tenancy effective not earlier than the 7th day after the notice is givenThe notice of termination is void if, before the day the landlord applies to the Board for an order terminating the tenancy and evicting the tenant based on the notice, the tenant pays Germany
- Rule
- BGB §§ 573, 543
- Notice to raise the rent is excluded, and the chance of a higher rent from another letting does not count as a legitimate interest.
- Only grounds named in the notice count, unless they arose later.
- Section 573 covers ordinary notice of residential tenancies; § 543 is the separate immediate termination for good cause.
- An agreement that is worse for the tenant than § 573 is void.
Der Vermieter kann nur kündigen, wenn er ein berechtigtes Interesse an der Beendigung des Mietverhältnisses hat.Die Kündigung zum Zwecke der Mieterhöhung ist ausgeschlossen.der Mieter seine vertraglichen Pflichten schuldhaft nicht unerheblich verletzt hatder 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. für zwei aufeinander folgende Termine mit der Entrichtung der Miete oder eines nicht unerheblichen Teils der Miete in Verzug ist Spain
- Rule
- Ley de Arrendamientos Urbanos, arts. 9, 27
- The landlord can also terminate for non-payment of the deposit, unauthorised subletting, wilful damage, nuisance or illegal activities, and use of the home other than as the tenant's residence (art. 27(2)).
- Art. 9(3) requires at least two months' notice and gives the tenant a remedy if the landlord does not then occupy the home within three months.
- Applies to leases of a dwelling that is the tenant's habitual home.
este se prorrogará obligatoriamente por plazos anuales hasta que el arrendamiento alcance una duración mínima de cinco años, o de siete años si el arrendador fuese persona jurídicano 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 el arrendador podrá resolver de pleno derecho el contrato por las siguientes causasLa falta de pago de la renta o, en su caso, de cualquiera de las cantidades cuyo pago haya asumido o corresponda al arrendatario.El subarriendo o la cesión inconsentidos. Japan
- Rule
- 借地借家法 第二十八条
- The statute weighs the need to use the building on both sides, the history of the lease, how the building is used and its condition, and any payment the landlord offers for vacating.
- Article 28 does not list unpaid rent or breach, so the table leaves that column empty.
- The table covers the ordinary building lease rule only; fixed-term building leases (article 38) are separate.
建物の賃貸借の解約の申入れは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
- The notice must state the grounds on pain of nullity, and the judge looks only at the grounds in the notice (art. 273).
- Art. 274(1) also lists other grounds, including a reasonable offer of a new lease, a zoning plan function, and sale by a private owner-occupier landlord.
- Renovation that cannot be done without ending the lease counts as own use (art. 274(3)); the judge may award the tenant moving costs (art. 275).
- Art. 274(1)(c) is only granted when the landlord shows the need is that pressing; it is a court decision, not a right of the landlord.
De opzegging door de verhuurder moet op straffe van nietigheid de gronden vermelden die tot de opzegging hebben geleid.Een opzegging door de verhuurder op andere dan de in artikel 274 lid 1 genoemde gronden, is nietig. indien de huurder zich niet heeft gedragen zoals een goed huurder betaamtindien de verhuurder aannemelijk maakt dat hij het verhuurde zo dringend nodig heeft voor eigen gebruikOnder eigen gebruik in de zin van lid 1 onder c, wordt mede begrepen renovatie van woonruimte die zonder beëindiging van de huur niet mogelijk is. Norway
- Rule
- Husleieloven §§ 9-5, 9-7
- Other listed grounds are demolition or rebuilding, and any other objectively justified reason (annen saklig grunn).
- Single rooms in another person's home and some other uses are outside the grounds requirement (§ 9-5, last paragraph).
- A notice without reasons is invalid (§ 9-7); fixed-term leases follow separate rules not covered here.
En tidsubestemt leieavtale om bolig kan bare sies opp av utleieren dersom:husrommet skal brukes som bolig av utleieren selv eller noen som hører til husstandenleieren har misligholdt leieavtalendet foreligger en annen saklig grunn til å si opp leieavtalen Oppsigelsen skal begrunnes. Sweden
- Rule
- Jordabalk 12 kap. 42, 45 and 46 §§
- Section 12:42 lists twelve forfeiture grounds, including unauthorised subletting, nuisance, vermin and serious crime in the flat.
- A tenant can often stop the loss of the tenancy by paying or correcting the problem before notice (12:43, 12:44).
- Other exceptions to renewal in 12:46 include demolition, major rebuilding, and a tenancy tied to an employment that has ended.
- Applies to home leases in the Jordabalk chapter 12 text that LawAsked has loaded.
Hyresrätten är förverkad och hyresvärden berättigad att säga upp avtalet att upphöra i förtidom hyresgästen, när det gäller en bostadslägenhet, dröjer med att betala hyran mer än en vecka efter förfallodagenHyresrätten är inte förverkad om det som ligger hyresgästen till last är av ringa betydelse. 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 Countries not in this table yet
The United Kingdom (the ingested Housing Act 2004 only bars notices under section 21 of the Housing Act 1988 in some cases, such as an unlicensed HMO in section 75, and does not state the grounds for possession). The United States, 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.
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LawAsked, “Legal grounds for eviction of a tenant, by country”, https://lawasked.com/guides/eviction-grounds (reviewed October 25, 2026).
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