Ontario lease agreement: what landlords need to know about the standard lease

Who has to use the standard lease

The standard lease, officially the Residential Tenancy Agreement (Standard Form of Lease), is required for most residential tenancy agreements signed on or after April 30, 2018. That covers most of what landlords rent in the GTA: condos, whole houses, townhouses, basement apartments and units in a house.

A few kinds of housing are left out, including care homes, most social housing and co-operative housing. If you're not sure whether your rental is covered, Ontario's own guide to the standard lease lists the exceptions.

Most placements through our tenant placement service use the standard lease, so this guide is also a walk-through of what we prepare for our landlords.

What the standard lease covers

The form walks you and the tenant through the basics of the tenancy, in order:

• who the landlord and the tenants are, and how to reach the landlord
• the rental unit, including any parking
• the term: a fixed period such as one year, month to month, or another period
• the rent: how much, when it's due, who it's paid to and how
• services and utilities, and who pays for each
• any rent discounts
• the rent deposit and any key deposit
• smoking rules, and whether the tenant needs insurance
• any additional terms you both agree to

It also comes with general information about landlords' and tenants' rights and responsibilities, which stays with the lease.

Extra terms you can add

You and the tenant can agree to additional terms that fit the tenancy. They have to be attached to the lease and written in plain language. These are the ones we add most often:

• who looks after the lawn, snow and garbage in a rented house
• how shared laundry, parking or storage works in a house with two units
• the condo's declaration, by-laws and rules, which the tenant has to follow
• a requirement for tenant liability insurance; if you ask for proof, the tenant has to give it
• smoking rules inside the unit (smoking is already banned in indoor common areas by provincial law)

Write each term the way you'd explain it out loud. If a term needs a lawyer to understand, it will probably cause an argument later.

Terms that don't count

Any term that tries to take away a right under the Residential Tenancies Act is void. It can't be enforced, even if the tenant signed it. Ontario's guide gives examples, including terms that:

• don't allow pets (a condo's own rules can still restrict some pets)
• don't allow guests, roommates or other occupants
• require a damage deposit or a pet deposit

Two more rules catch landlords out. You can't require post-dated cheques or automatic withdrawals for rent, although a tenant can choose them, and once a payment method is set, both of you have to agree to change it. And you must give a receipt for rent, or for a deposit, whenever the tenant asks.

Deposits in the lease

The lease has a place for each deposit Ontario allows, and only those:

• a rent deposit of no more than one month's rent, used only for the last month's rent
• a refundable key deposit, no more than the cost of replacing the keys or fobs

You owe the tenant interest on the rent deposit every year, at the rent increase guideline rate: 2.1% for 2026 and 1.9% for 2027. Our guide to rent deposits in Ontario works through the numbers.

Signing, and the 21-day rule

Once the tenant signs, the landlord has to give them a copy of the signed lease within 21 days. We set up electronic signatures and send everyone a signed copy the same day, so this is never late.

Condo owners have one more step. The Condominium Act requires the owner to tell the condo corporation the unit is leased and give it a copy of the lease within 10 days of signing.

Keep your signed copy with the move-in inspection report and its dated photos. If there's ever a dispute about the unit's condition or the terms, those three documents carry the most weight.

When the lease term ends

The end of a fixed-term lease doesn't mean the tenant has to move out. If you don't sign a new lease, a tenant who paid monthly simply stays on as a monthly tenant, under the same rules. You can raise the rent once every 12 months, within the guideline if it applies, with 90 days' written notice.

A tenancy ends only in the ways the Residential Tenancies Act allows, such as an agreement to end it or a valid notice of termination. Plan any change, like selling or moving back in, well ahead; our guide to landlord rights and responsibilities lists the notices and how much warning each needs.

A checklist before you sign

• Every adult tenant named, and matched to their ID
• The rent, the due date and how it's paid, with no required post-dated cheques
• Utilities and services split clearly
• Deposits recorded, and nothing beyond a rent deposit and a refundable key deposit
• Extra terms attached, in plain language, and none that remove a right
• The condo's rules attached, if it's a condo
• A move-in inspection with dated photos, signed by both of you

Sources

• Government of Ontario, Guide to Ontario's standard lease (updated October 27, 2025)
• Landlord and Tenant Board, A Guide to the Residential Tenancies Act (December 2020)
• CLEO, Deposits (January 2025)
• Condo Authority of Ontario, Leasing a condo (updated March 11, 2026)
• Government of Ontario, Residential rent increases (updated June 23, 2026)