The Ontario Standard Lease: How to Fill It Out
Most Ontario landlords have to use the province’s standard lease. You cannot change its wording, so the job is filling in the blanks correctly. Here is what goes in each section and the limits that trip people up.
The short answer
The Residential Tenancy Agreement (Standard Form of Lease, 2229E) is required for most private tenancies entered into on March 1, 2021 or later. All 17 sections are mandatory. You fill in the blanks, add any extra terms as an attachment under Section 15, get everyone to sign, and give the tenant a copy within 21 days after they sign.
Who has to use it
The form says it must be used for most residential tenancy agreements. It should not be used for care homes, sites in mobile home parks or land lease communities, social and supportive housing that is exempt from the rent increase guideline, member units in co-operative housing, or any other accommodation that is exempt from the Residential Tenancies Act.
If your tenancy is daily or weekly, the form still applies, but you fill in the “other” term and rent period yourself. Our lease generator prepares monthly and fixed-term leases and tells you when to use the official form instead.
Section by section
Section numbers and wording below follow the form. The last column is the rule printed on the form or in its General Information appendix.
| # | Section | What goes in | The rule |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Parties | The landlord’s legal name and up to four tenants, last name first. | If the landlord changes, the new landlord must follow the lease unless both sides agree otherwise. |
| 2 | Rental unit | Unit, street address, parking spaces, and whether it is a condominium. | In a condominium the tenant agrees to follow the declaration, by-laws and rules the landlord provides. |
| 3 | Contact information | The landlord’s address for notices, email consent, and any emergency contact. | Email service of notices only applies where the LTB’s Rules of Procedure allow it. |
| 4 | Term | The start date, then a fixed end date, a monthly tenancy, or another period. | The tenant does not have to move out when a fixed term ends. |
| 5 | Rent | Due day, base rent, parking and services, payable to, payment methods, any partial first period, and the NSF charge. | Post-dated cheques cannot be required. The NSF administration charge cannot be more than $20.00. |
| 6 | Services and utilities | Which services are included, and who pays for electricity, heat and water. | The services listed as included are part of the lawful rent, as specified. |
| 7 | Rent discounts | Either no discount, or a description of it. | Up to 2% for paying on time, or one of three rent-free or discounted-month patterns, agreed in writing. |
| 8 | Rent deposit | Either none, or an amount. | No more than one month’s rent, applied only to the last rental period, never a damage deposit, with interest paid to the tenant every year. |
| 9 | Key deposit | Either none, or an amount and a description of the keys, cards and devices. | Refundable, and no more than the expected replacement cost. |
| 10 | Smoking | Either none, or the smoking rules. | Smoking is already banned in indoor common areas. Any rules must follow the Human Rights Code. |
| 11 | Tenant’s insurance | Either no requirement, or a requirement for liability insurance. | Contents insurance is the tenant’s choice. |
| 12 | Changes to the unit | Nothing. It is fixed text. | Tenants may hang pictures and window coverings, subject to reasonable limits in Section 15. Other changes need permission. |
| 13 | Maintenance and repairs | Nothing. It is fixed text. | The landlord keeps the unit in good repair. The tenant pays for undue damage they or their guests cause. |
| 14 | Assignment and subletting | Nothing. It is fixed text. | Needs the landlord’s consent, which cannot be withheld arbitrarily or unreasonably. |
| 15 | Additional terms | Either none, or an attachment with the terms you both agreed. | A term that conflicts with the Residential Tenancies Act or the rest of the form is void. |
| 16 | Changes to this agreement | Nothing. It is fixed text. | After signing, changes need both sides to agree in writing. |
| 17 | Signatures | Names, signatures and dates of every landlord and tenant. | Everyone listed in Section 1 signs. The landlord gives the tenant a copy within 21 days after the tenant signs. |
Rent, deposits and what you can charge
The lawful rent in Section 5 is the base rent plus parking and any services or utilities you charge for. It is subject to the rent increases the Act allows, and it does not include any discount you give under Section 7. If the first rental period is a partial month, Section 5 has a line for the partial rent and the dates it covers.
The landlord can only collect a deposit for the last rental period's rent and a refundable key deposit. Pet and damage deposits are not allowed, and a tenant who pays more can apply to the Landlord and Tenant Board to get the money back. If the rent goes up after the tenant pays a rent deposit, the landlord can ask the tenant to top it up to the new rent, and can use the interest to do it.
If a tenant asks for a receipt for rent or any payment or deposit, the landlord must give one for free. The bounced-cheque (NSF) charge in Section 5 is your administration charge, capped at $20.00, plus whatever your bank charges you.
Additional terms: what is void
Section 15 lets you add terms, as long as they are in plain language, say clearly what the landlord or tenant must or must not do, and, if typed, are at least 10 points. A term that conflicts with the Act or the form is void. The form's own examples of void terms are ones that:
- do not allow pets (a landlord can still require the tenant to follow condominium rules)
- do not allow guests, roommates or additional occupants
- require deposits, fees or penalties the Act does not permit, such as damage or pet deposits, or interest on rent arrears
- make the tenant pay for repairs that are the landlord's responsibility
Do not edit the form's own text
The form states that all sections are mandatory and cannot be changed. If you want something the form does not give you, put it in Section 15 as an agreed additional term, and expect any term that conflicts with the Act to be void.
Signing and giving the tenant a copy
Every landlord and every tenant named in Section 1 signs Section 17. You can sign by hand or, if both sides agree, electronically. The landlord must give the tenant a copy within 21 days after the tenant signs. If there is more than one tenant, each is responsible for all tenant obligations, including the full rent, unless the additional terms say otherwise.
When the fixed term ends
A lease with an end date does not end the tenancy by itself. The tenant has the right to stay as a monthly tenant under the same rules, and the two of you can renew for another fixed term or sign a new agreement. Any change to the rent has to follow the rent increase rules, which is where the N1 notice comes in. For how Ontario's recent changes affect fixed terms, see the fixed-term lease guide.
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