Ontario’s new Standard Lease debuts

Starting April 30, 2018, a new standard form of lease is mandatory in Ontario for most private residential tenancies. The standard form must be used for leases signed on or after this date for apartments, condominiums, single and semi-detached houses, and secondary units (including basement apartments).

The requirement currently doesn’t apply to most social and supportive housing, retirement and nursing homes, mobile home parks and land lease communities, or commercial properties. The government plans to develop separate standard leases to address the unique needs of these types of residential tenancies.

Plain language document

The Standard Lease was introduced as part of the government’s Fair Housing Plan to strengthen protections for renters and reduce landlord tenant disputes. The document uses a simplified format and easy-to-understand language. It also includes an appendix that explains each section of the lease.

Legislative basis

The Rental Fairness Act, 2017 amended the Residential Tenancies Act, 2006 to:

provide for a prescribed form for certain classes of tenancy agreements
set out rules that apply when the agreement is not in the prescribed form
grant the Minister of Housing related regulation-making powers

A new regulation, Tenancy Agreements for Tenancies of a Prescribed Class, comes into force April 30, 2018.

Form for the standard lease

The template for the Standard Lease can be found in the government’s Central Forms Repository. Click on Residential Tenancy Agreement (Standard Form of Lease) for a fillable pdf.