Ontario Standard Lease 2026: What Every Landlord Must Know

The standard lease is required for most new residential tenancies in Ontario, including houses, semi-detached homes, condominiums, basement apartments, and secondary suites. It applies to both fixed-term leases and month-to-month agreements.

Exemptions — who does NOT need to use it

If your unit falls into an exempted category, you can use a custom lease agreement — but the RTA still applies. Tenants in exempt categories still have most of the same rights as tenants in standard tenancies.

The standard form itself does not specify the rent guideline — it records the actual rent you and the tenant agree to. But the 2026 guideline cap matters: if you plan to increase rent during the tenancy, you are limited to 2.1% in 2026 (for rent-controlled units), regardless of what the lease says.

The standard lease has 15 sections. Most are straightforward, but three areas cause consistent problems for landlords:

Condominiums have an extra layer of rules: the condominium corporation's declaration, bylaws, and rules. These can impose obligations that do not appear in the standard lease.

What condo rules can override

Condo corporation rules about move-in/move-out procedures, elevator booking, amenity use, and building access are generally enforceable through the condo's own mechanisms. However, they cannot override the RTA when it comes to tenant rights.

Pet restrictions from condo bylaws

The RTA (s.14) makes no-pet clauses in leases void. But a condo corporation's bylaws restricting pets are a different instrument — they apply to the unit owner (you), not directly to the tenant via the lease. This creates a conflict: you may have a bylaw obligation to prevent pets, but you cannot enforce a no-pet clause in the lease. Courts have generally held that the condo bylaw obligation flows through to the tenant, but this is litigation territory. If your condo prohibits pets, include a clear explanation in Section 15 and advise your tenant about the bylaw separately.

Condo rules as additional terms

You can attach the condo corporation's rules to the lease and reference them in Section 15. Courts have upheld this as a valid additional term, as long as the rules themselves do not conflict with the RTA. Provide the tenant with a copy at signing.

Section 15 (additional terms) is your only real customization opportunity. Here is the test for any clause you want to add: if the clause purports to remove a right the RTA gives tenants, it is void. If it adds a reasonable obligation that the RTA does not prohibit, it is likely enforceable.

Clauses that are enforceable

Clauses that are void even if signed

Under the RTA, if a tenant requests the standard lease in writing and the landlord does not provide it within 21 days, the tenant has specific remedies:

These consequences are asymmetric and painful. The cost of not having a compliant standard lease in place is not just administrative — it can destabilize a tenancy you had assumed was locked in for a term.

Yes. Ontario's Electronic Commerce Act permits electronic signatures on residential lease agreements. Tools like DocuSign, HelloSign, and Adobe Acrobat Sign all produce legally valid signatures. The key requirements:

• 01Both parties must consent to electronic execution (implied by using the e-signature platform)
• 02The signature must be reliably linked to the signatory (e-signature platforms handle this via email verification and IP logging)
• 03The signed document must be accessible by both parties after signing
• 04Keep a copy — you are required to give the tenant a signed copy within 21 days of the tenant signing

One practical note: the standard lease is a PDF. When using e-signature tools, make sure the fields are completed before signing, not after. A signed blank lease is not a valid agreement.

Once a lease is signed, the terms are locked in unless both parties agree in writing to change them. Neither side can unilaterally alter the terms. Rent increases, for example, require a separate N1 process and cannot be achieved by issuing an amended lease.

If you and the tenant agree to change a term — adding a parking space, adjusting the maintenance responsibility, or updating a tenant's contact information — document it in a written addendum. Both parties sign. The addendum references the original lease and specifies the effective date of the change.