Ontario Lease Agreement Guide 2026: Everything Landlords Need to Know About Form 2229E

Since April 30, 2018, every residential lease in Ontario must use the Standard Form of Lease (Form 2229E). If you don't use it, the tenant can demand it in writing — and if you don't deliver it within 21 days, the tenant can legally withhold rent until you provide one. After 30 days of lawful withholding, the tenant can give just 60 days' notice to end the tenancy, regardless of how long the lease term still has to run.

Most landlords learn this the hard way. This guide walks through every section of Form 2229E, the clauses Ontario landlords routinely add that are completely unenforceable under the Residential Tenancies Act, and the LTB mistakes that cost the most money. Everything below is sourced from the Residential Tenancies Act, 2006 and current Landlord and Tenant Board (LTB) guidance.

What Is the Ontario Standard Form of Lease (Form 2229E)?

Form 2229E is a 13-page document issued by the Ontario Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing. It's the prescribed template every landlord must use for most residential tenancies in the province. The current version is dated December 2020 — leases signed on or after March 1, 2021 must use this version, not the older 2018 release.

The form is free to download from the Ontario Central Forms Repository. It is also available in 23 languages including French, Arabic, Tagalog, and Mandarin. The version a landlord provides must be in the language the parties used to negotiate the tenancy. The English Form 2229E covers:

• The parties (landlord and tenants), their contact information, and the address for service
• The rental unit (full address, condo status, parking, storage)
• The term (fixed term or month-to-month) and what happens when it ends
• The lawful rent (base rent plus any add-ons), how and when it's paid, and rent discounts
• Rent deposit (last month's rent only) and key deposit (replacement cost only)
• Services and utilities (who pays what)
• Smoking rules, tenant insurance, modifications, maintenance, and assignment/subletting
• Additional terms (Schedule A) and signatures

Who Must Use It — and Who's Exempt

Form 2229E applies to most private residential tenancies in Ontario. That includes single-family rentals, apartments, condominium units, basement apartments, and rooming-house units with a shared kitchen or bathroom — even though landlords often (incorrectly) assume rooming houses are exempt.

The Standard Form of Lease does not apply to:

• Tenancies in care homes (governed by separate care-home rules under the RTA)
• Most community housing and supportive housing tenancies
• Sites in mobile home parks and land lease communities (different form required)
• Most non-profit cooperative housing (governed by the Co-operative Corporations Act)
• Short-term rentals (under 28 days) and commercial tenancies
• Tenancies that began before April 30, 2018, that have not been amended since

Sublease and assignment situations are slightly different. A sublease is treated as a new tenancy that requires its own Form 2229E. An assignment transfers the existing lease to a new tenant on the same terms — no new form needed, but the landlord may require the assignee to sign an acknowledgement.

Section-by-Section Walkthrough of Form 2229E

This is the longest part of the guide and the one most landlords skip — which is exactly why so many leases end up partly unenforceable. Each section below covers what the form asks for, what it actually means, and what landlords get wrong most often.

Section 1 — Parties to the Agreement

Name every landlord and every tenant. For corporate landlords, use the exact legal entity name (e.g., "Acme Holdings Inc."), not a trade name. Naming the wrong entity — for example "John Smith" when the property is owned by "Smith Family Trust" — is a common source of LTB dismissals. Every adult occupant who is paying rent should be named as a tenant.

Section 2 — Rental Unit

Include the full civic address, the unit number, and any included parking space number or storage locker number. Not specifying a parking space number causes the single largest category of LTB parking disputes — because there's no record of which space was the tenant's. If the unit is a condo, check the box and provide the condo declaration / rules to the tenant.

Section 3 — Contact Information

The landlord must provide an address for service in Ontario. This is a hard requirement under RTA s. 12(1) — if the lease doesn't include it, the tenant has no obligation to pay rent until the landlord delivers it in writing. A P.O. Box does not satisfy this requirement. The address must be one where notices and documents can actually be served.

Section 4 — Term of the Tenancy

Pick fixed-term or month-to-month. The most misunderstood point in all of Ontario tenancy law: a fixed-term lease automatically continues on a month-to-month basis when the term ends. The lease does not "expire" and the landlord cannot force the tenant to move out at the end of the term. The tenancy can only be ended by proper notice on the prescribed LTB form, by mutual agreement, or by LTB order.

Section 5 — Rent

Enter the base monthly rent (the "lawful rent"), any additional fees for parking or storage, the day rent is due, and the acceptable payment methods. Important: the landlord cannot require pre-authorized debit (PAD) or post-dated cheques as the only payment method (RTA s. 108). The tenant can always choose to pay by cash, cheque, or e-Transfer.

Rent must be paid in advance for each rental period. The landlord must give a written receipt for any payment made by cash, on request, and free of charge (RTA s. 109).

Section 6 — Services and Utilities

For each service (electricity, heat, water, gas, internet, cable, etc.), specify whether the landlord pays, the tenant pays, or it's included in the rent. Be specific. "Utilities included" without specifying which utilities is a frequent LTB dispute — by default, anything not specifically excluded is included.

Section 7 — Rent Deposits

Ontario allows only one deposit: a rent deposit equal to the last month's rent (or one rental period's rent for weekly tenancies). It must be applied to the last month of the tenancy and cannot be used for damages. Security deposits and damage deposits are illegal in Ontario. The landlord must pay interest on the rent deposit annually at the same rate as the rent-increase guideline (2.5% for 2026).

Section 8 — Rent Discounts

If you offer a discount for paying on time or for paying for the full year up front, it must be documented here. Ontario allows a "lawful rent discount" of up to 2% of rent for prompt payment, and a discount of up to one month's rent if the tenant pays the year up front. Anything above that is not enforceable.

Section 9 — Smoking

A no-smoking term is enforceable in Ontario. If the tenant smokes anyway, that's a substantial interference and grounds for an N5 notice. Smoking in common areas of a residential complex is governed separately by the Smoke-Free Ontario Act, 2017.

Section 10 — Tenant Insurance

Landlords can recommend or require tenant's content and liability insurance. The landlord's policy does not cover the tenant's stuff or personal liability. A clause requiring proof of insurance is enforceable.

Section 11 — Changes to the Rental Unit

Tenants cannot make alterations without the landlord's consent. The landlord may not unreasonably refuse a request for accessibility-related modifications under the Ontario Human Rights Code. Anything the tenant installs that's a permanent fixture becomes the landlord's property unless agreed otherwise.

Section 12 — Maintenance and Repairs

This is the section most landlords try to contract out of, and they can't. RTA s. 20 requires the landlord to maintain the unit and the residential complex in a good state of repair and fit for habitation, complying with health, safety, housing, and maintenance standards. This obligation applies even if the tenant was aware of a state of disrepair at the start of the tenancy. The tenant is only responsible for ordinary cleanliness and damage caused by the tenant or their guests.

Section 13 — Assignment and Subletting

The tenant may assign the unit to another person only with the landlord's consent, which cannot be arbitrarily or unreasonably withheld. Same for sublets. The landlord can charge only reasonable out-of-pocket expenses — no "lease transfer fee" or premium.

Section 14 — Additional Terms (Schedule A)

This is where landlords add their own house rules. Critical: any term in Schedule A that contradicts the RTA is void — but the rest of the lease still stands. Landlords routinely use this section to try to ban pets, charge late fees, or impose security deposits, none of which are enforceable (see the next section for the full list).

Section 15 — Changes to the Agreement

Once signed, the lease can only be modified in writing, signed by both parties. Verbal modifications are not enforceable. The rent can only be increased on the LTB's N1 form with 90 days' notice and only once every 12 months.

Sections 16–17 — Signatures and Date

Every landlord and every tenant named in Section 1 must sign. Electronic signatures are valid in Ontario under the Electronic Commerce Act, 2000 — they don't have to be wet-ink. The landlord must give the tenant a signed copy within 21 days of the tenant signing (RTA s. 12.1). Failure to deliver triggers the tenant's withholding rights described at the start of this guide.

8 Clauses Ontario Landlords Add That Are Actually Unenforceable

These show up in homemade and copy-pasted leases all the time. None of them work in Ontario, even when both parties sign. We have a separate dedicated page with all 8 plus citations; here's the short version.

Common Mistakes That Cost Landlords Money at the LTB

Using an outdated version of Form 2229E

Leases signed after March 1, 2021 must use the December 2020 version. Earlier versions can be challenged by the tenant and the lease may be treated as if the standard form was not provided at all.

Forgetting to provide the lease within 21 days

Once the tenant signs, the landlord has 21 days to provide a fully signed copy. Miss that deadline and the tenant has the right to withhold rent until you deliver it — and after 30 days of withholding, they can give just 60 days' notice on Form N9 to end the tenancy, even if it's a fixed-term lease.

Not initialing every page where required

The standard form includes spaces for the parties to initial certain sections. Missing initials don't always void the lease, but they make disputes harder to defend at the LTB. Best practice: every party initials every page.

Modifying terms verbally

"I told the tenant they could have a pet" doesn't help you at an N5 hearing two years later. Every change to the tenancy must be documented in writing and signed.

Including unenforceable terms and assuming the lease still works

The good news: an unenforceable term in Schedule A doesn't void the whole lease. The bad news: you can't rely on those terms, and at hearing the LTB will simply ignore them.

What Happens If You Don't Use the Standard Lease

If the landlord doesn't use Form 2229E (or uses an outdated version), here's the cascade under RTA s. 12.1:

1. The tenant gives the landlord a written demand for the standard lease.
2. The landlord has 21 days to provide it.
3. If the landlord doesn't, the tenant can withhold rent for one month at most.
4. If the landlord still doesn't deliver after that month, the tenant may give 60 days' notice on Form N9 to end the tenancy — even mid-term.

Once the standard lease is delivered, the tenant must resume paying rent and pay any rent withheld within 12 months. So the landlord doesn't lose rent permanently — they just lose control of the timeline.

Electronic Signatures, Digital Delivery, and Modern Leases

E-signatures are valid in Ontario under the Electronic Commerce Act, 2000. The LTB accepts e-signed leases as evidence. A few best practices:

• Audit trail — capture IP address, timestamp, and email used to sign.
• Final PDF — produce a final, signed PDF (not a link to a SaaS account) so both parties have a permanent copy.
• Delivery proof — keep evidence of when you sent the signed copy to the tenant, to defeat any future 21-day-delivery claim.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I have to use the Standard Form of Lease for a basement apartment?

Yes, in nearly every case. Basement apartments are residential tenancies under the RTA and require Form 2229E. The only exception is if the landlord and tenant share a kitchen or bathroom — that situation is exempt from the RTA entirely.

Can I include a "no smoking" clause?

Yes. Section 9 of the form explicitly handles smoking. A no-smoking term is enforceable, and breach can lead to an N5 notice for substantial interference.

Is a verbal lease legal in Ontario?

Yes — verbal tenancies are valid in Ontario. But the landlord is still required to provide a written Form 2229E within 21 days of the tenant's request. If the landlord doesn't, the s. 12.1 cascade above applies.

What if my tenant won't sign the Standard Form?

If the tenant is already in possession, you cannot force them to sign — but the statutory provisions of the RTA apply regardless. If the tenant hasn't moved in yet, you can refuse to start the tenancy. If the tenant refuses to sign after move-in and never demands one, the lease defaults to the terms verbally agreed plus the full RTA protections.

Can I charge a pet deposit in Ontario?

No. Ontario does not permit any kind of pet deposit or damage deposit. The only permitted deposit is the last month's rent.

How much is the last month's rent deposit?

Up to one month's rent (or one rental period's rent for weekly tenancies). The deposit must be applied to the last month of the tenancy. The landlord must pay annual interest at the rent-increase guideline rate (2.5% in 2026).

Does the Standard Form apply to short-term rentals?

Short-term rentals (under 28 days) are not covered by the RTA. Airbnb-style stays don't require Form 2229E. Anything 28 days or longer that the tenant uses as their primary residence is a tenancy.

Can I evict if there's no written lease?

Yes, but only for the same reasons listed in the RTA — non-payment, substantial breach, landlord's own use, etc. — and only through the LTB process. The lack of a written lease does not give the landlord any additional eviction grounds.

What happens to the lease when the fixed term expires?

It automatically becomes a month-to-month tenancy on the same terms. The landlord cannot require the tenant to move out, sign a new fixed-term lease, or pay a higher rent (unless 90 days' notice on an N1 has been given and 12 months have passed since the last increase).

Can I raise rent above the guideline?

Only for units first occupied on or after November 15, 2018 (which are exempt from the guideline), or with an Above-Guideline Increase order from the LTB based on capital expenses or extraordinary tax/utility increases. Above-guideline rent written into the lease without an LTB order is unenforceable.