Does the Ontario standard lease apply to all rentals?

It applies to most private residential tenancies in Ontario — single-family homes, apartments, condos, basement units, and secondary suites. It does not apply to co-operative housing, social housing, student residences run by post-secondary institutions, care homes, or vacation rentals of less than 14 days.

What if my landlord uses their own custom lease instead of Form 2229E?

You can request the standard lease in writing. Your landlord has 21 days to provide it. If they don't, you can withhold one month's rent as a one-time remedy under s.12.1 of the RTA. If they provide the standard lease after you've withheld rent, you must pay the withheld rent within 30 days.

Can a landlord add extra clauses to the standard lease?

Yes — Section 15 allows for additional terms. However, any additional term that conflicts with the Residential Tenancies Act is automatically void and unenforceable, even if you sign it. Common void clauses include bans on guests, tenant responsibility for all repairs, or extra deposits beyond last month's rent.

Does the standard lease guarantee my rent is controlled?

No. The standard lease is a format requirement, not a rent control mechanism. Whether your rent is subject to Ontario's annual guideline depends on when the unit was first occupied for residential purposes. Units first occupied after November 15, 2018 are exempt from rent control regardless of what form the lease uses.

Can I sign the standard lease digitally?

Yes. The Ontario government accepts electronic signatures under the Electronic Commerce Act. A scanned PDF or DocuSign-type signature is valid. Make sure you keep a copy — the landlord must provide you one within 21 days of both parties signing.

Home BlogOntario Standard Lease Explained

OntarioJune 5, 20269 min read

Ontario Standard Lease Explained: What Every Section of Form 2229E Actually Means

Since April 30, 2018, Ontario landlords of most private residential rentals have been required to use Form 2229E — the Ontario Standard Lease. Here is what all 17 sections actually mean, which clauses landlords cannot legally add, and exactly what you can do if your landlord refuses to provide the standard lease.

Why Ontario Created a Standard Lease

Before 2018, every landlord in Ontario could draft their own lease from scratch. This created a landscape where custom leases routinely included illegal clauses — clauses requiring extra deposits, stripping tenants of repair rights, or banning children — that many renters signed without knowing were void under the Residential Tenancies Act (RTA).

Ontario responded with O.Reg 9/18, which came into force on April 30, 2018. The regulation created a single, province-wide standard lease — Form 2229E — that all landlords of covered residential units must use for any new tenancy agreement. The form is plain-language by design: it explains each provision in terms tenants can actually read, and it leaves no room for landlords to quietly bury illegal clauses in the main body of the agreement.

The standard lease is available in both English and French. A tenant can request the French version, and the landlord must provide it.

Who Must Use It — and Who Is Exempt

Form 2229E is mandatory for private residential rentals in Ontario: houses, apartments, condominiums, basement apartments, secondary suites, and similar units. If a private landlord is renting a residential unit on a new tenancy starting after April 30, 2018, the standard lease is required.

The following types of housing are exempt and do not require Form 2229E:

Co-operative housing (co-ops)
Care homes and long-term care facilities
Student residences operated by post-secondary institutions
Social and community housing
Transient occupancy such as hotels, motels, and short-term vacation rentals of fewer than 14 days

What the 17 Sections Cover

Form 2229E has exactly 17 numbered sections. The table below explains what each one covers in plain terms.

§	Section Title	What It Means
1	Parties	Names and contact information of the landlord(s) and tenant(s) — everyone legally bound by the agreement.
2	Rental Unit	The full address and unit number being rented, including any parking or storage lockers that are part of the deal.
3	Contact Information	Where the landlord can be reached for maintenance requests and legal notices — a mailing address, not just a phone number.
4	Term	Whether the tenancy is fixed-term (e.g., one year) or month-to-month, and the start date. A fixed-term lease automatically converts to month-to-month at the end unless both parties agree otherwise.
5	Rent	The lawful rent amount — the total of base rent plus the value of any included services or utilities. This is the legally enforceable rent amount and the baseline for any future increase calculations.
6	Rent Deposit	Whether a last month's rent deposit is required, how much it is, and how interest on that deposit is calculated (as required by the RTA).
7	Services and Utilities	Exactly what is included in the rent: heat, electricity, water, internet, parking, air conditioning, and so on. If it is not listed here, the tenant pays for it separately.
8	Smoking	Whether smoking is permitted in the unit and in common areas. A landlord may prohibit smoking entirely — including cannabis — in the unit.
9	Tenant Insurance	Whether the landlord requires the tenant to carry tenant's insurance (also called renter's insurance). This is one of the few additional requirements that is enforceable as an added term.
10	Changes to the Lease	Outlines the rules for how the lease can be changed — both parties must agree in writing to any amendment.
11	Assignment and Subletting	The tenant's right to assign the lease or sublet the unit. A landlord cannot unreasonably refuse consent to a sublet or assignment.
12	Entry by the Landlord	The circumstances under which a landlord may enter the unit — generally with 24 hours written notice at a reasonable time, except in emergencies.
13	Maintenance and Repairs	The landlord's obligation to keep the unit in a good state of repair and comply with health and safety standards. This obligation exists regardless of what the lease says.
14	Landlord and Tenant Obligations	A summary of each party's legal duties under the RTA, including the tenant's obligation to keep the unit reasonably clean and not to damage it.
15	Additional Terms	Where a landlord may add extra conditions — but only those that do not contradict the RTA. Any clause that conflicts with the RTA is void, even if signed.
16	Changes to the Rental Unit	Rules around alterations, decorating, and modifications the tenant wants to make to the unit. Significant changes typically require the landlord's written consent.
17	Signatures	Both parties sign here to make the lease legally binding. The landlord must give the tenant a signed copy within 21 days of both parties signing.

Section 15: What Landlords Can and Cannot Add

Section 15 is where most landlord-tenant disputes about the standard lease actually arise. Landlords are permitted to add additional terms here — conditions specific to the property, the building, or the arrangement. A no-smoking policy, a tenant insurance requirement, or rules about garbage disposal are legitimate examples.

However, the RTA is explicit: any additional term that is inconsistent with the Residential Tenancies Act is void — it has no legal effect, even if the tenant signed the lease (RTA s.12.1(11)). This is a hard rule with no exceptions.

Common illegal additional terms that landlords attempt to add, and which are void:

"Tenant is responsible for all repairs to the unit." — Void. Landlords have a non-waivable statutory duty to maintain the unit.
"No overnight guests." — Void. Tenants have the right to enjoy their home and have guests.
"No children allowed." — Void and also a violation of the Ontario Human Rights Code.
"A pet deposit of $X is required." — Void. Ontario only permits a last month's rent deposit. No additional deposits — for pets, damage, or anything else — are permitted.
"Rent may be increased more than once per year." — Void. The RTA limits increases to once per 12 months.

If your landlord has included any clause like these in Section 15, you do not need to comply with it — and you do not need a court order to ignore it. The clause is void from the moment it was written. You can confirm this by contacting the Landlord and Tenant Board (LTB) or a tenant duty counsel service.

What to Do If Your Landlord Won't Use the Standard Lease

If your landlord provides a custom lease, an old-style lease, or no written lease at all — when they are required to use Form 2229E — you have a clear statutory remedy under RTA s.12.1.

Make a written request. Ask your landlord in writing to provide the Ontario Standard Lease (Form 2229E). Keep a copy of your request and the date you sent it. Email works well because it creates a timestamped record.
Wait 21 days. Your landlord has 21 days from the date of your written request to provide the standard lease. Continue paying rent normally during this period.
Withhold one month's rent if they fail.If the landlord does not provide the standard lease within 21 days of your written request, you gain a one-time right to withhold one month's rent under RTA s.12.1(6). This is a single-use remedy — not an ongoing right to withhold rent every month.
Pay the withheld rent within 30 days if they then comply.If your landlord provides the standard lease after you have already withheld rent, you must pay the withheld month's rent within 30 days of receiving the standard lease. Failure to do so could give the landlord grounds to serve an N4 notice for non-payment.

Note that a landlord who continues to refuse to provide the standard lease after the 21-day window cannot be fined simply for the refusal — the tenant's remedy is the one-time withholding right, not an LTB fine. If you are unsure how to proceed, contact a tenant duty counsel clinic or the LTB information line at 1-888-332-3234.