In my last post I wrote about the paperwork a tenant signs, and how much of it disappears when someone rents direct. This is the other side of that table.
Most first-time landlords I meet are careful people. They've thought about what could go wrong, and they've written protections into the lease to cover it. The problem is that in Ontario, several of the most common protections are void the moment they're signed. Not weak. Not hard to enforce. Void — as if the line were never there.
Here are the five I see most.
"No pets." Unenforceable in Ontario residential tenancies, full stop. A landlord can decline an applicant before a tenancy exists, and can act after the fact if an animal genuinely damages the unit or disturbs others. But the clause itself does nothing.
A damage or security deposit. There is no such thing here. A landlord may collect a rent deposit — last month's rent, and nothing more — plus a key deposit refundable up to the replacement cost. That rent deposit also earns interest annually at the guideline rate, which almost nobody pays without being asked.
A minimum income, or a rent-to-income ratio. The "rent shouldn't exceed 30% of income" rule you've heard quoted is not a screening standard you're allowed to apply. Under O. Reg. 290/98 a landlord may ask for income information, credit checks, credit references and rental history — but income can only be considered together with everything else, and minimum-income criteria and rent-to-income ratios are specifically prohibited.
"The lease ends June 30 and they move out." It doesn't and they don't. When a fixed term expires, the tenancy automatically continues month to month on the same terms. Ending it requires a ground and a process, not a date on a page.
A rent increase whenever it feels right. Twelve months between increases, ninety days' written notice on the Board's form, and for 2026 the guideline is 2.1%. Units first occupied for residential purposes after November 15, 2018 are exempt from the guideline — but not from the notice and timing rules.
One more that isn't a clause but costs the most: not using the Ontario Standard Lease. If a tenant requests it in writing and doesn't receive it within 21 days, they can withhold a month's rent.
So what actually protects a landlord?
Not the lease. The screening. A properly read application — Form 410, real ID, verified income, a full credit report, and references from both the previous and the current landlord — does more for you than any clause you could write. The clause is what you reach for after it's gone wrong. The screening is what stops it.
If you're leasing out a Niagara property for the first time, I've written the whole road out — nine steps, from confirming you can legally lease it through to running it like an asset after move-in.
→ The residential landlord roadmap
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