For Landlords · Residential

First time leasing out a property? Here’s the whole road.

Nine steps, from the day you decide to lease to the day rent starts landing in your account.

The six steps on my Lease Your Property page are what I do. This is what actually happens — and what you need to have ready.

Most landlords I meet aren’t professional landlords. They inherited a property, moved and kept the old one, bought a duplex as an investment, or are handling a family member’s building. They’re capable people who have simply never run this particular process. Nothing below is complicated — it’s just easier when nobody is learning it in the middle of a live vacancy.

01 Prove you can lease it 02 Learn the rules first 03 Market-ready and documented 04 Price on evidence 05 Set your criteria 06 Representation and marketing 07 Read an application properly 08 Paper the deal 09 Run it like an asset
01

Confirm you can legally lease it — and prove it on paper

Before anything is advertised, the person signing the lease has to be the person with the authority to sign it. Simple if you’re the sole registered owner. Less simple if the property sits in an estate, is held by a corporation, is jointly owned, or is being handled under a power of attorney.

  • Proof of ownership — title or a current property tax bill
  • Government photo ID for everyone who will sign
  • If you’re not the registered owner: the document that gives you authority — probate, power of attorney, corporate resolution, or executor’s appointment
  • Condo? Pull the declaration and rules. Some restrict leasing, set minimum lease terms, or require tenant information to be filed with the corporation.
  • Multi-unit? Check with the municipality whether a rental licence, fire inspection, or second-unit registration applies before you list.
Why this matters

Rental fraud is one of the fastest-growing problems in Ontario housing, and no brokerage can market a property without verified authority to lease it. Sorting this out after you’ve accepted an application usually costs you the applicant.

02

Understand the rules you’re agreeing to — before the first showing

Ontario’s Residential Tenancies Act sets the terms of this relationship, and most of it is not negotiable. The parts that surprise new landlords most:

  • A one-year lease doesn’t end after a year. It converts automatically to month-to-month on the same terms.
  • You generally can’t end a tenancy to re-rent at a higher price. Notice periods and permitted reasons are set by the Act.
  • Deposits are limited to last month’s rent. No damage deposit, no pet deposit. A key deposit is only permitted up to actual replacement cost, and it’s refundable.
  • You owe interest on that deposit every year, at the guideline rate.
  • Rent can rise once every 12 months, on 90 days’ written notice using the LTB’s form. The 2026 guideline is 2.1%. Units first occupied for residential purposes after November 15, 2018 are exempt from the guideline.
  • No-pet clauses are void in Ontario residential leases. You can ask; you can’t enforce it.
  • Non-payment and damage go through the Landlord and Tenant Board, on its timeline — not yours.
Why this matters

Every one of these is cheap to learn now and expensive to learn later. The tenant-selection decision is the one you fully control. Almost everything after it, you don’t.

03

Get the unit market-ready — and document its condition

Finish the small things before photos: doorknobs, touch-up paint, the drawer that sticks, the outdoor item you’ve stopped noticing. Confirm working smoke alarms on every storey and outside sleeping areas, plus carbon monoxide alarms where required — that’s a legal obligation, not a nice-to-have. Then document what you’re handing over: a full photo set of the unit empty and clean, and a written condition record signed at move-in.

Why this matters

The photos you take before a tenant moves in are the only evidence you’ll have if there’s ever a dispute about damage. Ten minutes now, or an unwinnable argument later.

04

Price on evidence — and know what “a little high” actually costs

Asking prices tell you what other landlords hope for. Leased prices tell you what tenants paid. I price off what has actually leased nearby, compared by size, bedroom count, and what’s included, then adjust for what your unit genuinely has that the comparables don’t.

Then we do the arithmetic on the gap, because it’s rarely what people expect.

A $100 stretch on a $1,700 unit
Best case — you get the extra $100, every month for a year + $1,200
Cost of one extra vacant month while you wait for it − $1,700
Net, if the stretch costs you a single month − $500

And that is the good version, where the higher rent actually holds. The month you spent finding out is gone either way.

Why this matters

Vacancy is the most expensive line in a landlord’s year. Days on market is the number worth protecting, and the market sets it — not the ask.

05

Set your criteria before the first inquiry — and know where the legal line is

Decide in writing what a qualified applicant looks like to you before you’re looking at real people with real stories. Then apply it the same way to everyone.

What you’re allowed to ask for and consider under Ontario Regulation 290/98: income information, credit checks, credit references, rental history, and guarantors — with one condition. Income information must be considered together with everything else you’ve collected, never on its own.

What isn’t allowed: minimum-income rules and rent-to-income ratios — the informal “rent shouldn’t exceed 30% of income” test — are specifically prohibited as a screening tool. And you cannot select or reject on Human Rights Code grounds, which include receipt of public assistance, family status (children), age, disability, race, ancestry, place of origin, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, and marital status.

What you can do is set a consistent, documented standard — credit history, verified income, reference checks, complete documentation — and hold every applicant to it equally.

Why this matters

Criteria written before you’re emotionally invested keep every applicant measured the same way. That’s the fair approach and the defensible one, and it’s also how you avoid talking yourself into a weak file at week six of a vacancy.

06

Choose your representation and set the marketing plan

Before I give advice, I’ll walk you through the RECO Information Guide and your options under TRESA, so you know whether you’re a client or a customer and what that changes. If you choose representation, we sign a listing agreement covering services, term, and compensation.

Then we set the plan: MLS® and the portals, photography, the ad copy, who fields inquiries, how showings are booked, who holds keys, and — if a unit is still occupied — the 24 hours’ written notice required to enter. Vacant units and occupied units are marketed differently, and the difference matters.

Why this matters

Volume of inquiries is not the same thing as quality of applicants. A plan that filters early saves you weeks of showings to people who were never going to qualify.

07

Read an application properly

A complete package lands on your desk looking the same every time, so you can compare applicants side by side instead of by gut feel. What I collect:

  • Completed Ontario rental application (OREA Form 410)
  • Government photo ID for every adult who will sign
  • Proof of income — employment letter, recent pay stubs, or tax documents
  • A full credit report with score, from the bureau or a third-party screening service such as SingleKey — not a screenshot of a banking app
  • Current and previous landlord references. The previous landlord is the more honest call; the current one may want the tenant gone.
  • Everyone who will live in the unit, with tenants (on the lease, legally responsible) distinguished from occupants (living there, not on the lease)

If you want to see this from the other side of the table, here is the process I walk applicants through — the same nine steps, written for the tenant.

Why this matters

An incomplete application isn’t a paperwork problem — it’s information. How someone handles the application is usually how they’ll handle the tenancy.

08

Paper the deal correctly

An accepted applicant becomes an Offer to Lease, then the Ontario Standard Lease, which is mandatory for most private residential tenancies. If a tenant asks for it in writing and doesn’t receive it within 21 days, they can withhold a month’s rent — so it’s not optional paperwork.

Anything specific to your property — parking spot, snow clearing, appliance responsibility, utility splits — goes in the additional terms section, and it can’t contradict the Act. Then: first and last month’s rent collected, tenant insurance confirmed, utilities transferred into the tenant’s name for the start date, keys logged, meter readings taken, and the condition report signed by both sides on possession day.

Why this matters

An unenforceable clause is worse than no clause — it gives you false confidence about a risk you never actually covered.

09

Run it like an asset after move-in

The first sixty days set the tone for the whole tenancy.

  • Same day, same method, recorded — every month. Consistency is the whole system.
  • Consider reporting rent payments to the credit bureaus. It rewards good tenants with a stronger credit file and gives you real, non-confrontational leverage with late ones.
  • Increases: once every 12 months, on the LTB’s form, 90 days ahead. Diarize it.
  • Address non-payment in week one, not month three. Board timelines are long, and they only start when you file.
  • Keep everything — receipts, notices, texts, invoices. Records win hearings.
  • Be honest about whether you want to be the person taking the Sunday plumbing call. If not, hire a property manager before you need one, not during the emergency. I’m happy to point you at ones I trust in Niagara.
Why this matters

Good tenancies are mostly maintained, not lucked into. The habits above are what separate a property that funds itself from one that eats your weekends.

Before I can list: what I’ll need from you

Gather these and we can move from first conversation to live listing in days rather than weeks.

  • Proof of ownership and signing authority — title or tax bill, photo ID, and any probate, POA, or corporate document if you’re signing on behalf of an owner or estate.
  • The property basics in writing — square footage, bedrooms and bathrooms, parking, heat and cooling type, appliances, and what’s included in rent versus paid by the tenant.
  • Your real carrying costs — mortgage, taxes, insurance, utilities you’ll keep paying. This is what tells us whether the market rent works for you.
  • Availability date and any access constraints — including notice obligations if a unit is still occupied.
  • Your tenant criteria and your dealbreakers — so we can check them against what’s permitted and put them into a defensible written standard.
  • Condo documents or municipal requirements, if either applies to your property.

This overview is general information based on Ontario’s Residential Tenancies Act, the Ontario Human Rights Code and Regulation 290/98, and the RECO Information Guide under TRESA. It is not legal advice, and rules change. For advice on your specific situation, speak with a lawyer, a legal clinic, or the Landlord and Tenant Board.

First time leasing out a property?

Here's the whole road.

The six steps I outlined in the previous page are what I do. This is what actually happens — and what you need to have ready — from the day you decide to lease to the day rent starts landing in your account.

Most landlords I meet aren't professional landlords. They inherited a property, moved and kept the old one, bought a duplex as an investment, or are handling a family member's building. They're capable people who have simply never run this particular process. Nothing below is complicated — it's just easier when nobody is learning it in the middle of a live vacancy.

Confirm you can legally lease it — and prove it on paper

Before anything is advertised, the person signing the lease has to be the person with the authority to sign it. Simple if you're the sole registered owner. Less simple if the property sits in an estate, is held by a corporation, is jointly owned, or is being handled under a power of attorney.

  • Proof of ownership — title or a current property tax bill
  • Government photo ID for everyone who will sign
  • If you're not the registered owner: the document that gives you authority — probate, power of attorney, corporate resolution, or executor's appointment
  • Condo? Pull the declaration and rules. Some restrict leasing, set minimum lease terms, or require tenant information to be filed with the corporation.
  • Multi-unit? Check with the municipality whether a rental licence, fire inspection, or second-unit registration applies before you list.
  • Why this mattersRental fraud is one of the fastest-growing problems in Ontario housing, and no brokerage can market a property without verified authority to lease it. Sorting this out after you've accepted an application usually costs you the applicant.

Understand the rules you're agreeing to — before the first showing

Ontario's Residential Tenancies Act sets the terms of this relationship, and most of it is not negotiable. The parts that surprise new landlords most:

  • A one-year lease doesn't end after a year. It converts automatically to month-to-month on the same terms.
  • You generally can't end a tenancy to re-rent at a higher price. Notice periods and permitted reasons are set by the Act.
  • Deposits are limited to last month's rent. No damage deposit, no pet deposit. A key deposit is only permitted up to actual replacement cost, and it's refundable.
  • You owe interest on that deposit every year, at the guideline rate.
  • Rent can rise once every 12 months, on 90 days' written notice using the LTB's form. The 2026 guideline is 2.1%. Units first occupied for residential purposes after November 15, 2018 are exempt from the guideline.
  • No-pet clauses are void in Ontario residential leases. You can ask; you can't enforce it.
  • Non-payment and damage go through the Landlord and Tenant Board, on its timeline — not yours.
  • Why this matters

Every one of these is cheap to learn now and expensive to learn later. The tenant-selection decision is the one you fully control. Almost everything after it, you don't.

Get the unit market-ready — and document its condition

Finish the small things before photos: doorknobs, touch-up paint, the drawer that sticks, the outdoor item you've stopped noticing. Confirm working smoke alarms on every storey and outside sleeping areas, plus carbon monoxide alarms where required — that's a legal obligation, not a nice-to-have. Then document what you're handing over: a full photo set of the unit empty and clean, and a written condition record signed at move-in.

Why this matters

The photos you take before a tenant moves in are the only evidence you'll have if there's ever a dispute about damage. Ten minutes now, or an unwinnable argument later.

Price on evidence — and know what "a little high" actually costs

Asking prices tell you what other landlords hope for. Leased prices tell you what tenants paid. I price off what has actually leased nearby, compared by size, bedroom count, and what's included, then adjust for what your unit genuinely has that the comparables don't.

Then we do the arithmetic on the gap, because it's rarely what people expect.

Why this matters

Vacancy is the most expensive line in a landlord's year. Days on market is the number worth protecting, and the market sets it — not the ask.

Set your criteria before the first inquiry — and know where the legal line is

Decide in writing what a qualified applicant looks like to you before you're looking at real people with real stories. Then apply it the same way to everyone.

What you're allowed to ask for and consider under Ontario Regulation 290/98: income information, credit checks, credit references, rental history, and guarantors — with one condition. Income information must be considered together with everything else you've collected, never on its own.

What isn't allowed: minimum-income rules and rent-to-income ratios — the informal "rent shouldn't exceed 30% of income" test — are specifically prohibited as a screening tool. And you cannot select or reject on Human Rights Code grounds, which include receipt of public assistance, family status (children), age, disability, race, ancestry, place of origin, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, and marital status.

What you can do is set a consistent, documented standard — credit history, verified income, reference checks, complete documentation — and hold every applicant to it equally.

Why this matters

Criteria written before you're emotionally invested keep every applicant measured the same way. That's the fair approach and the defensible one, and it's also how you avoid talking yourself into a weak file at week six of a vacancy.

Choose your representation and set the marketing plan

Before I give advice, I'll walk you through the RECO Information Guide and your options under TRESA, so you know whether you're a client or a customer and what that changes. If you choose representation, we sign a listing agreement covering services, term, and compensation.

Then we set the plan: MLS® and the portals, photography, the ad copy, who fields inquiries, how showings are booked, who holds keys, and — if a unit is still occupied — the 24 hours' written notice required to enter. Vacant units and occupied units are marketed differently, and the difference matters.

Why this matters

Volume of inquiries is not the same thing as quality of applicants. A plan that filters early saves you weeks of showings to people who were never going to qualify.

Read an application properly

A complete package lands on your desk looking the same every time, so you can compare applicants side by side instead of by gut feel. What I collect:

  • Completed Ontario rental application (OREA Form 410)
  • Government photo ID for every adult who will sign
  • Proof of income — employment letter, recent pay stubs, or tax documents
  • A full credit report with score, from the bureau or a third-party screening service such as SingleKey — not a screenshot of a banking app
  • Current and previous landlord references. The previous landlord is the more honest call; the current one may want the tenant gone.
  • Everyone who will live in the unit, with tenants (on the lease, legally responsible) distinguished from occupants (living there, not on the lease)

Why this matters

An incomplete application isn't a paperwork problem — it's information. How someone handles the application is usually how they'll handle the tenancy.

Paper the deal correctly

An accepted applicant becomes an Offer to Lease, then the Ontario Standard Lease, which is mandatory for most private residential tenancies. If a tenant asks for it in writing and doesn't receive it within 21 days, they can withhold a month's rent — so it's not optional paperwork.

Anything specific to your property — parking spot, snow clearing, appliance responsibility, utility splits — goes in the additional terms section, and it can't contradict the Act. Then: first and last month's rent collected, tenant insurance confirmed, utilities transferred into the tenant's name for the start date, keys logged, meter readings taken, and the condition report signed by both sides on possession day.

Why this matters

An unenforceable clause is worse than no clause — it gives you false confidence about a risk you never actually covered.

Run it like an asset after move-in

The first sixty days set the tone for the whole tenancy.

  • Same day, same method, recorded — every month. Consistency is the whole system.
  • Consider reporting rent payments to the credit bureaus. It rewards good tenants with a stronger credit file and gives you real, non-confrontational leverage with late ones.
  • Increases: once every 12 months, on the LTB's form, 90 days ahead. Diarize it.
  • Address non-payment in week one, not month three. Board timelines are long, and they only start when you file.
  • Keep everything — receipts, notices, texts, invoices. Records win hearings.
  • Be honest about whether you want to be the person taking the Sunday plumbing call. If not, hire a property manager before you need one, not during the emergency. I'm happy to point you at ones I trust in Niagara.

Why this matters

Good tenancies are mostly maintained, not lucked into. The habits above are what separate a property that funds itself from one that eats your weekends.

Before I can list: what I'll need from you

Gather these and we can move from first conversation to live listing in days rather than weeks.

  • Proof of ownership and signing authority — title or tax bill, photo ID, and any probate, POA, or corporate document if you're signing on behalf of an owner or estate.
  • The property basics in writing — square footage, bedrooms and bathrooms, parking, heat and cooling type, appliances, and what's included in rent versus paid by the tenant.
  • Your real carrying costs — mortgage, taxes, insurance, utilities you'll keep paying. This is what tells us whether the market rent works for you.
  • Availability date and any access constraints — including notice obligations if a unit is still occupied.
  • Your tenant criteria and your dealbreakers — so we can check them against what's permitted and put them into a defensible written standard.
  • Condo documents or municipal requirements, if either applies to your property.

This overview is general information based on Ontario's Residential Tenancies Act, the Ontario Human Rights Code and Regulation 290/98, and the RECO Information Guide under TRESA. It is not legal advice, and rules change. For advice on your specific situation, speak with a lawyer, a legal clinic, or the Landlord and Tenant Board.

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I'll go through what information is available and come back with what I need before it's listed, and what the process looks like from here. No obligation, no pressure.

This website may only be used by consumers that have a bona fide interest in the purchase, sale, or lease of real estate of the type being offered via the website. The data relating to real estate on this website comes in part from the MLS® Reciprocity program of the PropTx MLS®. The data is deemed reliable but is not guaranteed to be accurate.