Form 2229E — Ontario's Standard Form of Lease
Ontario requires a single standard residential tenancy agreement: Form 2229E, mandatory since March 1, 2021 for all new tenancies. The form's sections are mandatory and cannot be modified. Section 15 is the only place a landlord can add unit-specific terms — and even those cannot contradict the Residential Tenancies Act, 2006. Any term that does is void and unenforceable.
If a "lease" you're being asked to sign isn't Form 2229E, treat it as a fraud signal. The form is freely available from the Government of Ontario at forms.mgcs.gov.on.ca.
Last-month rent. No damage deposits.
Ontario landlords may collect a last-month-rent deposit, capped at one month's rent. The deposit is applied against the actual last month at end of tenancy — not held for damages. It earns interest annually at the Ontario rent-increase guideline rate.
Ontario landlords may not collect damage deposits, security deposits, or pet deposits under the Residential Tenancies Act. This is materially different from BC, where damage deposits up to half a month's rent are legal.
Cash flow at move-in: first month's rent + last month's rent deposit = 2× monthly rent total before keys move. Anyone asking for more is asking for something Ontario law doesn't permit.
Condo board approval — 5-15 business days typical
Most GTA rentals are condominiums, and most condo corporations require board approval before lease activation. Process varies by corporation but typically requires: employment letter, income verification, ID, sometimes a credit check, sometimes a guarantor.
For a newcomer family arriving without Canadian credit history, the board package usually substitutes: employment letter from the sponsoring institution, bank statement equivalent, passport ID, occasionally a guarantor letter from Baytik or another professional reference. Add 1-2 weeks to the lease activation timeline. Move-in fees often include an elevator reservation deposit ($200-300 refundable); non-refundable move-in admin fees vary in legal status if not disclosed in the lease.
The LTB backlog — one factual sentence
As of February 2024, more than 53,000 cases were waiting at the Ontario Landlord and Tenant Board, with current wait times of roughly 5-6 weeks for urgent matters, ~3 months for non-payment of rent applications, and 5-7 months for all other applications — meaning LTB hearings are not a realistic dispute-resolution path inside a typical 1-2 year fellowship window. Choose your landlord and unit accordingly.
Your rights as a renter without Canadian credit
In Ontario, landlords can't legally disqualify you solely on credit history or rent-to-income ratio. If you hit that wall, talk to us.
The Document Package we prepare for you.
Both Toronto tiers — Essentials ($2,499) and Settlement ($3,499) — include the full Document Package. Settlement adds the post-arrival concierge layer; Essentials covers everything you need pre-arrival. The package is what landlords actually look at.
What's in the package
- Employment letter from the sponsoring institution (UHN / Sinai / SickKids / Sunnybrook / St. Michael's / McMaster), formatted to Ontario PM expectations
- Income verification — fellowship stipend or sponsoring agency funding letter
- Saudi Cultural Bureau / Kuwait Cultural Office / Qatar Sponsorship Authority letter (or equivalent) — translated and contextualized
- Passport ID + family roster passports
- Ontario MPAC property reference for Form 2229E section 15 confirmation (where relevant)
- Baytik reference letter — explicit confirmation of the family's standing for the landlord's file
- Bank statement or international credit reference (3 months) where helpful
Settlement-tier clients additionally get the first-30-days post-arrival concierge layer — UHIP card pickup, banking activation, school enrolment, family doctor search, mosque + community connection, and a 30-day check-in. Essentials clients get the same Document Package; Settlement extends the relationship through the first month on the ground.
BC ↔ Ontario cheat sheet
| Dimension | BC | Ontario |
|---|
| Damage deposit | Up to ½ month's rent | Not permitted |
| Last-month-rent deposit | Not standard practice | Required at lease start, capped at 1 month's rent, earns annual interest |
| Standard lease form | Optional RTB-1 | Mandatory Form 2229E since March 1, 2021 |
| Pet deposit | Up to ½ month's rent | Not permitted |
| Tribunal | Residential Tenancy Branch (RTB) | LTB — backlog 3-7 months for non-urgent |
| Condo / strata approval | Strata approval less common | Condo board approval common, 5-15 business days |
| Newcomer credit protections | BC Human Rights Code | Ontario Human Rights Code — explicit newcomer protection |
| Move-in elevator deposit | Variable | $200-300 refundable typical |
| Real estate regulator | BCFSA | RECO (under Ontario gov't admin since Dec 1, 2025) |