Ontario’s New Standard Form Lease Agreement for Residential Tenancies

Here is a breakdown of Ontario’s New Standard Form Lease Agreement for Residential Tenancies:

As of April 30th, new requirements come into effect for residential tenancies. Here are the details:

1. We will still use the OREA Offer to Lease form to create the tenancy. The Standard Form Lease Agreement (SFLA) is a separate document that will be required once the landlord and tenant agree on the Offer to Lease.
2. As a service to our landlord clients, we can offer to help prepare the SFLA for the landlord.
3. The SFLA requirements are not retroactive. If a tenant enters into an agreement to lease on or after April 30th of this year, they have a right to ask the landlord for the new SFLA. If they entered into an agreement to lease prior to April 30th, the landlord is not required to provide the SFLA.
4. Tenants cannot ask for the SFLA if they signed a fixed-term (eg. one year) lease before April 30th, 2018 and it renews automatically as a month-to-month tenancy after April 30th, 2018.
5. For all residential tenancies created on or after April 30th, 2018, if the tenant makes a written request for the SFLA, the landlord has 21 days to provide it. If the landlord fails to provide the SFLA within 21 days after the tenant’s written request, the tenant can withhold one month’s rent.
6. Also, if the landlord fails to produce the SFLA within 21 days after the tenant’s written request, the tenant has the option of giving 60 days notice terminating the tenancy.
7. If the landlord fails to provide the SFLA within 30 days after the tenant has withheld the one month’s rent, the landlord forfeits their right to the withheld one month’s rent.
8. The tenant cannot withhold more than the one month’s rent, even if the landlord never provides the SFLA.
9. While you cannot change the preprinted SFLA, the new legislation does allow you to create a schedule containing clauses that are legal and enforceable. For example, you could add a “no smoking” clause, or a “no growing weed” clause.
10. Clauses regarding the following matters are not enforceable:
    1. A requirement to produce post-dated cheques. Tenants can volunteer to do so.
    2. A requirement to provide a deposit greater than last month’s rent.
    3. A key deposit greater than the actual value of the keys.
    4. “No pets” and “No kids” clauses.
    5. Clauses forbidding guests, roommates or additional occupants (unless occupancy laws include restrictions on numbers).
    6. High NSF fees and/or interest on rent arrears.
    7. Clauses requiring the tenant to do work that the Residential Tenancies Act deems to be landlord’s responsibility.