A tenancy agreement (also called a lease) is a contract between a landlord and tenant. In the contract, the tenant agrees to pay rent to live in a rental unit provided by the landlord. The lease also contains other obligations and rules relating to the tenancy.

If a tenancy agreement is first entered into on or after April 30, 2018, it must be in writing using a standard lease form developed by the Ministry of Housing. This form is called Residential Tenancy Agreement (Standard Form of Lease).

Note – the requirement to use the standard lease does not apply to all tenancy agreements. Exceptions include: co-op member units; care homes; sites in a mobile home park and land lease community; most social housing units.

For care home rental arrangements, a written rental agreement is required but the landlord is not required to use the standard lease form. To find out what needs to be included in a care home agreement, see the brochure: Rules for Care Homes.

If a landlord and tenant entered into a tenancy agreement before April 30, 2018, the landlord does not have to replace the existing tenancy agreement with the standard lease form, unless the landlord and tenant agree to do so.

Source: www.sjto.gov.on.ca