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Most Ontario landlords know they're required to use the province's Standard Lease form — fewer know exactly what it locks in versus where genuine flexibility still exists. Here's a clear breakdown.

Why the Standard Lease Exists

Ontario requires most private residential tenancies to use the government-mandated Standard Lease form, intended to make lease terms clearer and more consistent for both landlords and tenants, and to reduce disputes over ambiguous or one-sided lease clauses. Using an outdated or non-compliant lease template isn't just a technicality — it can affect your ability to enforce certain terms if a dispute reaches the Landlord and Tenant Board.

What's Mandatory and Can't Be Changed

• The core lease structure and required sections — rent amount, services and utilities included, deposit and NSF fee rules, and the tenant's rights around assignment and subletting all follow the mandated format.

• Rules that exist regardless of what the lease says. Some Residential Tenancies Act protections apply whether or not a landlord includes them in the lease — a landlord cannot contract out of a tenant's fundamental RTA rights simply by omitting or altering a clause.

• Standard notice requirements. Termination and notice period rules follow provincial requirements regardless of what a landlord might prefer to specify.

Where Landlords Actually Have Flexibility

Additional terms in Schedule A. The Standard Lease includes space for landlords to add their own additional terms — provided those terms don't conflict with the RTA or attempt to waive a tenant's legal rights. This is where most of a landlord's actual customization happens: pet policies (within legal limits), specific maintenance responsibilities, parking arrangements, and building-specific rules.

Rent amount and initial terms. For a new tenancy, landlords have full flexibility to set the opening rent at whatever the market supports — the rent increase guideline only restricts increases on an existing tenancy, not what you charge a new tenant.

Parking and additional services. Whether parking, storage, or other add-ons are included in rent or charged separately is generally the landlord's call, provided it's clearly documented in the lease.

Common Mistakes Landlords Make With the Standard Lease

• Using an outdated version of the form. The Standard Lease has been updated over time — using an old template can create ambiguity about which rules actually apply.

• Adding terms that conflict with the RTA. Any additional term that attempts to waive a tenant's fundamental rights — for example, a blanket "no guests" clause — is generally unenforceable regardless of whether the tenant signed it.

• Leaving Schedule A blank when specific building or property rules genuinely need documenting. Verbal agreements about parking, storage, or maintenance responsibilities are far harder to enforce than terms actually written into the lease.

• Not providing the lease at all, or providing it late. Landlords are generally required to provide a copy of the signed lease to the tenant within a set timeframe — failing to do so can affect a landlord's ability to enforce certain terms later.

What This Means for New Landlords Specifically

If you're leasing out a property for the first time — including a newly converted secondary suite — getting the Standard Lease right from day one avoids the far more common and costly mistake of trying to retroactively add terms partway through a tenancy, which is generally far harder to enforce than getting it right at signing.

The Bottom Line

The Ontario Standard Lease gives landlords less room to customize core terms than many expect, but genuine flexibility exists in the additional terms section — provided those terms respect the RTA's baseline protections. Getting this right at signing avoids disputes that are far more expensive to resolve later.

Want help making sure your lease and additional terms are properly documented and enforceable? Contact our team — we help GTA landlords get this right from the start.

This article summarizes general Residential Tenancies Act principles and is not legal advice. Consult a paralegal or lawyer for guidance specific to your situation.

Ontario's Residential Tenancies Act is getting its second major update of the year on September 21, 2026 — the follow-up to the changes that took effect July 1. If you're an active GTA landlord, several of these directly affect notices you may already be planning to serve.

1. The N4 Notice Period Is Cut in Half

For any N4 (notice of termination for non-payment of rent) served on or after September 21, 2026, the termination period drops from 14 days to 7 days. N4 notices served before that date continue under the existing 14-day rule. If you have a template or standard process built around the old timeline, it needs updating before this date, not after.

2. The LTB Order Review Window Shrinks

The window to request a review of an LTB order drops from 30 days to 15 days as of July 1, 2026 (already in effect) — landlords and tenants alike now have half the time to challenge a Board decision. If you're waiting on a decision, don't assume you have the old 30-day cushion to decide whether to seek a review.

3. N12 Notices Get a New Compensation-Free Option

Landlords issuing an N12 (notice to end tenancy for landlord's own use) will have two paths to choose from: the existing 60-day notice with the standard compensation requirement (one month's rent or an alternative unit), or a new 120-day notice that eliminates the compensation requirement entirely. This is a genuine strategic trade-off — faster timeline with a cost, or no cost with a longer wait.

4. N13 Renovation Evictions Get a Written Notification Framework

Landlords ending a tenancy for renovations, repairs, or demolition under an N13 will be required to provide written notifications at multiple stages of the project, including the estimated completion date and any timeline changes. Keeping a documented communication log for every N13 in progress is no longer just good practice — it's the standard the new framework expects.

5. The Tenant's Right of First Refusal Gets Reinforced

Tenants who received an N13 retain the right to notify their landlord, in writing, of their intention to move back into the unit once renovations are complete — and the pre-renovation terms, including the rent amount, must be honoured if they do. This right isn't new, but the September amendments reinforce landlord obligations around it.

6. Above-Guideline Increase Applications Move Faster

The document service window for Above Guideline Increase (AGI) applications shrinks from 14 days to 7 days, with a certificate of service now due within 5 days of service. If you're planning an AGI application for a capital improvement, build this tighter timeline into your planning.

7. Timing Depends Entirely on When You Serve, Not When Rules Change

Across nearly all of these changes, the operative date is when the specific notice is served, not when the underlying tenancy began or when the issue first arose. An N13 served in August follows the old rules even if the actual renovation work happens well after September 21. Landlords with active or planned notice processes should map their timeline against these specific service dates now.

What This Means Practically

• Update every notice template and internal process tied to N4 and AGI timelines before September 21.

• Decide your N12 strategy in advance — 60 days with compensation versus 120 days without is worth thinking through before you're actually serving a notice, not in the moment.

• Start a written communication log now for any active or upcoming N13 process, ahead of the framework formally taking effect.

• If you're mid-process on anything affected, confirm with a paralegal or lawyer which framework actually applies to your specific timeline — this is exactly the kind of transition period where an honest mistake is easy to make.

The Bottom Line

September 21 marks the second wave of a genuinely significant RTA update, and unlike some past changes, several of these — the N4 timeline, the N12 compensation trade-off — require an active decision from landlords rather than passive compliance. Getting ahead of the paperwork now avoids scrambling once the date arrives.

Want help updating your notice templates and processes to reflect these changes? Contact our team — we help GTA landlords stay compliant as the rules shift.

This article summarizes general Residential Tenancies Act amendments and is not legal advice. Consult a paralegal or lawyer for guidance specific to your situation.

If a tenant asked to install a window air conditioner this summer, the rules around your answer changed on July 1, 2026. Here's exactly what's now required, what you can still charge for, and what you still can't do.

What Changed

As of July 1, 2026, tenants generally have the right to install and use a window or portable air conditioner in a unit where the landlord doesn't already provide cooling — a provision from the Helping Homebuyers, Protecting Tenants Act, 2023 that only came into force this summer. Landlords can no longer categorically prohibit this, provided the tenant meets the legal conditions.

The Conditions Tenants Must Meet

A tenant installing a new unit after July 1, 2026 must:

• Notify the landlord in writing before installation

• Provide details on the unit's energy efficiency and expected usage, if the landlord pays for electricity in the unit

• Install and use the unit safely, without damaging the rental unit or the building

• Comply with all applicable municipal bylaws and condominium or building rules

If a tenant already had a window or portable unit installed before July 1, 2026, two of these requirements don't apply retroactively — they don't need to provide written notice or efficiency/usage details for a pre-existing installation, even though the landlord's right to recover electricity costs still applies going forward.

What Landlords Can Still Charge

If you pay for the electricity in the unit, you may add a seasonal, electricity-based charge to recover the added hydro cost — but this has to be handled correctly, not as an arbitrary flat add-on. If you want to recover costs for a capital improvement instead — like installing central cooling — that requires a separate Above Guideline Increase (AGI) application through the LTB, a different and more formal process than a seasonal electricity charge. For context on how Ontario's standard rent increase guideline works separately from this, our recent coverage of the 2026 guideline walks through that mechanism in full.

What Landlords Still Cannot Do

• You cannot flatly refuse a compliant installation. As of now, neither the Residential Tenancies Act nor its regulations define specific circumstances where a landlord can prohibit an air conditioner outright — so don't assume you have blanket veto power just because you'd prefer not to deal with it.

• You cannot charge whatever you want for electricity. The seasonal charge has to reasonably reflect actual added cost, not function as a disguised rent increase.

A Separate Issue: Toronto's Own Cooling Bylaw

Worth knowing distinctly from the provincial A/C installation rules: there is no province-wide law requiring landlords to provide air conditioning, and no provincial maximum indoor temperature rule. However, Toronto and Mississauga both have their own municipal bylaws capping indoor temperatures at 26°C — but only in units where cooling is already provided by the landlord. If your unit has never had landlord-supplied cooling, this municipal cap doesn't create a new obligation to install it. The only true province-wide temperature rule concerns heat, requiring a minimum of 20°C from September through mid-June.

What Landlords Should Do Now

• Update your lease templates and tenant communications to reflect that outright prohibition of tenant-installed units is no longer a safe default position.

• Decide your seasonal electricity charge policy in advance, rather than negotiating it ad hoc with each tenant who asks.

• Confirm your specific building's condo or landlord rules don't create an additional layer of restriction beyond the provincial baseline — condominium corporations can still have their own reasonable rules about exterior-facing units, for instance.

• If you're managing multiple units, consider centralizing this policy so it's applied consistently — inconsistent handling of similar requests is exactly the kind of pattern that draws scrutiny if a dispute ever reaches the LTB.

The Bottom Line

Ontario landlords lost the ability to simply say no to a compliant air conditioner installation as of July 1, 2026 — but gained a clear, defined right to recover the added electricity cost when they're the ones paying the hydro bill. Getting your policy and paperwork aligned with the new rules now avoids friction with tenants and unnecessary risk at the LTB later.

Want help updating your lease policies to reflect this and other recent RTA changes? Contact our team — we help GTA landlords stay compliant without the guesswork.

This article summarizes general Residential Tenancies Act principles and is not legal advice. Consult a paralegal or lawyer for guidance specific to your situation.