In many Toronto condominiums, a large share of the units are rented out. That makes leasing one of the most routine pieces of condo administration, and also one of the easiest to let slide. Owners forget to send paperwork, tenants move in without ever seeing the rules, and the management office ends up with a pile of half-complete lease files that nobody can rely on when something goes wrong.
This guide explains what the Condominium Act, 1998 requires when an owner leases a unit, what a board can and cannot ask for, how to keep a lease record that actually works, and what the corporation can do if a leased unit falls behind on common expenses. It is written for Ontario condo boards and directors, but owners who rent out their units will find it useful too.
Why Leased Units Need a Proper Process
A condo corporation has a legal relationship with its owners, not directly with their tenants. Yet tenants use the elevators, book the party room, park in the garage and live under the same declaration, by-laws and rules as everyone else. When the corporation doesn't know who is living in a unit, simple things become hard: reaching an occupant during a leak, sending a notice about a water shut-off, dealing with a noise complaint, or knowing who should hold a fob.
A clear leasing process protects everyone. Owners meet their legal obligations, tenants know the rules from day one, and the board has the information it needs to manage the building and, if it ever comes to it, collect arrears.
What Section 83 Requires From Owners
Section 83 of the Act is the core rule. According to the Condominium Authority of Ontario's leasing guidance, an owner who leases a unit, or renews a lease, has 10 days from entering into the lease or renewal to do three things:
- Notify the corporation that the unit is leased.
- Give the corporation the tenant's name, the owner's address, and either a copy of the lease or renewal or a summary of it in the prescribed form.
- Give the tenant a copy of the corporation's declaration, by-laws and rules.
When a lease ends and is not renewed, the owner must notify the corporation in writing, and the CAO's guidance also puts that at 10 days. The corporation, in turn, must keep a record of the notices it receives under section 83.
Two points are easy to miss. First, a renewal triggers the obligation again, so a tenant who stays on for another year should generate a fresh notice. Second, the duty to hand over the declaration, by-laws and rules sits with the owner, not the corporation. Management can make this easy by having a current package ready, but the legal responsibility is the owner's.
The Summary of Lease or Renewal Form
Owners who don't want to share the full lease can use the prescribed Summary of Lease or Renewal form, available from the CAO in fillable and printable versions. It records the unit (including any leased parking or storage units), the tenant's name and contact number, the start and end dates, any renewal option, the rent and when it is due, and the owner's contact details. The owner also confirms on the form that the tenant has received the declaration, by-laws and rules, and acknowledges the duty to tell the corporation in writing when the lease ends.
The rent amount on that form is not idle curiosity. It matters if the owner ever falls into arrears, as explained below.
What Boards Can and Can't Require
Boards often want more than section 83 provides: tenant registration forms, emergency contacts, vehicle details, pet registration, move-in bookings and deposits. Some of that is legitimate. The question is where the authority comes from.
- The Act sets the baseline notice in section 83. The corporation can insist on it, and owners can't contract out of it.
- The declaration may contain conditions or restrictions on leasing. Section 7 of the Act expressly allows a declaration to include conditions or restrictions on gifts, leases and sales of units. Some older Toronto declarations include minimum lease terms or other leasing provisions; read yours before assuming either way.
- Rules can deal with the practical side of occupancy, such as move-in elevator bookings, fob and parking registration and use of the amenities. Rules must be reasonable and consistent with the Act and the declaration, so they can organize how leasing happens in the building, but they generally can't create a new restriction on leasing that the declaration doesn't support.
If your board wants a firmer position on leasing, such as a minimum lease term to deal with short-term rentals, the route usually runs through the declaration or a carefully drafted rule, and that is a conversation to have with the corporation's lawyer. Our earlier guide on how Toronto condo boards handle short-term rentals covers that side in more detail, and our explainer on the declaration, by-laws and rules explains which document can do what.
It also helps to keep the statutory notice and the building's operational paperwork separate. An owner who has sent a proper section 83 notice has met the Act, even if the tenant hasn't yet booked the elevator or registered a vehicle. Treating the two as one package invites arguments about whether the owner has "complied."
Tenants Are Bound by the Same Rules
Section 119 of the Act requires owners and occupiers of units to comply with the Act, the declaration, the by-laws and the rules, and requires owners to take reasonable steps to make sure their occupiers do the same. In practice, a tenant who causes a nuisance, ignores the pet provisions or smokes where the rules prohibit it is breaking the same governing documents as an owner who does it.
That is why the section 83 duty to give tenants the declaration, by-laws and rules matters so much. A tenant who was never told about the rules is harder to hold to them, and the owner who skipped that step is in a weak position when the corporation asks them to deal with their tenant.
When a tenant breaches the rules, a sensible sequence looks like this:
- Write to the tenant and the owner, citing the specific provision and what needs to change.
- If the issue continues, follow up with the owner, who has the landlord relationship and the duty to take reasonable steps.
- If it still isn't resolved, consider the dispute route that fits. Many day-to-day disputes, such as those about noise, smoking, pets and parking, can go to the Condominium Authority Tribunal; others go to mediation and arbitration or to court. Our guide to choosing between the CAT, mediation and arbitration walks through the options.
Keep in mind that the landlord and tenant relationship itself is governed by the Residential Tenancies Act, 2006, and disputes between the owner and their tenant belong at the Landlord and Tenant Board, not with the condo corporation.
What Owners Owe Their Tenants (and Why Boards Should Know)
A board doesn't police residential tenancies, but understanding the basics helps management give owners accurate information and avoid putting the corporation in the middle of a landlord dispute. The CAO's leasing page highlights several points:
- Landlords must use Ontario's standard lease form and give the tenant a signed copy within 21 days of the start of the tenancy.
- A landlord can collect a rent deposit and a key deposit, but not a damage deposit.
- A landlord must generally give 24 hours' written notice before entering an occupied unit, except in an emergency.
- Lease terms can't prohibit pets, but a condo's governing documents can restrict them.
The last point is a good example of where condo law and tenancy law meet. A tenant may have a lease that says nothing about pets, but the declaration and rules still apply. Our post on pet rules in Ontario condos covers what boards can restrict.
When a Leased Unit Falls Into Arrears
Section 87 gives the corporation a practical tool when an owner who has leased a unit defaults on common expenses. The corporation can give written notice to the tenant requiring them to pay the corporation the lesser of the amount in default and the rent due under the lease. The Act sets out how this works:
- The notice goes to the tenant by personal service or by prepaid mail addressed to the tenant at the unit.
- The corporation must give a copy of the notice to the owner, by personal service or prepaid mail to the owner's address for service in the corporation's records.
- Once notified, the tenant must pay the corporation, even if a mortgage lender has taken over the right to receive the rent.
- A payment to the corporation counts as rent under the lease, and the tenant isn't in default of the lease just because they paid the corporation.
This is where an accurate lease record pays off. Without the tenant's name, the lease dates and the rent amount, the corporation can't use section 87 effectively. It is one tool alongside the lien process and the corporation's other collection steps, which we cover in our guide to managing common expense arrears. Because notices and timelines matter, involve the corporation's lawyer before relying on it.
Building a Lease Record That Works
The Act only says the corporation must keep a record of the notices it receives. A good management team turns that into a working tool. A practical lease register usually includes:
- The unit, and any parking or storage units included in the lease.
- The tenant's name and contact details, and the owner's address for service.
- The lease start and end dates, any renewal option, and the date each notice was received.
- Whether the owner confirmed that the tenant received the declaration, by-laws and rules.
- The date of any termination notice, so the unit's status is current.
Set a regular review, such as quarterly, to flag leases that have passed their end date with no renewal or termination notice, and follow up with those owners. Fob and parking records should match the lease register, so tenants who have moved out lose access.
Lease records also contain personal information. Store them securely and limit access to the people who need them. Owners have a right to examine many corporate records, but the Act treats records about specific units and owners differently; our guide to handling records requests under section 55 explains how requests are handled.
Lease Records Will Matter More in Board Elections
Accurate leasing records are about to matter for governance too. Amendments to the Act scheduled to take effect on December 31, 2026 add a definition of a "non-leased voting unit": broadly, a residential unit whose owner is entitled to vote on electing or removing a director and that was not subject to a lease, as determined by the regulations, within the 60 days before the board gives its preliminary notice of the meeting. Boards should check with their manager and lawyer how this affects their next owners' meeting, and make sure the lease register can answer the question when it's needed.
A Simple Leasing Workflow for Your Building
- Publish the requirements. Post a one-page leasing guide on the owner portal explaining section 83, with a link to the CAO summary form and the building's own move-in steps.
- Keep a current governing documents package. Make the declaration, by-laws and current rules easy for owners to download and pass to tenants.
- Log every notice on receipt. Record the date, check it is complete, and ask the owner for anything missing right away.
- Separate statutory and operational steps. Track move-in bookings, fobs, parking and pet registration as their own checklist.
- Review quarterly. Chase expired leases and missing notices, and update fob and parking access.
- Escalate consistently. Use standard letters for missing notices and rule breaches, so every owner is treated the same way.
A professional manager should handle most of this without the board having to think about it. If leasing paperwork in your building is patchy, it is often a sign that other administrative systems need attention too. You can read more about our condo property management in Toronto or see the full range of management services we provide.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does an Ontario condo owner have to notify the corporation of a lease?
According to the Condominium Authority of Ontario, section 83 gives the owner 10 days after entering into or renewing the lease to notify the corporation, provide the tenant's name, the owner's address and a copy or prescribed summary of the lease, and give the tenant the declaration, by-laws and rules.
Does the owner have to give the corporation the full lease?
No. The owner can provide either a copy of the lease or renewal or a summary in the prescribed form. The CAO's Summary of Lease or Renewal form includes the rent amount and when it is due.
Can a condo corporation collect rent from a tenant?
If the owner of a leased unit defaults on common expenses, section 87 lets the corporation give the tenant written notice requiring them to pay the corporation the lesser of the arrears and the rent due. The payment counts as rent under the lease.
Do tenants have to follow the condo rules?
Yes. Section 119 requires owners and occupiers to comply with the Act, the declaration, the by-laws and the rules, and requires owners to take reasonable steps to make sure their occupiers comply.
Can a board ban leasing?
A declaration may contain conditions or restrictions on leasing, but a board can't create a leasing ban on its own through a rule that the declaration doesn't support. Get legal advice before changing your approach.
Getting Leasing Administration Right
Leasing is routine, but it touches collections, security, governance and resident relations. A clear process, a reliable lease register and consistent follow-up make the difference. If your board would like a manager that runs this kind of administration properly, you can request a proposal from Brilliant Property Management.
This article is general information about Ontario condominium law and practice. It is not legal advice. Your corporation's declaration, by-laws and rules, and the facts of each situation, matter, so speak with your condominium lawyer before acting.