Lease Agreements in Canada: Standard Forms by Province
By the HousingPortal.ca team · Updated October 2026 · Rules checked against each province's official sources on October 7, 2026
A lease, or tenancy agreement, is the contract between a landlord and a tenant: who rents what, for how long, at what rent, and on what terms. In Canada each province and territory sets its own rules for it, and the biggest difference is the form. Ontario, Manitoba, Quebec, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia have a standard lease that landlords must use, while Alberta and Newfoundland and Labrador accept even a verbal agreement. Everywhere, the rights in the province's tenancy law apply whatever the lease says: a clause that takes them away is void.
This guide sets out the standard lease form of each province and territory, whether the landlord must use it, when you must get your copy, and what to check before you sign. The deposit a landlord can ask for is in our guide to finding a rental, and how much the rent can go up later is in rent increase limits by province.
Standard Lease Forms by Province and Territory
Province or Territory | Standard Lease Form | Must It Be Used? | Your Copy |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ontario | Standard Form of Lease (Residential Tenancy Agreement) | Yes, for most private tenancies signed since April 30, 2018 | Within 21 days of signing |
| British Columbia | Residential Tenancy Agreement (Form RTB-1) | No, but a written agreement with the standard terms is | Within 21 days |
| Alberta | None | No: a lease can be written, verbal or implied | Within 21 days of the tenant signing |
| Saskatchewan | None; the Act's Standard Conditions apply | No form, but a written lease must include the Standard Conditions | Within 20 days |
| Manitoba | Standard Residential Tenancy Agreement (Form 1) | Yes, for a written lease | Within 21 days |
| Quebec | The TAL's mandatory lease form (new version since January 2026) | Yes | Within 10 days |
| New Brunswick | Residential Lease, Standard Form of Lease (Form 6) | Yes | Each party keeps a signed original |
| Nova Scotia | Standard Form of Lease (Form P) | Yes; its terms apply even if it is not used | Within 10 days, with a copy of the Act |
| Prince Edward Island | Standard Form of Tenancy Agreement (Form 1) | A written agreement with the Act's terms is required | Within 10 days |
| Newfoundland and Labrador | None | No: a lease can be written, oral or implied | Within 10 days of signing |
| Yukon | Optional government template | A written agreement is required (new Act since September 1, 2025) | Within 21 days |
| Northwest Territories | Optional form in the regulations; its terms apply anyway | No | Within 60 days |
| Nunavut | Optional form in the Act; its terms apply anyway | No | Within 60 days |
The official page for each: Ontario, British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Quebec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland and Labrador, Yukon, Northwest Territories, Nunavut. New Brunswick's and Yukon's are from their official pages as search engines show them, because those sites block automated access.
If the Landlord Does Not Use the Standard Lease
The standard form protects you even when the landlord skips it. In Ontario, you can ask in writing for the standard lease; if the landlord has not given it to you 21 days later, you can withhold one month's rent, and you keep it if the lease still has not come 30 days after that. In Manitoba and Nova Scotia, the standard form's terms apply to a lease even if it leaves them out, and in Manitoba a clause that contradicts them is void. In Saskatchewan, Newfoundland and Labrador and Alberta, a tenant who has not received a signed copy of the lease can hold back rent until the landlord provides one, and in the Northwest Territories and Nunavut the tenant can pay the rent to a rental officer instead.
A landlord cannot write away your rights in any province. A lease clause that bans all guests, makes you pay for every repair, allows entry without notice or demands a deposit above the legal limit has no effect, even if you signed it. When in doubt, ask your province's tenancy office before you sign.
What Every Lease Should Say
Whatever the form, a lease should name the landlord and every tenant, give the address and unit, and say whether the tenancy is for a fixed term (usually a year) or month to month, with its start date. It should state the rent, the day it is due, how it is paid and exactly what it includes: heat, hydro, water, parking, storage, appliances, internet. It should list any deposit and what it covers, who handles which repairs and maintenance, and the rules on pets, smoking, subletting and guests that the law allows the landlord to set. Ontario's standard form has a section for each of these; elsewhere, check that nothing important is missing or left to a verbal promise.
Before You Sign
- Read every clause, including anything added by hand. Extra terms are allowed only if they follow the province's tenancy law. If something is unclear, ask before signing, not after.
- Get every promise in writing. If the landlord agrees to paint, fix an appliance or include parking, have it written into the lease.
- Check the deposit against the legal limit. It ranges from nothing at all in Quebec to one month's rent in Alberta, Saskatchewan, New Brunswick and PEI; Ontario allows a last month's rent deposit but no damage deposit.
- Know what happens when the term ends. In Ontario and B.C., a fixed-term lease that ends carries on month to month on the same terms, and you do not have to sign a new one. In Alberta and Nova Scotia, a fixed-term lease ends on its end date, and you move out unless you and the landlord agree to renew. Check your province's rule before you choose a fixed term.
- Know how the rent can change. Most provinces allow one increase every 12 months with written notice, and some cap the amount: Ontario's guideline is 2.1% for 2026 and 1.9% for 2027, B.C.'s limit 2.3% and 2.2%. Every province's limit is in our rent increase guide.
- Keep your signed copy. The landlord must give it to you within the deadline in the table above: 10 to 21 days in most provinces, 60 in the Northwest Territories and Nunavut.
Ending a Lease
How much notice a tenant must give to leave, and when a landlord can end a tenancy, are set by each province too. Ending a fixed-term lease early is covered in our guide to breaking a lease, and your other rights as a tenant in tenant rights and responsibilities.
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