Renting an apartment in Toronto for the first time comes with a specific set of rules that most first-time renters simply haven’t encountered before, and a landlord asking for something the law doesn’t actually allow is common enough that it’s worth knowing the rules before you start applying. This guide walks through what to have ready before you apply, what Ontario law actually permits a landlord to require, what the Standard Lease is and why it matters, and what to check before you sign anything. None of this replaces reading your own lease carefully, but it means you’ll recognize when something’s off before you’re the one caught out by it. If you want to understand what rent actually costs before you start applying, our guide to how much rent is in Toronto right now covers current pricing by unit type, and our complete Toronto real estate guide covers the wider picture if you’re weighing buying instead.
What to have ready before you apply
A strong rental application in Toronto usually includes proof of income, whether that’s recent pay stubs, an employment letter, or bank statements if you’re self-employed, along with government-issued photo ID and references from a current or previous landlord. A credit check is standard practice and most landlords will ask permission to run one as part of the application. Having these ready before you start viewing units means you can apply the same day you find something you like, rather than losing time gathering documents after the fact.
Landlords legally can check your credit, verify your income and employment, and contact previous landlords for a reference. What they can’t legally do is discriminate against you based on protected grounds under the Ontario Human Rights Code, which includes family status, receipt of social assistance, or the source of your income generally. If an application seems to be screening you out for a reason unrelated to your ability to pay rent and be a reasonable tenant, that’s worth knowing isn’t legally permitted, even if it’s rarely stated outright.
What a landlord can and can’t legally require
Ontario law is more specific than most renters expect about what a landlord can actually ask for. A landlord can require a last month’s rent deposit, capped at exactly one month’s rent, and can ask for post-dated cheques or automatic debit as a preferred payment method, but can’t make either a mandatory condition of the tenancy. If you’d rather pay by e-transfer or another method your landlord accepts, refusing to provide post-dated cheques on request isn’t legal grounds to deny you a unit or end a tenancy. A landlord also can’t ask for a security deposit, a damage deposit, or a pet deposit under any name, regardless of how a lease document describes it or what a landlord tells you is standard in the building.
Where this actually catches people out is a listing or an eager landlord asking for “first and last plus a damage deposit” as though it’s routine. It happens often enough that it’s worth saying plainly: only the last month’s rent deposit is legal, and it’s capped at one month’s rent, full stop. If a landlord asks for more, that request doesn’t become enforceable just because it’s common practice in a specific building or neighbourhood.
What the Ontario Standard Lease is
Since April 30, 2018, most private residential landlords in Ontario have been required to use the government’s Standard Lease form for new tenancies, covering apartments, condos, houses, semis and secondary units like basement apartments. An updated version of the form has been in use since March 1, 2021. The lease sets out standard terms in plain language, covers what a landlord can and can’t include as additional terms, and gives every tenant the same baseline protections regardless of who drafted the paperwork. A handful of tenancy types are exempt, including care homes, mobile home parks and land lease communities, student residences, and co-operative housing.
If your landlord doesn’t provide the Standard Lease and you’d like one, you can request it in writing, and your landlord then has 21 days to provide it. If they still don’t, Ontario law gives you a real remedy: you can withhold one month’s rent, and if the tenancy is fixed-term or yearly, you can give 60 days’ notice to end it. Most landlords use the Standard Lease automatically because the rule is well established at this point, but it’s worth knowing the form exists and what happens if a landlord skips it, since a lease that’s missing standard protections is a real signal worth asking about before you sign.
Last month’s rent deposit versus a security deposit
The only deposit a landlord in Ontario can legally collect is a last month’s rent deposit, and it works differently from a security deposit in a way that surprises a lot of renters coming from other provinces or countries. It’s capped at exactly one month’s rent, it can only ever be applied to your final month’s rent when you move out, and your landlord owes you interest on it every year, calculated at the same rate as the current provincial rent increase guideline. It can’t be used to cover cleaning, repairs, or unpaid utilities along the way, no matter what condition a unit is left in.
Ontario doesn’t have a separate security or damage deposit system at all, which is a genuine structural difference from how renting works elsewhere. If a landlord wants to recover the cost of damage beyond normal wear and tear after you move out, they have to pursue that separately, typically through the Landlord and Tenant Board, rather than deducting it from a deposit you’ve already paid. Knowing this upfront means you can push back confidently if a lease or a landlord describes an additional deposit as standard practice.
How the process actually works, from viewing to signing
The mechanical process is fairly consistent across most Toronto rentals. You view the unit, either in person or sometimes via video for units listed further in advance of their availability date. If you want it, you submit an application with the documents covered above, and the landlord reviews it alongside any other applications they’ve received. Once approved, you move to lease signing, where the Standard Lease is completed with your specific terms: rent amount, start date, what’s included, and any additional terms the landlord has attached. At signing, you typically pay your last month’s rent deposit and sign the lease itself, and the unit is yours as of the start date on the lease.
How competitive that process feels in practice, how many other applicants you’re up against, how quickly a given unit gets rented, varies enough by building, season and price point that this guide isn’t the place to generalize about it. What’s consistent regardless of how competitive things are locally is the mechanics above: viewing, application, approval, signing. If you want a sense of what units are actually available and at what price right now, you can search current Toronto rental listings on TorontoProperty.ca directly.
What to check before you sign
Before you sign anything, walk through the unit and document its condition, ideally with photos or video timestamped from before you move in. This protects you if there’s ever a dispute about damage later, since Ontario doesn’t have a deposit system that a landlord can simply draw from, meaning any dispute over condition typically has to be argued on evidence. Confirm exactly what’s included in the rent: whether hydro, water, or heat are covered, whether a parking spot or a storage locker comes with the unit or costs extra, and whether the building charges separately for a key fob or a laundry card deposit that’s distinct from the last month’s rent deposit itself.
Read the additional terms section of the lease carefully, since this is where a landlord can attach specific conditions beyond the Standard Lease’s default terms, and not everything a landlord writes into additional terms is actually enforceable if it conflicts with the Residential Tenancies Act. If anything in the additional terms looks like it’s asking you to waive a right the Act gives you, such as a clause claiming you can be evicted without proper notice, that clause generally isn’t enforceable even if you sign it, though it’s still worth raising the question before signing rather than after.
Frequently asked questions
What documents do I need to rent an apartment in Toronto?
Most landlords ask for proof of income (recent pay stubs, an employment letter, or bank statements if you’re self-employed), government-issued photo ID, and references from a current or previous landlord. A credit check is standard, and landlords will typically ask your permission before running one. Having these ready before you start viewing units means you can submit a complete application the same day you find a place you want, rather than losing time gathering documents afterward. None of these requirements are unusual or something to push back on; they’re standard parts of how landlords across Ontario screen applicants.
What is the Ontario Standard Lease and do I have to use it?
The Standard Lease is a government-created lease form that’s been mandatory for most private residential tenancies in Ontario since April 30, 2018, with an updated version required since March 1, 2021. It sets consistent baseline terms and gives every tenant the same core protections regardless of who wrote the lease. Most landlords use it automatically at this point, since the requirement is well established, but a handful of tenancy types, including care homes, student residences and co-operative housing, are exempt. If your landlord doesn’t provide it and you request it in writing, they have 21 days to comply, and if they don’t, you can withhold one month’s rent or give 60 days’ notice to end the tenancy.
Can my landlord ask for a security deposit in Toronto?
No. Ontario law doesn’t allow a security deposit, damage deposit or pet deposit under any name. The only deposit a landlord can legally collect is a last month’s rent deposit, capped at exactly one month’s rent, which can only be applied to your final month of rent when you move out and never to cleaning, repairs or unpaid utilities along the way. Your landlord also owes you annual interest on that deposit at the current provincial rent increase guideline rate. If a landlord asks for an additional deposit beyond this, that request isn’t something Ontario law lets them enforce, no matter how it’s described in the lease.
What’s the difference between last month’s rent and a security deposit?
A last month’s rent deposit is exactly what it sounds like: money that gets applied specifically to your final month of tenancy when you move out, and it’s the only deposit Ontario permits. A security deposit, as understood in many other jurisdictions, is money a landlord holds and can draw from to cover damage or unpaid charges beyond normal wear and tear. Ontario doesn’t have that second system at all. If a landlord believes you’ve caused damage beyond normal wear and tear, they have to pursue that separately, typically through the Landlord and Tenant Board, rather than deducting it from a deposit already in hand.
Can a landlord require post-dated cheques in Toronto?
No, not as a mandatory condition. A landlord can ask for post-dated cheques or pre-authorized debit as a preferred payment method, and many do because it simplifies collecting rent, but they can’t make either one a requirement for renting the unit. If you’d rather pay by e-transfer or another method your landlord is willing to accept, declining to provide post-dated cheques isn’t legal grounds for a landlord to deny your application or end your tenancy. If a landlord tells you post-dated cheques are mandatory, that’s not accurate under the Residential Tenancies Act, even if it’s common practice for that landlord specifically.
Once you know the rules, the next step is finding a unit worth applying for. Search current Toronto rental listings on TorontoProperty.ca, check our guide to how much rent actually costs in Toronto right now to know what to expect before you start applying, or browse our full library of Toronto real estate guides.