Toronto Sublet Rules and Agreement Template (Free)
In Toronto Home Zone, our team receives a lot of rental listings, tenant searches, and questions about sublets in Toronto.
The term “sublet” is often misused because it has different meanings across North America.
We’ve gathered our nearly-decade long experience running Toronto’s most active rental community, and simplified the legal processes around sublets to help you navigate this part of the rental market.
Here you’ll find help with:
This is not legal advice. We recommend using Steps to Justice to learn more about the Ontario’s housing laws and to find out where you can seek legal assistance.
Let’s start with the basics. What is a sublet?
In Ontario, a sublet is the temporary replacement of a tenant by someone else. By “tenant” we mean a person renting a living space from a landlord where they are protected by the Residential Tenancies Act (the laws which govern the rights and responsibilities of landlords and renters in Ontario).
During this time, the temporary renter, or subtenant as named by the aforementioned law, enjoys some of the protections AND must uphold some of the responsibilities that the original tenant has under the RTA.
Because of these legalities, it is just as important to understand what a sublet isn’t in order to avoid legal trouble, scams, or being without a place to live.
Additional Resources:
1 To our understanding, this means that for these specific breaches of the RTA (and only these), a tenant can use the process defined for Landlords and the subtenant can use the processes defined for Tenants to file claims. Section 99 outlines which parts of the RTA can be used in this way.
2 If the unit is the landlord’s primary residence and they intend to return, they must file with the LTB for eviction (which they may not succeed) or offer the rental as a City of Toronto regulated STR if under 28 consecutive days.
3 This column is often mistaken for “sublets”. Do not fall into this trap.
Do not refer to a rental as a “sublet” if:
You are the owner of the unit offering your primary residence for a temporary period of time.
You are a tenant offering a room or other space within the unit you rent while you continue to reside there. (See: Off-lease roommates)
For a rental to be considered a legal sublet it must meet ALL of these conditions:
The rental is offered by a tenant who has an RTA Protected lease with the owner or landlord of a rental unit/room. The landlord/owner must not share a bathroom or kitchen in the unit that is being offered for rent.
The rental is temporary. The tenant who is offering the rental must be vacating, and is expected to return at the end of the sublet period.
The sublet ends before the last day of the tenant’s lease agreement with the landlord.
The sublet is approved by the landlord. The tenant must receive consent from their landlord for each sublet. Without this the tenant and subtenant may face eviction. There are steps that can be taken if your landlord unreasonably refuses to allow you to sublet.
Sublet Agreements and Template
There is no official document used for offering sublets or subleases in Toronto. We have created the template below, inspired by the Ontario Standard Lease, to help renters and landlords navigate the requirements of a legally defined sublet. The last page of the template includes official resources which we strongly encourage all parties to review.
Whether using this template or not, it is in everyone’s best interest to have at minimum:
written consent from the landlord that the tenant is allowed to sublet and
a written agreement between the tenant and the subtenant who will be occupying the space which clearly states the start and end date of the sublet, as well as the cost (a tenant cannot legally charge a subtenant more than they pay to their landlord or any additional fees).
Be cautious about going into a sublet situation where the main tenant cannot provide proof that they have the right to offer the place for rent (for example: a copy of their signed lease between them and their landlord, or and landlord letter stating permission to sublet).
