The short answer
Most residential tenancy agreements in Ontario signed on or after April 30, 2018 must use the government's standard lease. The lease says landlords and tenants can sign it electronically if they both agree. The landlord must give the tenant a copy within 21 days after the tenant signs it.
Which leases need the standard form
The standard lease is required for most residential tenancy agreements signed on or after April 30, 2018. It doesn't apply to care homes, mobile home parks and land lease communities, most social and supportive housing, certain special tenancies, or co-operative housing. Commercial leases don't use it at all.
Signing it electronically, step by step
- Download the current standard lease from Ontario's forms site. It is a fillable PDF.
- Upload it to bSign. If the form's boxes are still empty, bSign offers to fill them in before you send: the rent, the dates, the unit and the additional terms.
- Add each landlord and each tenant named on the lease as a signer, and choose whether they sign in order or all at once.
- Send. Each tenant signs from their own link on a phone or computer, without an account.
- When the last person signs, everyone can receive the sealed copy by email: that covers the landlord's copy for the tenant on the same day.
Keep any additional terms or schedules in the same PDF, so the whole agreement is signed and sealed together.
Giving the tenant a copy
The landlord must give the tenant a copy of the signed lease within 21 days after the tenant signs it. If a tenant entitled to the standard lease didn't get one, they can ask for it in writing, and the landlord has 21 days to provide it. If the landlord still doesn't, the tenant can withhold one month's rent, and keep it if they still have no standard lease 30 days later. They can't withhold more than one month's rent.
Notices by email
The standard lease lets landlords and tenants agree to receive notices and documents by email. Not every formal notice can be sent that way: the government's guide says to check with the Landlord and Tenant Board which notices can be sent electronically.
Why this is allowed
Ontario's Electronic Commerce Act, 2000 has allowed agreements that create an interest in land, such as leases, to be signed electronically since July 1, 2015, when the parties agree. More on what the law allows, and on bSign for property managers and trades.
Sources
- Government of Ontario: Guide to Ontario's standard lease
- Government of Ontario: Renting in Ontario, your rights
- Electronic Commerce Act, 2000, S.O. 2000, c. 17 (Ontario e-Laws)
This guide is general information, not legal advice; for a particular document, ask a lawyer. Published 2026-10-04 by Binarium, the Ontario IT services company behind bSign.