Lease and Rental Management
Lease renewal is more valuable than it often receives. A good tenant renewing at market rent is more profitable than finding a new tenant — avoiding vacancy, turnover costs, and the risk of the unknown.
Initiate renewal discussions early. Contact tenants 90-120 days before lease expiry to signal your interest in renewal and begin discussions. Early initiation allows time for negotiation without either party feeling rushed.
Ontario Tenancy Law
Market rent assessment before renewal discussions is essential. Know what comparable units in the area are renting for currently. You need this data to set a defensible renewal rent and to evaluate whether a counter-offer is reasonable.
Rent increase at renewal follows the guideline for continuing tenancies. If you want to increase to market rent above the guideline, you must wait for vacancy decontrol — when the current tenancy ends and a new tenancy begins. Forcing this by not renewing a good tenant to reset the rent is a risky strategy.
Protecting Landlord Rights
Non-monetary renewal terms may be more negotiable than rent. Updating lease clauses, adding conditions for specific uses or modifications, or addressing maintenance obligations can be addressed at renewal without triggering the rent guideline mechanism.
Offer value to secure renewal. For tenants you want to keep, modest improvements — new appliance, fresh paint, landscaping — signal investment in the property and the tenancy. These modest costs are typically far less than vacancy and turnover costs.
Document the renewal agreement properly. A signed renewal form or a new lease executed for the renewal term creates the legal record that protects both parties for the new lease period.