Who has to use it
If you rent out a house, a condo, an apartment, a basement unit or a room in a building you do not share a kitchen or bathroom with, and the tenancy started on or after April 30, 2018, you use Form 2229E. It does not matter whether you own one unit or forty. The main exceptions are shared accommodation where the tenant shares a kitchen or bathroom with you, social and supportive housing, care homes and some co-ops, which have their own rules.
If you do not give the tenant the standard form, they can ask for it in writing, and there are consequences for a landlord who does not provide it within 21 days. Using it from the start is easier than fixing it later.
This is general information, not legal advice. The rules come from Ontario's Residential Tenancies Act and the Landlord and Tenant Board (LTB). For the current forms and guidance see tribunalsontario.ca/ltb, and speak to a lawyer or paralegal about your own situation.
What each part covers
The form walks through the tenancy in order: the parties and the unit, contact details for notices, the term (fixed or month to month), the rent and when it is due, which services and utilities are included, any rent discount, the rent deposit, a key deposit, smoking, the tenant's insurance, changes to the unit, maintenance, assignment and subletting, and additional terms. Then both sides sign.
Two sections trip people up. The services section is a checklist: if you leave heat unchecked and the tenant pays it, say so clearly in the utilities line rather than assuming. And the term section decides what happens after the first year, so read the next section here before you fill it in.
Deposits: what you can take and what it is for
You may take a rent deposit of up to one rental period's rent, usually one month, and it can only ever be applied to the last month of the tenancy. It is not a damage deposit; Ontario does not allow one. You pay interest on it each year at the guideline rate, and for example a $2,000 deposit at the 2026 guideline of 2.1% earns $42 for the year, which you can apply to top the deposit up if the rent has gone up by the same amount.
A key deposit is allowed only if it is refundable and no more than the cost of replacing the key or fob. Any other deposit, fee or "pet charge" is not something the form allows and cannot be enforced.
The additional-terms trap
Section 15 of the form lets you attach extra terms. The rule is that an additional term cannot take away a right the tenant has under the Residential Tenancies Act, and if it does, that term is void while the rest of the lease stands. "No pets" is the famous example: you can write it, and it is unenforceable. The same goes for terms that make the tenant pay for ordinary wear, that let you enter without notice, or that charge a fee the Act does not allow.
Useful additional terms do exist: who cuts the grass and shovels snow, how parking works, the condo's rules if the unit is a condo, and what "included utilities" means in a shared house. Keep them specific and about the property, not about the tenant's rights.
When the term ends
A fixed term does not end the tenancy. On the day after the term ends, the tenancy continues month to month on exactly the same terms (Residential Tenancies Act, section 38). The tenant does not have to sign a new lease and does not have to leave. The rent can still be increased once a year on 90 days' notice, and the tenant can still leave on a valid N9.
So "the lease expired" is not a reason to end a tenancy, and a clause saying the tenant must move out at the end of the term is one of the void ones. If you want a fresh fixed term, offer a new 2229E; if the tenant declines, month to month it is.
How KeyToRental fills and signs it
KeyToRental generates the official Form 2229E from the tenant's screening application and the unit record, so the names, address, rent, due date, deposit and included services are copied from fields you already checked, not retyped. You review it, add any additional terms, and send it for e-signature. The tenant signs first, then you, and both of you get the signed PDF. The lease then feeds the rent ledger, the anniversary date for the next increase, and the month-to-month continuation after the term. The annual interest on a rent deposit is not calculated for you; work it out and pay or apply it yourself each year.