Managing your rental
Landlord insurance in Ontario: what to tell your insurer, what's covered
Why you tell your insurer before you rent, what a condo corporation's insurance leaves to you, and the insurance your tenant can be required to carry.
By the Tenant.ca teamUpdated 3 min read
In this guide5 parts
The short answer
Tell your insurer before you rent the property out, for a long or a short term. The Insurance Bureau of Canada says failing to do so can void your coverage, and that a homeowner's policy doesn't include your tenant's belongings or their personal liability.
Landlord coverage can replace lost rental income if your tenant has to move out because of damage from an insured loss. Your tenant insures their own belongings, and the lease can require them to carry liability insurance.
What to tell your insurer
Before anything changes, talk to your insurance representative about:
- Renting the property out, and whether long-term or short-term
- Any change in who lives there: a new tenant, a room rented out, a suite added
- Keep a written record of what you told them and when
If the rental is a condo
The corporation insures the units and common elements against major perils: fire, lightning, smoke, windstorm, hail, explosion, water escape, strikes, riots or civil commotion, impact by aircraft or vehicles, vandalism or malicious acts, and any others its declaration or by-laws name (Condominium Act, section 99). It doesn't insure improvements made to a unit beyond the standard unit for its class.
The Insurance Bureau of Canada notes that the corporation's policy doesn't cover your personal contents, improvements to your unit, or your liability. And if you or your tenant causes damage to the unit, the lesser of the repair cost and the corporation's deductible is added to your common expenses; the Act makes that amount an insurable interest of yours (section 105).
What your tenant can be required to carry
Ontario's standard lease lets you and your tenant agree that the tenant must have liability insurance, and if you ask for proof of coverage the tenant has to provide it. Contents insurance, for the tenant's own belongings, is up to the tenant (section 11 of the lease).
Where this fits
Tenant.ca prepares the Ontario Standard Lease as part of tenant placement.
This page is general information, not legal advice or insurance advice: your own policy's wording decides what it covers, so ask your insurance representative. It reflects the Insurance Bureau of Canada's pages, the Condominium Act, 1998 on e-Laws and the province's guide to the standard lease, as read on November 11, 2026.