For Sale by Owner in Ontario: Homes, Your 4 Ways to Sell and the Rules

Homes for sale by owner in Ontario right now

28 homes for sale by owner in Ontario on the MLS® System with us right now, in Windsor, Mississauga, Trent Hills, Severn, Guelph, Woodlawn and 19 more towns, asking $149,999 to $1,995,000.

Each home below is listed by its owner on the MLS® System through Robin Hood Realty Limited, Brokerage, so it's also on realtor.ca and the sites it feeds. Buyers and their agents contact the owner directly to book a showing or make an offer. Open a listing for the photos, the details and how to reach the owner.

1108 Assumption Street, WindsorMLS® #X138861881001-355 Rathburn Road East, MississaugaMLS® #W13886186180 Greenly Road, Trent HillsMLS® #X138789664501 Upper Big Chute Road, SevernMLS® #S1387795875 Stevenson Street North, GuelphMLS® #X13861006$325,0000 Bayview Drive, RR1 WoodlawnMLS® #X138498441354 County Road 2, Leeds and the Thousand IslandsMLS® #X13835392$595,0001-86A Bernick Drive BarrieMLS® #S13835166$310,0002239 Southwood Rd, KilworthyMLS® #X13831964$565,000112 Borland St E, OrilliaMLS® #S13585146$674,88840 Dormer Rd, Kawartha LakesMLS® #X13736584$149,999825-425 Spanish River Rd, WorthingtonMLS® #X13642550

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Your 4 ways to sell by owner in Ontario

There are four usual ways to sell by owner in Ontario, from free to fully hands-off. Only two of them put your home on the MLS® System and realtor.ca, where most buyers and their agents search. ForSaleByOwner.ca's price is from its own site on October 4, 2026, with Ontario selected; ours come from our checkout, before tax.

Whichever route you pick, the steps to sell your house privately in Ontario are the same: price, prepare, show, negotiate and close with a lawyer.

Weighing ComFree? Our page on ComFree reviews and fees compares its packages with ours, checked October 5, 2026.

Looking at ForSaleByOwner.ca's MLS® packages? ForSaleByOwner.ca (Easy List Realty) vs RocketListings compares them with ours, checked October 5, 2026.

By city: Toronto, Ottawa, Mississauga, Brampton, Markham, Durham Region, Barrie and Niagara each have their own guide, with local rules and the homes listed by owners there.

What "for sale by owner" means in Ontario

For sale by owner (FSBO) means you sell your home without paying a listing agent to market it and negotiate for you. You set the price, answer buyers, run the showings and work out the offer. It's legal in Ontario, and many owners do it to keep the listing commission.

You can't skip the lawyer, though. In Ontario a real estate lawyer closes the sale: they review the agreement, register the transfer, pay off your mortgage and send you what's left. Plan on hiring one before the first offer comes in, not after.

The usual way to sell by owner and still be on the MLS® System is a mere posting, a limited-service MLS® listing: a brokerage posts your home and you do the selling.

Why most Ontario FSBO sellers still want MLS®

Buyers in Ontario mostly search realtor.ca and apps fed by the MLS® System, and most of them have an agent who searches the MLS® System for them. A sign or a Kijiji ad never reaches those buyers. A flat fee MLS® listing does, without handing the sale to an agent.

With us, your home goes on the MLS® System through Robin Hood Realty Limited, Brokerage and on to realtor.ca. Buyer agents book showings with you, offers are made out to you and come to you directly, and you decide. You can still put the listing link on Facebook or send it to neighbours. Here's what listing on realtor.ca without an agent looks like, step by step.

Listing your house on MLS® yourself takes four steps; that page lists what to have ready and where the listing appears.

How to price your home when you sell by owner

Price from what similar homes near you actually sold for, not from asking prices. Look up recent sold prices on your street and in your building on HouseSigma or a similar MLS®-fed site, and compare homes of the same type, size and condition sold in the last three to six months.

Adjust for what's different: a finished basement, parking, a renovated kitchen, a busier street. If you're unsure, a licensed appraiser gives an independent value for a few hundred dollars, and your lender may already have one on file. Pricing a little above the comparables leaves room to negotiate; pricing far above them usually means fewer showings and a longer wait. You can change the price on your MLS® listing at any time from your account.

What you must tell buyers

In Ontario you can't hide a serious problem you know about. A latent defect, one a buyer couldn't spot on a normal viewing and that makes the home dangerous or unfit to live in, has to be disclosed, and misstating anything about the home can undo the sale or lead to a claim against you.

Many sellers also offer a Seller Property Information Statement (SPIS). It's optional. RECO describes it this way: "The statement will provide information related to defects, renovations, and other pertinent property information, based on your knowledge and experience" (RECO, property information statements). If you fill one in, answer only what you know and have your lawyer look at it first. Our guide to selling your house privately in Ontario covers disclosure and the paperwork in more detail.

The offer: the Agreement of Purchase and Sale

Offers in Ontario are almost always written on OREA's standard Agreement of Purchase and Sale (Form 100), usually drafted by the buyer's agent or lawyer. It sets the price, the deposit, the closing date, what's included (appliances, light fixtures) and any conditions, such as financing or a home inspection.

Every offer has an irrevocable time, the deadline for you to accept. You can accept it, let it lapse, or sign it back with your own price or terms. Send each offer to your lawyer before you sign; once both sides sign and the conditions are waived, the deal is firm. If the buyer books a home inspection, let the inspector in and be ready for a request to fix something or lower the price.

Closing day: what your lawyer does

Your lawyer handles the closing. Beforehand they prepare the deed, answer the buyer lawyer's title questions and work out the statement of adjustments (property tax, utilities and condo fees split to the day). On closing day the transfer is registered electronically: "Electronic registration is mandatory in Ontario, except for complex registrations" (Ontario.ca, land transfer tax FAQ).

Your lawyer then pays off your mortgage, makes sure any buyer agent commission you offered is paid from the sale proceeds, and sends you the balance. You hand over the keys, usually through the lawyers, once the funds arrive.

How to sell by owner in Ontario with a flat fee MLS® listing

Selling by owner with a flat fee MLS® listing takes four steps, and you stay in charge of every showing and offer. Most owners finish the online part in an evening; we then enter the listing on the MLS® System and email you the MLS® number when it's live on realtor.ca.

What's included, what isn't and how the plans compare: flat fee MLS® in Ontario.

1. Choose a plan and pay. It takes a few minutes, and your account is created for you.
2. Add your home's details, photos and ID, then sign. A guided form asks for what the MLS® System needs, and an assistant can help with any field you're unsure of.
3. We enter your home on the MLS® System. It's sent on to realtor.ca, and we email you your MLS® number when it's live.
4. Buyers and their agents contact you. You confirm showings, answer questions and receive offers directly.

Ontario rules and costs to know before you sell by owner

Selling by owner doesn't change the rules: the same taxes, deposit rules and closing steps apply as with an agent. These are the ones Ontario owners ask about most. Your lawyer confirms what applies to your sale, and the official sources are linked so you can read them yourself.

• A real estate lawyer is a must. Have one review any offer before you sign, and they'll close the sale for you.
• Land transfer tax is the buyer's cost, not yours. That includes Toronto's municipal land transfer tax. Don't let it come off your price (Ontario's land transfer tax guide).
• No HST on most resale homes. A home you've lived in usually has no HST on the price. New or substantially renovated homes can be different, so ask your lawyer.
• Report the sale on your tax return. If it was your principal residence, the gain is usually tax-free, but the CRA still asks you to report the sale and designate the home in the year you sell (CRA: sale of your principal residence).
• Condos need a status certificate. The buyer usually makes the offer conditional on reviewing it. Order it from your condo corporation early; under the Condominium Act it has 10 days to deliver it.
• Check your mortgage. Breaking it early can mean a prepayment penalty. Ask your lender for a payout statement so you know your real net.
• Deposits go into trust. The buyer's deposit is held in trust, usually by the buyer agent's brokerage or a lawyer. Never take it in cash yourself.
• Living outside Canada? A non-resident seller needs a clearance certificate from the CRA (section 116), or the buyer's lawyer holds back part of the price.

Do you have to pay a buyer's agent when you sell by owner?

Only if you offer it and their buyer buys. On an MLS® listing you set the buyer agent's commission yourself, as a percentage or a flat amount, and it's shown to agents so they know what they'll earn by bringing a buyer. If a buyer comes to you with no agent, there's no buyer agent commission to pay.

What a flat fee replaces is the listing agent's commission, the part that usually costs the most. Use the calculator above to see what that is on your price.

Want the buyer agents' searches without a listing agent? You can get on MLS® without a REALTOR® for a flat fee and keep the selling to yourself.

For how the two halves of realtor commission in Ontario are usually split, and how they're paid on closing, see our guide.

Our realtor commission calculator shows the buyer agent's commission in dollars, with HST, next to what a full-service listing would cost.

Is selling by owner right for you?

It suits Ontario owners who know roughly what their home is worth, can answer the phone during the day, and are comfortable reading an offer with their lawyer's help. Look up recent sold prices on your street on HouseSigma or a similar site before you set your price.

It's a harder fit if you can't be there for showings, you'd rather someone else negotiated, or you want advice on pricing and staging. In that case a full-service agent may be worth the commission.

Not ready to sell? You can rent your house out through the MLS® instead with the same flat fee, and choose the tenant yourself.

Is it better to buy a home for sale by owner?

It can be. You deal with the owner directly, you can still bring your own agent, and the price is whatever you two agree. The protections are the same as any purchase: an Agreement of Purchase and Sale, a deposit held in trust, conditions such as financing and a home inspection, and a lawyer on each side to close.

The homes at the top of this page are on realtor.ca like any other MLS® listing; each one tells you how to reach the owner.

Questions

What's included

• Your home on the MLS® System through PropTx, which feeds 14 Ontario boards, including Toronto (TRREB), Ottawa, London, Niagara and Oakville-Milton
• Your home on realtor.ca, typically followed by MLS®-fed sites such as HouseSigma, Zolo and Condos.ca
• Up to 40 photos, your description, your price and the full property details
• Showing requests from buyer agents sent straight to you to confirm, and realtor.ca inquiries forwarded to you
• Price, photo and detail changes while you're listed, plus the conditional and sold updates

Flat fee MLS® prices

Plus 13% HST. The monthly plan can be cancelled any time.

What selling by owner can save you in Ontario

Enter your asking price to compare a typical listing agent's commission, with 13% HST, against a flat fee. You still choose what to offer a buyer's agent, and that's only paid if their buyer buys.

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