Rent out your basement apartment on MLS®, without giving up a month's rent

What it costs: a flat fee instead of a month's rent

A full-service leasing agent is commonly paid one month's rent plus HST to find a tenant. On a basement apartment renting for $1,800 a month, that's $1,800 plus HST, every time the unit turns over. A flat fee listing costs the same whatever the rent: $69.99 a month (cancel any time), or $99.99 for 2 months, plus 13% HST.

You also choose what to offer a tenant's agent: a share of one month's rent or a flat amount. It's only paid if a tenant's agent brings the tenant who signs. A tenant who finds your listing on their own costs nothing extra.

Work it out for your own rent: how much a realtor charges to lease a house in Ontario.

How to list a basement apartment on MLS® in 4 steps

Everything happens from your account. Once your ID, proof of ownership and signature are in, we enter the listing and email you the MLS® number when it's live.

1. Choose a plan and pay. It takes a few minutes online, and your account is created for you.
2. Pick "Basement" as the part of the property you're renting, then add the rent, what's included, the move-in date and up to 40 photos. Upload your ID and sign the listing agreement online.
3. We enter it on the MLS® System. It's sent on to realtor.ca's rentals search.
4. Tenants and their agents contact you. You book showings, review applications and choose your tenant. When it's rented, tell us from your account and we mark it leased.

Main floor, upper floor or the whole house

The MLS® System has a field for the part of the property you're renting: Entire Property, Basement, Main, 2nd Floor, 3rd Floor or another part. Pick the one that matches your unit and each one is its own listing, so you can list the basement and the main floor of the same house at the same time, each with its own rent and photos.

When you rent part of a house, tenants want to know what they share before they book a showing. Say it in the listing:

• Entrance: separate or shared
• Laundry: in the unit, shared, or none
• Utilities: included, split (and how), or separately metered
• Parking and yard: which spots and which parts of the yard go with the unit
• Ceiling height and windows: tenants ask about both for a basement; bright photos of every room answer them before the showing

Ontario rules for basement apartments, by city

Ontario allows a basement apartment in most houses: since the province's 2022 housing changes (Bill 23), up to 3 units are allowed on a serviced residential lot without rezoning, for example the house, a basement apartment and a garden suite. What changes from city to city is the paperwork: some cities want the unit registered, some want a rental licence, and every city needs a building permit to create a new unit.

We checked each city's own website on October 26, 2026. Rules change (five of these cities changed something in 2025 or 2026), so confirm on your city's page before you rent. This is general information, not legal advice.

• Building permit: needed everywhere to create a new unit. An older basement apartment (from before about 1994) falls under the Ontario Fire Code's retrofit rules for two-unit houses instead.
• Alarms: since January 1, 2026, Ontario's Fire Code asks for carbon monoxide alarms in more places in houses with a second unit, alongside working smoke alarms in each unit.
• Parking: a city can't require more than one parking space for the new unit.
• Lease: most tenancies must use Ontario's standard form of lease. A self-contained basement unit is covered by Ontario's tenancy law; renting a room where the tenant shares your kitchen or bathroom is not.

Applications, the lease and the deposit

Tenants' agents request showings through the showing system, and each request comes to you to confirm. Offers to lease are made out to you. In Ontario a tenant's agent usually sends the OREA Agreement to Lease (Form 400) with a rental application, a credit report, an employment letter and references, so you get what you need to decide in one package.

Once you accept, the tenancy goes on Ontario's standard form of lease. You can ask for a rent deposit of up to one month's rent, but not a damage deposit (renting in Ontario: your rights). You can't refuse a tenant for a reason protected by the Human Rights Code, such as family status or receiving public assistance.

New to being a landlord? Our guide to renting out your house in Ontario covers screening, the lease and tax.

Is listing it yourself right for you?

It suits owners who live upstairs or nearby, can answer messages quickly and can be there for showings. You're also the one living with the tenant's choice, so choosing them yourself is often what owners want anyway.

It's a harder fit if you can't be reached during the day or want someone else to screen every applicant. A full-service leasing agent or a property manager is the right call then, and the fee buys that.

Renting out more than one unit? Landlords with several rentals list each one from the same account: see plans for investors and landlords.

Basement apartment questions

What's included

• Your basement, main or upper floor on the MLS® System through PropTx, which feeds 14 Ontario boards, including Toronto (TRREB), Ottawa, London, Niagara and Oakville-Milton
• Your rental on realtor.ca, in its rentals search
• Up to 40 photos, your description, the monthly rent and the part of the house you're renting
• Showing requests from tenants' agents sent straight to you to confirm, and realtor.ca inquiries forwarded to you
• Rent, photo and detail changes while you're listed, plus the leased update when you've found your tenant

Flat fee MLS® prices

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

For lease right now, listed by landlords like you

160 Oakdale Avenue, St. CatharinesMLS® #X14117862

811-699 Sheppard Avenue East, TorontoMLS® #C14116832

Basement-106 Conductor Avenue, Whitchurch-StouffvilleMLS® #N14114656

1511-58 Orchard View Boulevard, TorontoMLS® #C14109486

36 Linton Avenue, AjaxMLS® #E14108704

3-59 Sheridan Street, BrantfordMLS® #X14105602

303-124 King Street, NorfolkMLS® #X14099306

4-247 Pacific Avenue, TorontoMLS® #W14098788

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