New Realtor First-Year Playbook: Ontario Purchase and Lease Deal Lifecycles

Form-number verification status (checked for this document): - Verified: 100 (Agreement of Purchase and Sale), 101 (Agreement of Purchase and Sale — Condominium Resale), 120 (Amendment to Agreement of Purchase and Sale), 123 (Waiver), 124 (Notice of Fulfillment of Condition), 200 (Listing Agreement — Seller Representation), 300 (Buyer Representation Agreement), 320 (Confirmation of Co-operation and Representation), 400 (Agreement to Lease — Residential), 401 (Schedule — Agreement to Lease — Residential), 410 (Ontario Rental Application), 630 (Individual Identification Information Record), 635 (Receipt of Funds Record). - Corrections to common assumptions: 801 is the "Offer Summary Document," NOT a deposit receipt. 372 is the "Tenant Designated Representation Agreement," NOT a referral form — the Referral Agreement is Form 641. 120 is the Amendment (not a waiver); the waiver is Form 123. - Verify: 121 (reported as "Notice to Remove Condition(s)"), 122 (reported as "Mutual Release — Agreement of Purchase and Sale"), 641 (Referral Agreement) — confirm these numbers/titles against the current OREA index.

TRESA note on representation: Since December 2023, TRESA distinguishes client representation from treating someone as a self-represented party (SRP), and OREA introduced designated representation agreements (a specific salesperson, not the whole brokerage, represents the client). Traditional forms like the Buyer Representation Agreement (300) coexist with newer designated-representation forms. Use whichever set your brokerage has adopted, and confirm the current version.

Part A — The Purchase Deal (Ontario, residential)

Step 1 — Establish the representation relationship

• Buyer side: sign a Buyer Representation Agreement (Form 300) — or your brokerage's designated representation equivalent — to formalize the agency relationship, term, commission, holdover, and geographic/property scope. If a buyer chooses not to be represented, they may proceed as a self-represented party, and you must provide the required RECO information and treat them accordingly.
• Seller side (if you are the listing agent): sign a Listing Agreement — Seller Representation (Form 200) setting the list price, term, commission, and authority to market and to co-operate with buyer brokerages.
• Give the RECO Information Guide and make the required disclosures at the appropriate time under TRESA.

Step 2 — FINTRAC / intake

• Complete client identity verification and open FINTRAC records early: Individual Identification Information Record (Form 630) (or the entity record for corporations). See the FINTRAC reference file. These obligations run in parallel with the whole deal.

Step 3 — Search and showings

• Search MLS® (via your board), book and conduct showings, and gather property information (e.g., a Residential Information Checklist on the listing side, and condo documents/status certificate for condos).
• Advise the buyer to arrange financing pre-approval and to line up a home inspector and a real estate lawyer before offer stage.

Step 4 — Prepare the offer (Agreement of Purchase and Sale)

• Freehold home: Agreement of Purchase and Sale (Form 100).
• Condominium: Agreement of Purchase and Sale — Condominium Resale (Form 101).
• Attach Schedule A (buyer's terms) and any additional schedules. Add conditions (clauses) as needed — commonly financing, home inspection, status certificate review (condos), and sale-of-buyer's-property.
• Set the deposit amount, to whom it is payable (usually the listing brokerage in trust), and timing (e.g., "upon acceptance" or within 24 hours).
• Set irrevocable date/time, completion (closing) date, chattels/fixtures, and title requirements.

Step 5 — Representation confirmation and presentation

• Complete the Confirmation of Co-operation and Representation (Form 320) — it records who represents whom (buyer client, seller client, multiple representation, or self-represented party) and the commission arrangement between brokerages. Multiple representation requires written consent.
• Present the offer; the seller may accept, reject, or sign back (counter). Counter-offers and changes to an accepted agreement are documented with the Amendment to Agreement of Purchase and Sale (Form 120).

Step 6 — Deposit

• On acceptance, the buyer delivers the deposit per the agreement. The deposit is held in trust (typically by the listing brokerage) and is later credited to the purchase price. Provide a receipt/record; note that Form 801 is the "Offer Summary Document," not the deposit receipt — use your brokerage's trust-deposit receipting process.

Step 7 — Conditions and waivers (the "conditional" period)

While conditions are outstanding, the deal is firm on the seller but conditional for the buyer (or vice versa). To resolve a condition: - Waiver (Form 123) — the party gives up a condition that was for their benefit, without confirming it was satisfied (e.g., waiving the financing condition). Use when you are simply removing the condition. - Notice of Fulfillment of Condition (Form 124) — used to confirm a condition has been satisfied (the "fulfillment" path). (Some editions also provide a "Notice to Remove Condition(s)," reported as Form 121 — verify.)

Practical caution (widely noted by brokers): a waiver and a fulfillment/notice are legally different. Using a waiver when the correct instrument is a notice of fulfillment (or vice versa) can create disputes. Match the instrument to the condition's wording.

Step 8 — Firm deal

• When all conditions are waived/fulfilled (or if the offer was firm to begin with), the deal is firm/unconditional and binding on both parties.

Step 9 — Lawyer handoff and pre-closing

• Deliver the firm agreement to both parties' real estate lawyers. The lawyers handle title search, requisitions, mortgage instructions, adjustments, and the transfer.
• The buyer finalizes the mortgage, arranges home insurance, and (via lawyer) prepares closing funds including Land Transfer Tax (Ontario, plus municipal LTT in Toronto; first-time buyer rebates may apply — verify current rates and rebates).
• Any late changes still go through an Amendment (Form 120).

Step 10 — Closing

• On the completion date, lawyers exchange documents and funds, the transfer/deed and any mortgage are registered electronically, and keys are released to the buyer once the transaction closes.
• Post-closing: deliver files, ensure trust/commission accounting is complete, and retain FINTRAC and transaction records (five-year retention — see FINTRAC file).

Part B — The Lease Deal (Ontario, residential)

Step 1 — Representation

• Establish representation with the client (landlord or tenant). A Buyer Representation Agreement (Form 300) can cover a tenant's search ("purchase or lease"); OREA also provides a Tenant Designated Representation Agreement (Form 372) under the designated-representation model. On the landlord side, a listing/representation agreement authorizes marketing the rental. Confirm which form set your brokerage uses.

Step 2 — FINTRAC

• FINTRAC identity/record obligations are generally tied to purchase/sale of real estate, not ordinary residential leasing. Confirm your brokerage's policy; still follow standard client-intake and privacy practices.

Step 3 — Marketing and showings

• List/advertise the rental (following RECO advertising rules — see the advertising reference file), show the unit, and screen prospects.

Step 4 — Tenant application and screening

• Collect an Ontario Rental Application (Form 410) with the applicant's information and consent.
• Run credit and reference checks and verify income/employment, within the limits of Ontario's Human Rights Code and the Residential Tenancies Act, 2006 (you may request credit references and rental history, but must not discriminate on protected grounds; receipt of social assistance is a protected income source). Verify current permissible-screening rules.

Step 5 — Agreement to Lease

• Negotiate terms using the Agreement to Lease — Residential (Form 400), with the Schedule — Agreement to Lease — Residential (Form 401) for additional terms (parking, utilities, appliances, etc.). This is the offer/negotiation instrument — it sets rent, term, deposit, and inclusions and, once signed, obligates the parties to enter the tenancy.
• The tenant typically provides first and last months' rent on acceptance (Ontario permits a rent deposit of up to one month, applied to the last month; a separate "damage deposit" is generally not permitted). A key deposit limited to actual replacement cost is allowed. Verify current rules.

Step 6 — Standard Form of Lease (Form 2229E) handoff

• For most residential tenancies entered into on or after March 1, 2021 in Ontario, the landlord must use the government Standard Form of Lease — "Residential Tenancy Agreement (Standard Form of Lease)," Form 2229E (Central Forms Repository). The Agreement to Lease (Form 400) does not replace it — the Standard Lease is the governing tenancy contract and contains the full RTA-compliant terms. Ensure the Standard Lease is completed and signed; the parties may attach additional terms so long as they do not conflict with the RTA.

Step 7 — Move-in and ongoing tenancy

• Keys are released on the agreed date after funds are received and the lease is signed. The tenancy is then governed by the Residential Tenancies Act, 2006.

Step 8 — LTB (Landlord and Tenant Board)

• Disputes during the tenancy (non-payment, maintenance, eviction, rent issues) are handled by the Landlord and Tenant Board (LTB) under the RTA, using the LTB's own N-series notices and L/T applications — not OREA forms. Realtors typically hand ongoing landlord-tenant matters to the parties/their counsel once the tenancy begins. Verify current LTB forms and processes at the LTB/Tribunals Ontario.

Quick form reference (verify before use)

Sources

• OREA Standard Forms and Clauses: https://www.orea.com/standard-forms-clauses
• OREA forms explained (brokerage explainer): https://www.remaxexcel.com/resource-center/orea-forms-explained/ and https://realsav.com/orea-form.html
• Ontario Standard Form of Lease (Form 2229E), Central Forms Repository: https://forms.mgcs.gov.on.ca/en/dataset/047-2229
• Residential Tenancies Act, 2006 / Landlord and Tenant Board (Tribunals Ontario): https://tribunalsontario.ca/ltb/
• RECO / TRESA representation rules: https://www.reco.on.ca/agents-and-brokerages/tresa-explained