Digital lease signing guide for landlords
Sign leases digitally with confidence using tips on legal validity, lease details, e-signatures, liv.rent storage, contract IDs, copies, addendums, and sharing.
Digital lease signing is now standard practice across Canada. It saves time, reduces paperwork, and creates a secure, verifiable record of the agreement. Here's what landlords need to know.
Is a Digitally Signed Lease Legally Valid?
Yes. Electronic signatures are legally recognized across Canada. A lease signed digitally carries the same legal weight as one signed in person on paper, provided both parties have consented to signing electronically.
What to Include in Your Digital Lease
Regardless of how it's signed, your lease must be legally complete. In Ontario, most new tenancies must use the provincial standard lease form. In Quebec, the government's mandatory Bail obligatoire form is required. In British Columbia and Alberta, no single prescribed form is mandatory but the lease must meet the requirements of the relevant residential tenancy legislation.
At minimum, your lease should include:
- Full names of all tenants and the landlord
- Property address and unit number
- Lease start and end dates, or confirmation that it is month-to-month
- Monthly rent amount and due date
- What is included in the rent (parking, storage, utilities)
- Rules around pets, smoking, and subletting
- Signatures of all parties
How Digital Signing Works on liv.rent
liv.rent's platform handles the full signing process digitally. You prepare the lease, share it with your tenant through the platform, and both parties sign electronically. Each contract receives a unique ID that can be verified at verify.liv.rent, giving both parties a tamper-proof record. Signed leases are stored securely in your account.
Store and Share Copies Properly
Once the lease is signed, both you and your tenant should have a copy. On liv.rent, documents are stored in a digital filing cabinet accessible to both parties. If you're using another method, email a signed copy to your tenant immediately after signing and save your own copy somewhere secure and accessible.
Addendums and Additional Clauses
If you need to add clauses beyond the standard lease, liv.rent supports lease protection addendums on the Growth and Business plans. Any addendum should be attached to the main lease and signed by both parties at the same time.