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Bill 71, Life Leases Act, 2025

Racinsky, Joseph

Current status:

First Reading Ordered for Second Reading

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Bill 71 Original (PDF)

EXPLANATORY

NOTE

The

Bill enacts the Life Leases Act, 2025 which

establishes a legislative framework for life leases in Ontario. A life lease is

a written agreement that entitles a person to occupy a residential unit for

life or for a fixed term of not less than a prescribed minimum period.

The

Act defines key terms, including “life lease”, “life lease community”, “life

lease holder”, and “life lease sponsor”. It provides that the Act applies to

life leases despite any agreement or waiver to the contrary and renders void

any provision in a life lease that is inconsistent with the Act or its

regulations.

The

Act prohibits a life leaser sponsor from providing false or misleading

information in relation to any matter governed by the Act or its regulations.

The

Act creates offences for contraventions of the prohibition against false or

misleading information and for contraventions of prescribed regulatory

provisions. It provides for penalties upon conviction, including fines of up to

$50,000 for individuals and $250,000 for corporations. Directors and officers

of corporations may also be held liable if they knowingly concur in an offence.

A two-year limitation period applies to the commencement of proceedings.

The

Act grants the Lieutenant Governor in Council broad regulation-making powers,

including powers to govern financial disclosures, reserve funds, meetings of

life lease holders, terms of life leases and other matters necessary for the

effective administration of the Act.

The

Act comes into force on a day to be named by order of the Lieutenant Governor

in Council.

Bill 71 2025

act respecting life leases

His

Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Assembly of the

Province of Ontario, enacts as follows:

CONTENTS

Interpretation

Application

Conflict

False

or misleading information

Offence

Penalty

Limitation

Regulations

Commencement

Short

title

Interpretation

(1) In this Act,

“life

lease” means a written agreement for occupancy of a residential unit in respect

of which a person is entitled to occupy the unit for life or for a fixed term

of not less than such period as may be prescribed, but does not include,

(

a) a

tenancy agreement under which the owner of a dwelling leases the land used or

intended for use as the site for the dwelling, or

(

b) an

interest in a leasehold condominium corporation; (“bail

viager”)

“life

lease community” means a building or related group of buildings in which one or

more life lease units are located and includes all common areas and services

and facilities available for the use of its residents; (“communauté de location

viagère”)

“life

lease holder” means a person who is a party to a life lease and is entitled to

occupy the life lease unit under the life lease; (“titulaire de bail viager”)

“life

lease sponsor” means a person, other than a life lease holder, who grants or

has granted a right to occupy a life lease unit or such other person as may be

prescribed; (“parrain de location viagère”)

“life

lease unit” means a residential unit that is provided under a life lease; (“logement

en location viagère”)

“Minister”

means the member of the Executive Council to whom responsibility for the

administration of this Act is assigned or transferred under the Executive Council Act ; (“ministre”)

“prescribed”

means prescribed by the regulations; (“prescrit”)

“regulations”

means the regulations made under this Act; (“règlements”)

“residential

unit” means any living accommodation used or intended for use as a residential

premises. (“habitation”)

Estates

(2) If

a life lease holder dies, the life lease is deemed to form part of the personal

estate of the life lease holder,

(

a) in

such circumstances as may be prescribed; or

(

b) for

the purposes of such provisions of this Act or the regulations as may be

prescribed.

Application

2 This Act applies with respect to life leases, despite any

agreement or waiver to the contrary, unless the regulations provide otherwise.

Conflict

3 Except as otherwise provided in the regulations, a

provision in a life lease that is inconsistent with this Act or the regulations

is void.

False

or misleading information

4 A life lease sponsor shall not knowingly provide false or

misleading information under this Act.

Offence

(1) A person who contravenes

section 4 or any

prescribed provisions of the regulations is guilty of an offence.

Same,

directors and officers

(2) Every

director or officer of a corporation who knowingly concurs in an offence under

this Act is guilty of an offence.

Penalty

(1) A person, other than a corporation, who is

guilty of an offence under this Act is liable on conviction to a fine of not

more than $50,000.

Same,

corporation

(2) A

corporation that is guilty of an offence under this Act is liable on conviction

to a fine of not more than $250,000.

Limitation

7 No proceeding shall be commenced respecting an offence

under this Act more than two years after the day on which the offence was or is

alleged to have been committed.

Regulations

(1) The Lieutenant Governor in Council may make

regulations,

(

a) governing

audited financial statements in respect of life lease sponsors, including

requiring life lease sponsors to ensure audited financial statements are

prepared, specifying the requirements that the statements must satisfy and

specifying who is entitled to receive copies of the statements;

(

b) establishing

and governing requirements respecting the financial management of life lease

sponsors and life lease communities;

(

c) governing

the disclosure of information by life lease sponsors and prospective life lease

sponsors, including requiring life lease sponsors and prospective life lease

sponsors to give reports, documents and other information to life lease holders

or prospective life lease holders, prescribing the form and manner in which the

information is to be disclosed or given and providing rules and limits in

relation to fees and other charges respecting such reports, documents and other

information;

(

d) prescribing

record-keeping requirements that apply to life lease sponsors;

(

e) governing

reserve funds in respect of life lease communities, including,

(

i) requiring

life lease sponsors to establish and maintain a reserve fund,

(ii) prescribing

requirements that must be satisfied in respect of a reserve fund,

(iii) prohibiting

reserve funds from being used for any purpose other than specified purposes,

and

(iv) requiring

life lease holders to contribute to a reserve fund and setting out requirements

with respect to such contributions;

(

f) governing

meetings of life lease holders, including,

(

i) requiring

life lease sponsors to convene life lease holder meetings and establishing

rules concerning how such meetings are convened, including meeting notice

requirements, and

(ii) prescribing

requirements with respect to the conduct of life lease holder meetings,

including the rights and responsibilities of life lease sponsors and life lease

holders at such meetings;

(

g) governing

the attendance by representatives of life lease holders at meetings of the

board of directors of a life lease sponsor, in circumstances where a life lease

sponsor is governed by a board of directors, including,

(

i) prescribing

rules respecting the selection of representatives,

(ii) providing

that representatives are entitled to receive, and that life lease sponsors or

other specified persons are required to give to representatives,

(

A) notice

of meetings of the board of directors and specifying rules with respect to such

notice, and

(

B) specified

reports, documents and other information,

(iii) governing

the attendance of representatives at meetings of the board of directors,

including providing that representatives may attend any meeting of the board of

directors, may place matters on the agenda of such meetings and may speak to

any matter on the agenda, and

(iv) permitting

representatives to share documents or other information that they receive in

their role as a representative with other life lease holders in the life lease

community, and specifying whether any restrictions, conditions or limitations

apply to the sharing of such information;

(

h) governing

the terms of life leases relating to any matter mentioned in clauses (

a) to

(g), including,

(

i) deeming

certain terms to be included in life leases, and

(ii) prohibiting

life leases from including certain terms;

(

i) prescribing

anything in this Act that is described as being prescribed or provided for in

the regulations, including governing anything described as being prescribed or

provided for in the regulations;

(

j) exempting

any person or class of persons from this Act or the regulations or a specified

provision of this Act or the regulations;

(

k) exempting

any class of life leases from this Act or the regulations or a specified

provision of this Act or the regulations;

(

l) governing

transitional matters that, in the opinion of the Lieutenant Governor in Council

are necessary or advisable to facilitate the implementation of this Act or the

regulations.

Regulations,

application to existing life leases

(2) A

regulation made under subsection (1) may, if it so provides, apply to life

leases that were entered into before the day the regulation is filed, including

a life lease that was entered into before the day the Life

Leases Act, 2025 received Royal Assent.

Same

(3) For

greater certainty, if a regulation provides that it applies to life leases as

described in subsection (2),

(

a) the

provisions of this Act also apply to those life leases; and

(

b) the

application of the regulation and the Act to those life leases may have the

effect of modifying or extinguishing any right, obligation or interest acquired

or accrued under the life lease.

compensation

(4) Except

as otherwise provided for under this Act, no life lease sponsor or other person

is entitled to compensation as a result of the enactment of this Act or any

regulation made under this Act.

expropriation or injurious affection

(5) Nothing

done or not done in accordance with this Act or the regulations under it

constitutes an expropriation or injurious affection for the purposes of the Expropriations Act or otherwise at law.

Commencement

9 This Act comes into force on a day to be named by order

of the Lieutenant Governor in Council.

Short

title

10 The

short title of this Act is the Life

Leases Act, 2025 .

Date Bill stage Event Outcome Committee

November 19, 2025

First Reading

Ordered for Second Reading

November 19, 2025

First Reading

Vote

Carried

First Reading

November 19, 2025

Carried

Ordered for Second Reading

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