Land Lease Communities:
Rules, Approvals and Financing

In a land lease community the resident owns the home and rents the site. That split runs through everything: which law governs the site, how rent can change, what the operator must maintain, and how the home is financed. Here is how it works for operators building or renewing a community, and for the people buying in.

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Rules checked October 27, 2026 · drawn from Ontario, Landlord and Tenant Board, CMHC and CRA published material

All-Season or Seasonal

Which Rules Apply to the Site

Whether a site is lived on year-round decides both the building standard for the home and whether tenancy law applies at all.

Site	The home	Tenancy law	Typical use
All-season land lease community	A permanent home built to CSA A277 or CSA Z240 MH, meeting the Ontario Building Code	Residential Tenancies Act, Part X	Year-round living, often 55+
Seasonal or recreational park	A park model trailer built to CSA Z241, deemed to comply only as a seasonal recreational building	Not covered when occupied for a seasonal or temporary period	Cottage and vacation use
Mixed park	Both, on different sites	Covered sites and seasonal sites can sit in the same park	Operators converting part of a park to year-round

A park model trailer cannot be used as a permanent year-round home. Converting a seasonal park to year-round use is a municipal zoning question; confirm it with the municipality before replacing homes.

Building or Expanding

Approvals for a New Community

A new community or an expansion is a land development project first. The planning route depends on the length of the site leases you intend to offer.

The planning route

Land lease communities can be developed through a plan of subdivision, which permits leases of any length
Outside the Greenbelt, site plan control can be used instead, for leases of up to 49 years
The municipality’s official plan and zoning decide where a community can go

Water and sewage

Where municipal services are not available, private communal water and sewage systems are the preferred servicing for multi-lot development under Ontario’s Provincial Planning Statement
Sewage works over 10,000 litres a day, or serving more than the lot they sit on, need an Environmental Compliance Approval from the province
Smaller systems wholly on one lot fall under Part 8 of the Building Code

Rent on new sites

Sites in a community, or an addition to one, first occupied after November 15, 2018 are exempt from the annual rent increase guideline
Rent on those sites can still rise only once every 12 months, but the amount is not capped by the guideline
That makes phased expansion of an existing community worth planning carefully

Phasing the homes

A community can be released in phases, with the same models and finishes repeated in every phase
Units are built in the factory while roads, servicing and pads are prepared
Volume pricing starts at 10 or more units a year

Running the Community

What Part X Requires

Part X of the Residential Tenancies Act sets rules for land lease communities that go beyond an ordinary tenancy, because the tenant owns the home on the site.

Selling a home

A resident can sell or lease their home without the landlord’s consent
A right of first refusal applies only if the tenancy agreement includes one, and the landlord can only match the buyer’s price
A landlord cannot stop a for-sale sign in the window unless the community bans signs and provides a free, prominent bulletin board instead

Assigning the site

A landlord who wants to refuse to assign the site to a buyer must apply to the Landlord and Tenant Board within 15 days of the request
If the landlord does not apply, consent is deemed given
On assignment, the Board says site rent generally cannot rise more than $50 above what the seller paid

Maintenance duties

The landlord must remove garbage at reasonable intervals, keep roads in repair and cleared of snow, and maintain water, sewage, fuel, drainage and electrical systems
Shared grounds, buildings and equipment must be kept in good repair
Infrastructure work a government requires can support a rent increase above the guideline, decided by the Board

Rent and termination

On existing sites, the annual guideline applies: 2.1% for 2026 and 1.9% for 2027
Ending a tenancy to demolish, convert or repair the community needs at least one year’s notice where the tenant owns the home
Compensation is one year’s rent or $3,000, whichever is less, unless a government order requires the work

Buying In

Financing a Land Lease Home

Because the buyer owns the home but not the land, lenders and the tax rules look at the home and the site lease separately.

Mortgage or chattel loan

A factory-built home permanently fixed to a foundation is eligible for CMHC insured financing under standard criteria, including Prefab Plus with as little as 5% down
A home that is movable and not permanently fixed is financed with a CMHC-insured chattel loan instead
For leasehold and chattel loans, 100% of the site rent counts in the lender’s debt ratios

The HST rebate

The new housing rebate on a home on leased land generally requires the land to be leased from the builder for 20 years or more, or with an option to buy
Where no land is bought or leased from the builder, a rebate can still apply to the home alone
Ontario’s enhanced rebate for a home bought from a builder depends on the agreement date, between April 1, 2026 and March 31, 2027; confirm your case with your accountant

Warranty and licensing

Ontario’s home warranty and builder licensing rules treat a factory-built home as a “home” when it is year-round, certified and on a permanent foundation
On leased land, a site lease of at least 21 years is part of the test
Ask the vendor whether the home is enrolled for warranty before you sign

What to ask the operator

The site rent, what it covers, and whether the site is exempt from the rent guideline
The length of the site lease, and whether the operator has a right of first refusal on resale
Which services the community maintains, and the community rules on additions and signs

What We Supply

What Goes Into Your Community Plan

EpicMod is the manufacturer. The homes, the drawings and the warranty come from the factory; roads, servicing, pads and connections stay with the operator’s own contractors.

All-season single-storey homes certified to CSA A277 when fully finished, from studio to two-bedroom-plus-den, with senior-friendly and barrier-free layouts available
Replacement homes for older units, sized to existing pads where the model fits
The engineering drawing set for each home, and a delivery schedule for every phase
Unit pricing fixed at contract, with the exclusions listed in full

Not included in the unit price

GST/HST, transportation and crane
Site clearing and servicing, foundations, utility connections, and permit or approval fees
Interior finishing on an exterior-finished shell. Site work is the property owner’s responsibility, handled by your own trades or your dealer’s crew

How you buy

Community operators with 10 or more homes a year can be supplied directly by EpicMod, at EpicMod’s discretion
Smaller orders, and individual residents, go through the dealer for the area
See community supply

Questions

Land Lease FAQ

A community where residents own their homes and rent the sites they sit on. Ontario’s Residential Tenancies Act treats the site as the rental unit and governs these communities under Part X, with extra rules on selling homes, assigning sites and the landlord’s maintenance duties.

On sites first occupied after November 15, 2018, including additions to an existing community, the guideline does not apply, though rent can rise only once every 12 months. On older sites the guideline applies, 2.1% for 2026 and 1.9% for 2027, unless the Landlord and Tenant Board approves an above-guideline increase, for example for required infrastructure work.

Yes, without the landlord’s consent. If your agreement gives the landlord a right of first refusal, the landlord can only match the buyer’s price. A landlord who wants to refuse to assign the site to your buyer must apply to the Landlord and Tenant Board within 15 days.

No. A park model trailer is built to CSA Z241 as a seasonal recreational building and cannot be used as a permanent year-round home. A land lease home is a permanent dwelling built to CSA A277 or CSA Z240 MH and meeting the Building Code.

Through a plan of subdivision, which allows leases of any length, or, outside the Greenbelt, through site plan control for leases of up to 49 years. Where municipal services are not available, private communal water and sewage systems are the preferred servicing, and larger sewage works need an Environmental Compliance Approval.

Next Step

Planning or Renewing a Community?

Send the number of homes, the phases and the site. You get unit pricing, the exclusions in full and a delivery schedule for every phase.