For owners who did not plan on this

Landlord by circumstance?

Nearly half of rental owners never set out to own a rental. A posting, a sabbatical, an inheritance or a house that did not sell left them with a home to rent and a decision to make. This page is for you: what the home would rent for, what a manager actually does, and what it costs, in plain terms.

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Which one is you?

Each situation has its own page with the calendar, the legal points and the questions owners in your position ask us. Pick yours, or keep reading for the parts they all share.

CANADIAN FORCES

Posted away from CFB Kingston

A posting message, a summer move and a house you want to come back to. Leased before you leave, managed while you are gone, and your return planned from the start.

See how a posting works →

SABBATICAL OR RELOCATION

Away for a year or two

A sabbatical, a fellowship, a contract in another city. A fixed-term lease matched to your return, furnished or not, with the house looked after in between.

See how a sabbatical works →

ESTATE

Inherited a house

An estate to settle, siblings in three cities, and a decision between renting, selling and keeping. The rent number, the first steps, and management that reports to everyone.

See your options →

TWO HOMES

Bought before you sold

The new house closed and the old one is still on the market. Rent it at market instead of cutting the price, and sell when the timing is yours again.

See how renting instead works →

Something else, like a condo you moved out of or a house you kept after a separation? The single-family and condo pages cover any one home, and the same team runs it.

The three questions every new landlord asks

Rent it or sell it?

We are not a brokerage and we do not sell houses, so our answer is a number, not a pitch: the rent your home would command today, in writing, within 24 hours of a call. Put it beside your realtor's sale number and your carrying costs, and the decision usually makes itself. If selling is right, we say so.

What will it rent for?

Not last year's number plus the guideline. We price from current listings and recently signed leases on comparable homes nearby, then show you the range and where your home sits in it, furnished and unfurnished where that matters. Run your own numbers first if you like.

Who takes the 2 a.m. call?

We do. A furnace out in January, a lock-out, a leak: the resident calls one number, a person answers, and an insured trade is dispatched within the hour. You hear about it in the morning, with the invoice and the photos, not at 2 a.m.

What we do for a first-time landlord

The same Full Service that runs our owners' houses and condos across Eastern Ontario, with the first-year questions answered before you have to ask them.

Price it from real comparables

A written rent range from current listings and signed leases nearby, with a furnished comparison where it applies, and the marketing timing that gets the best applicants.

Lease it properly

Ontario Standard Lease, credit, income, background and reference checks on every applicant, tenant insurance as a lease condition, and you approve the final applicant.

Hold the money in trust

Rent and the last month's rent deposit sit in a separate trust account, reconciled to the bank every month. Your draw goes out by EFT, with the statement behind it.

Report without being asked

A monthly owner statement that reads in five minutes: what came in, what went out, what needs your decision, and a year-to-date summary grouped by the CRA's T776 lines. See a sample statement.

Maintenance with a clock on it

Insured, WSIB-covered trades quoting in advance, routine requests scheduled within five business days, emergencies within the hour, and your approval on anything above your limit.

Plan the way back, or the way out

If you intend to move back in, we structure the lease and serve the right notice at the right time. If you intend to sell, we keep the home sale-ready and work with your realtor on access and timing.

Response standards with a clock on them

Owners judge a manager by how fast they get an answer, ahead of fees and even occupancy. So we publish the clock we run on and put it in the management agreement.

20 min

First call

A.J. Keilty calls every new owner enquiry within 20 minutes in business hours, or at 8:30 the next business day.

Same day

Owner replies

Every owner call or email is answered the same business day by the person handling your property, not an auto-reply.

1 hour

Emergencies

An emergency trade is dispatched within one hour, 24/7, and the after-hours line is answered by a person.

1 / 5 days

Routine repairs

Routine requests are acknowledged within one business day and scheduled within five, with you approving anything above your limit.

The full standards, including inspections and vendor rules, are on the maintenance services page.

Six things first-time landlords get wrong

None of them are hard. All of them are expensive if nobody mentions them. We walk every new owner through this list at onboarding.

Keeping the old insurance policy

A homeowner policy is not a landlord policy. Once a resident moves in, most insurers require a rental dwelling policy, and a home sitting empty for more than about 30 days usually needs a vacancy permit. Call your broker before the first showing.

Not telling the lender

Most mortgages allow the home to become a rental, and most lenders want to be told. A quick call avoids a problem at renewal, and it is the moment to ask about a renewal that lines up with your plans.

Missing the tax change

Turning your principal residence into a rental is a change in use for the CRA, and there are elections that can protect your principal residence exemption for a few years. Ask your accountant before the first rent cheque, not at tax time.

Renting to the first nice couple

Ontario makes a bad tenancy slow and costly to end. Credit, verified income, references from a previous landlord and a tenant insurance certificate are not bureaucracy, they are the whole job. We check every one.

Leaving the basement full

Your things in the basement lower the rent, complicate the lease and invite disputes. Clear the home, or set aside one locked space that is written into the lease, and rent the rest clean.

Guessing the rent

Too high and the home sits through the best leasing weeks. Too low and you have locked in the number, because Ontario caps increases on most homes at the annual guideline. Price from comparables, once, properly.

Flat-rate pricing, published

One flat rate for Full Service management of a house or condo. Every other fee is tied to work actually done on your property, listed on the single-family page and confirmed in writing before you sign anything.

Full Service

$149 + HST / unit / month

✓Rent collection and delinquency management
✓Monthly owner statement and 24/7 owner portal
✓Dedicated property manager, one point of contact
✓Maintenance coordination and annual photo inspection
✓24/7 emergency response for residents
✓Landlord and Tenant Board process handling

Leasing Fee

1 month's rent + HST

✓Professional photography, 3D tour and floor plans
✓Listed on rentals.ca, Kijiji, Zumper and more
✓Advertising funded by us, up to 50% of one month's rent
✓Credit, income, background and reference checks
✓You approve the final applicant, always
✓Billed at occupancy, not up front

What you can count on

Cancel on 60 days noticeA one-year agreement that renews automatically, cancellable at any point on 60 days written notice.

Your money in trustRent and deposits are held in a separate trust account, reconciled monthly, and your draw is sent by EFT.

You approve the spendAnything above your approval limit waits for your decision, except an emergency that threatens the home or the people in it.

Same rate for everyoneNo premium for a first-time landlord, a one-year lease, or an owner who lives far away. The published rate is the rate.

See every fee, listed. Renting a condo? The condo page has the same schedule plus the condo-specific details.

What owners say about the answer they get

Public Google reviews, quoted as written. KEILTY is rated 4.8 on Google from 36 reviews.

★★★★★

"Very satisfied with this company's service. Totally hands off for the owner. Also company's owner portal included every report there like income statement, repairs, tasks. Very handy for the owner to look for the information."

Jessie Wang

Owner client

★★★★★

"Brandon is always quick to respond and follows through to completion on any tasks asked of him. All being handled with a positive attitude, and pleasant personality."

Dante Di Giovanni

Owner client

Read all the reviews

What would your home rent for?

A free rent estimate with a realistic range for your home, a furnished comparison where it applies, and a written management quote, with a call from A.J. Keilty within 20 minutes in business hours.

Free Rent Estimate

No obligation. Prepared by a local property manager.

A call within 20 minutes in business hours, the written estimate within 24 hours of that call. We never share your information.

Not sure yet? That is the right time to call.

A ten-minute call sorts out which situation you are in, what the home would rent for, and whether management makes sense for you at all. Call 613-545-3322 or email ClientCare@KEILTY.com.

Get My Free Rent Estimate Call 613-545-3322

Frequently asked questions

New landlords, answered

The questions owners who never planned on renting ask us most, with the same answers you would get on the phone.

Is it better to rent out my home or sell it?

It depends on three numbers: what the home would rent for, what it would sell for today, and what it costs you to carry. We supply the first one in writing within 24 hours of a call, and we do not sell houses, so there is no pitch attached. Many owners rent for a year or two and sell when the market or their plans are clearer; others discover the home carries itself and keep it. If selling is clearly right for you, we will say so.

How much does it cost to have KEILTY manage one home?

Full Service management of a house or condo is a flat $149 plus HST per month. The leasing fee is one month's rent plus HST when a resident is placed, billed at occupancy. Every other fee is listed on the single-family page and confirmed in a written quote before you sign anything.

Can I move back into my home later?

Yes, with the right notice. In Ontario a landlord who needs the home for their own use, or for a spouse, child or parent, serves an N12 notice with at least 60 days' notice ending at the end of the lease term or a rental period, pays the resident one month's rent as compensation, and must intend to live there for at least a year. We structure your lease term around your plans and serve the notice properly when the time comes.

Do I have to tell my mortgage lender and my insurer?

Yes to both. Most lenders allow a home to become a rental but want to know, and your homeowner policy needs to become a rental dwelling policy once a resident moves in. A home that sits empty for more than about 30 days usually needs a vacancy permit on the policy. We remind every new owner of both at onboarding.

How is rental income taxed when the home used to be my residence?

Rental income is taxable and reported on the CRA's form T776, and our year-to-date summary is grouped by its lines so your accountant can use it directly. Converting your principal residence to a rental is a change in use, and an election can protect your principal residence exemption for several years in many cases. We are not accountants: ask yours before the first month's rent, and we will give them everything they need.

The house still has my furniture in it. Can I rent it furnished?

Often, and for some homes a furnished lease commands a premium, especially near Queen's and the hospitals where visiting faculty and medical fellows look for 12-month furnished homes. Your written estimate includes a furnished and unfurnished comparison so you can decide on the numbers. Partly furnished, with a few rooms of your things, is the option we steer owners away from.

How quickly can you have it rented?

Photography, pricing and listing take about a week once the home is ready to show. Time on market depends on the season and the price: a well-priced home in Kingston typically leases within a few weeks in spring and summer and a little longer in winter. Our marketing budget comes out of our leasing fee, up to half a month's rent, not out of your pocket.

I live far away, or outside Canada. Does that matter?

Not to how the home is run; most of our owners never visit. You see inspections with photos in the portal, approve spending by email, and receive your draw by EFT to any Canadian bank. If you are a non-resident of Canada for tax purposes, we handle the monthly withholding, the NR6 undertaking where it applies, and the NR4 slip each year. Members of the Canadian Forces posted abroad are generally still residents for tax, so those rules usually do not apply to them.