Choosing a property manager in Toronto comes down to three things you can verify in a single first call, not a sales pitch. Ask who actually answers after hours, ask them to explain their fee structure back to you in one sentence, and ask whether the person onboarding you is the same person who will manage your unit day to day. If any answer is vague, keep calling.
Most Toronto property managers sound identical in a five minute sales call. They all say they are responsive, experienced, and local. The difference between a manager worth hiring and one that just answers the phone rarely shows up in that call. It shows up the week a tenant’s pipe bursts, a short-term guest locks themselves out at midnight, or a rent cheque is three days late and you need to know your rights under the Residential Tenancies Act. By then you have already signed a management agreement, so the questions below need answering before that, not after.
Ask directly: if a tenant calls at 11 PM with a burst pipe, or a short-term guest is locked out after midnight, whose phone rings? A property manager who routes everything through a daytime office line, or through you, is not actually managing the property; you are. Ask whether after-hours calls go to a person who can dispatch a trade that night, and ask how many properties that person covers. A manager juggling 200 units on one emergency line answers calls differently than one running a smaller portfolio with a dedicated on-call rotation.
This matters differently for long-term and short-term rentals, and a manager who has only done one will usually tell you so if you ask directly. Long-term tenants call about maintenance and lease questions; short-term guests call about access codes, noise complaints from neighbours, and same-day turnovers between bookings. A manager who runs short-term rental management needs same-day cleaner and locksmith relationships that a long-term-only manager has no reason to maintain.
If a manager cannot state their own fee in a single plain sentence, the fee is designed to be hard to compare, which should worry you more than the number itself. “Fifteen percent of the booking, no extra charge for guest messaging or cleaning coordination” is one sentence. “It depends on the service tier, plus a management fee, plus a separate charge for certain add-ons we will go over later” is not, and it usually means more line items appear once you have signed.
Fee structures differ by rental type, and a manager who knows the market will explain which one applies before you ask:
| Rental type | How the fee is usually quoted | What to confirm before signing |
|---|---|---|
| Long-term rental | A flat percentage of monthly rent, stated up front | Whether leasing, renewal, and vacancy periods are included or billed separately |
| Short-term (nightly) rental | A percentage per booking, often tiered by service level | Whether cleaning, dynamic pricing, and guest messaging are inside the percentage or added on |
Certus publishes its own short-term tiers at 10, 15, and 20 percent per booking rather than naming a number only on request; see the full fee breakdown for what each tier includes. Whatever manager you are evaluating, ask for the same thing in writing before you sign, not as a verbal estimate.
One line item a manager should raise unprompted, not one you have to discover later: Toronto’s short-term rental bylaw, Chapter 547, applies a 6 percent Municipal Accommodation Tax on top of whatever the platform and the manager charge. A manager who runs short-term rentals and does not mention MAT in the first call either does not know the rule or is not planning to remit it on your behalf, and either one is a reason to ask more questions before you sign anything.
A common pattern in Toronto property management is a strong sales conversation with a principal or business development lead, followed by a handoff to a property coordinator you have never spoken to once the contract is signed. Ask directly who manages your unit on a daily basis, and ask to speak to that person, not just the person selling you the service, before you sign. If the company cannot produce that person during the sales process, you will meet them for the first time during your first problem, which is the worst possible time to be introduced to the person responsible for your property.
Toronto property management is governed by rules that change the economics of a rental, and a manager who can only speak in generalities about “experience” rather than specific rules is telling you something. For long-term rentals, ask how they apply the province’s annual rent increase guideline and how they handle an N4 or N12 notice under the Landlord and Tenant Board process if it ever comes to that. For short-term rentals, ask how they register the unit under Chapter 547, remit the Municipal Accommodation Tax, and handle the principal-residence requirement the bylaw imposes on hosts. A manager who answers these questions with specifics, not reassurance, is one who has actually done this work in this city.
This also applies across the long-term rental management and short-term sides differently, since the rules, the tenant protections, and the paperwork are not the same for a one-year lease as they are for a nightly booking. If a manager tells you the rules are basically the same either way, that is a sign they have not run both.
Everything above assumes you have already decided to hire a property manager and are comparing candidates. If you are still weighing whether to self-manage or hire anyone at all, that is a different and earlier question, covered in our guide on whether a property manager is worth it. Come back to this checklist once you have made that call and are ready to compare specific companies.
Certus manages long-term and short-term rentals across Toronto, North York, Etobicoke, Scarborough, Mississauga, Vaughan, Richmond Hill, and Oakville, and the questions above are the same ones we expect owners to ask us.
Verify three things in a first call: who answers after hours and can dispatch help that night, whether they can explain their fee structure in one plain sentence, and whether the person onboarding you is the same person who will manage your unit. A manager who answers all three specifically, not with reassurance, is worth a second call.
Ask who handles after-hours emergencies and how many properties that person covers, ask for the exact fee structure in writing with what it does and does not include, and ask to speak directly with your day-to-day point of contact before you sign anything.
Ask specific questions rather than general ones: how they apply the provincial rent increase guideline, how they handle a Landlord and Tenant Board notice, or how they register a short-term rental and remit the 6 percent Municipal Accommodation Tax under Chapter 547. Vague answers mean they have not actually done this work.
Not if it hides line items that appear later. A manager who cannot state their fee in one sentence, or who adds charges for things like guest messaging or cleaning coordination after you sign, usually costs more than a transparent higher percentage once those extras are added up.
Not necessarily the same person, but you should meet your actual day-to-day contact before you sign, not after. A handoff to someone you have never spoken with is a common source of poor service once the contract is in place.
Comparing property managers in Toronto and want straight answers to the questions above?
Talk to Certus
Toronto property management and short-term rental specialists. We manage Airbnb, mid-term, and long-term rentals across the GTA.
