FastLease vs a standard Toronto leasing broker.
The difference is not MLS access. It is not a nicer promise to "move fast." The difference is who owns the calendar if your condo is still vacant on day 22.
| Dimension | Standard Toronto brokerage | FastLease |
|---|---|---|
| Fee model | One month rent on signed lease. Industry-standard contingent payment — you pay if it leases, when it leases. | Same one month rent if signed by day 21. Automatic 21% reduction to 79% of one month if signed on day 22 or later. In writing. |
| Timeline commitment | Best effort. No date is on the contract, and the fee usually stays the same whether the unit leases quickly or drifts. | 21 days. Specified in the listing agreement. The clock is the only number that affects your invoice. |
| Distribution | MLS + Realtor.ca + the agent's personal channels. Featured placements on consumer portals usually cost extra or aren't available. | MLS plus day-one exposure on property.ca and condos.ca through Property.ca Inc. Brokerage. |
| Tenant screening | Credit check + employment verification is the typical two-layer baseline. Reference calls are inconsistent. | Five layers: credit (with Beacon score), income-to-rent ratio, employment verification with pay stubs, two prior-landlord references contacted by phone, and document authentication. Applicants who clear four of five are not accepted. |
| Photography | Often agent-supplied with a phone, or charged as a separate line item. | Professional photography included. Day 2 of the engagement. No separate fee, ever. |
| Reporting cadence | Variable. Many agents only report on offers, not on showings. | Weekly written report. Showings, applications, screening outcomes — never a forwarded list of every email. |
| Application review | Agent typically presents the application they recommend. | Every application is presented to the owner with the full screening summary. The owner approves, every time. |
| Above-asking risk handling | The listing agent decides whether to list above their own recommendation. The owner finds out by watching showings dry up. | If the owner chooses to list more than 5% above the recommended range, the 21-day guarantee is suspended for that listing. Disclosed in writing before sign. The rest of the engagement continues unchanged. |
| Walk-away clause | Typical contracts include cancellation language, but the agent's incentive remains 'lease at any price' since the fee is paid only on signed lease. | No early-termination fee. No late-listing surcharge. No 'premium placement' upsell. If we don't sign, you don't pay. |
The calendar is the structural change.
Everything else in the FastLease column is operational — better distribution, more screening layers, weekly reports, no upsells. Those are good. But they're things any disciplined brokerage could match.
The structural difference is the date. In the standard contingent model, the brokerage is paid only if the unit leases — but there's no penalty for taking 40 days instead of 14. The agent's incentive is to lease the unit at any price, not to lease it on time. The 21-day clock puts the fee itself at risk for missing a date, not just for missing a tenant. To FastLease's knowledge, no other Toronto brokerage writes that into the contract.
That's the comparison. The rest is execution.
Isn't a standard broker also unpaid until the unit leases?
Yes — every Toronto brokerage works on contingent payment. That's how the industry is structured. What FastLease adds on top is the 21-day date itself. Contingent payment puts the agent's fee at risk if there's no tenant. The 21-day clock puts the fee at risk if there's no tenant by a specific day. Different mechanism, different incentive.
What's the catch with the 21% reduction?
For green-lit units, there is no hidden surcharge or premium-placement upsell. The conditions are written before you sign: pricing more than 5% above FastLease's recommended range, active building/legal disputes, or material misrepresentation remove the 21-day fee-drop guarantee. Where the engagement can still proceed, the leasing work continues as normal — same marketing, same screening, same reporting.
Are FastLease's distribution channels really different from a standard brokerage?
Yes. FastLease is operated through Property.ca Inc. Brokerage and includes MLS, Property.ca, and Condos.ca listing exposure. We do not publish an audience-size or ranking claim here without current source evidence.
What if my unit takes longer than 21 days for reasons outside the agent's control?
For green-lit units, the reduction is automatic when no qualified tenant has signed by day 21. The exclusions are the written ones above: over-range pricing, active building/legal disputes, or material misrepresentation. Other unusual delays are handled in writing and do not restart the clock without your agreement.
How does this compare to hiring a full property manager?
Property managers and leasing brokers solve different problems. A property manager takes over ongoing operations (rent collection, maintenance dispatch, lease renewals) for a monthly percentage of rent. FastLease is leasing-only — a one-time engagement that ends when the lease is signed. If you want hands-off ongoing management after the lease starts, you'd hire a property manager separately. If you want the unit leased fast and well, FastLease is the tighter scope.