What happens if my lease says nothing at all about assignment one way or the other?
A lease that is genuinely silent on assignment is unusual, but where it happens, general principles of Ontario commercial tenancy law still apply. Historically, a tenant's ability to assign a lease without needing landlord consent at all is broader where the lease contains no restriction — the default position favours a tenant's right to deal with its own leasehold interest, and a landlord generally cannot invent a consent requirement that the lease itself doesn't impose.
In practice, true silence is rare; most commercial leases address assignment explicitly, often in detail, precisely because landlords want control over who occupies their property. What looks like silence is often really an ambiguous or incomplete clause rather than a genuine absence of any provision, and ambiguous wording can be read differently by the landlord and the tenant.
Because so much turns on the exact language — or lack of it — in your specific lease, this is not a situation to interpret on your own. A Treadstone business lawyer can review the lease as a whole, including any general covenants, to determine what your actual rights are before you proceed with a buyer.
Key takeaways
- True silence on assignment is unusual and often reflects incomplete drafting, not a deliberate gap.
- Where a lease has no restriction at all, a tenant's right to assign is generally broader.
- Ambiguous wording is common and can be read differently by landlord and tenant.
- Have the full lease reviewed before assuming silence means you're free to assign.