The number is market practice, not law — which means the real question is what a given deposit size actually signals.
Short answer
5% to 10% of the purchase price is the customary range for a resale deposit, with sellers in competitive markets sometimes expecting more. There is no statutory minimum deposit in Ontario — this is market practice, not law, so a deposit is really a negotiated signal of a buyer’s seriousness rather than a fixed legal requirement.
Treadstonelaw.ca’s summary of Ontario deposit rules is direct on both points: “resale deposits commonly range from about 5% to 10% of the purchase price”, and there is no legislated floor under that range. In practice, that gap is where negotiating advice lives — a buyer offering near the top of the range, or above it in a multiple-offer scenario, is making the offer harder for a seller to walk away from, since “the deposit is often seen as evidence of a buyer’s good-faith commitment to the deal.”
Wherever the number lands, the funds are held in trust by the listing brokerage in a segregated trust account, separate from the brokerage’s own operating funds — or by a lawyer’s trust account in a private sale with no agent. When the deposit is actually due is its own term, not a fixed statutory clock: per treadstonelaw.ca’s note on deposit timing, “deposit timing is a contract term, not a statutory rule” — it is commonly expressed as a number of business days after the offer is accepted, but the legal answer is always whatever the signed APS actually says. One mechanical trap worth flagging to a buyer: meeting the deadline means the funds are “actually received… by the specified time, not simply that you’ve initiated a transfer.” A wire started before the deadline that lands after it is still late.
A deposit is returned where a valid condition wasn’t met and proper written notice was delivered on time, where the seller defaults, or where both sides sign a mutual release. It is not returned automatically just because a buyer changes their mind after every condition is gone — but forfeiture isn’t automatic either, since the brokerage will not release funds to the seller without the buyer’s consent or a court order. See what happens when a buyer simply cannot close for how that specific dispute plays out.
See also: how a first-time buyer should budget for the deposit alongside the down payment and the deposit-handling guide.
A 30-minute call is enough to work through deposit size, custody and timing before you write it into the offer.
