Business & entrepreneurship · Organizing & Managing

Property manager: what the job actually is

Looking after buildings and the people in them for an owner: rent, repairs, tenants, budgets and the phone call at 11pm.

Published October 6, 2026Last reviewed October 6, 2026How we research and correct this

Property manager salary in Ontario: the median pay is $30.13 an hour, according to Job Bank (reference period 2023-2024). Its three-year outlook in Ontario is very good. The job usually needs a shorter college programme or apprenticeship, or over six months of on-the-job training.

Median pay in Ontario: $30.13 an hour
Pay range (low to high): $17.95 to $56.41 an hour
Job outlook, 2025-2027: Very good
People working in it in Ontario: 21,200
Usually needs: Usually a shorter college programme or apprenticeship, or over six months of on-the-job training

Source: Job Bank wages (updated 19 November 2025) and job prospects (updated 10 December 2025), NOC 13101. Pay varies by region and experience.

The work

What this job actually is

Running a building or a group of buildings on behalf of the owner: collecting rent or fees, arranging repairs, dealing with tenants or residents, keeping the books and keeping the place legal and safe.
Job Bank reports one pay figure and one outlook for the whole group, property administrators, not for each title in it. Property managers, leasing staff and administrators all sit there.
Job Bank rates the Ontario outlook as Very good. It names a large number of investment properties in Ontario, new housing developments for population growth and more non-residential construction among the reasons.
The rules depend on what you manage. Job Bank says licensing for this group in Ontario is voluntary. Condominium managers are a separate case: the Condominium Management Regulatory Authority of Ontario licenses them, so read its pages if you want to manage condominiums.
Job Bank says most people in this group work in the real estate and rental and leasing industry, particularly in property management and leasing firms.

A Tuesday

What a normal day looks like

Not a good day or a bad one. The ordinary version, which is what you would actually be living.

7:30 — Check the overnight messages. A water leak on the fourth floor, and a tenant who says it has been leaking for a week.
8:00 — Call a contractor, and tell the tenant what is happening and when. You do not promise a time you cannot keep.
9:00 — Walk the building. Lobby, stairwells, garbage room, parking. You are looking for what will become a complaint tomorrow.
10:30 — Meet a prospective tenant, show a unit and explain the lease without making it sound like a trap.
12:00 — Lunch, interrupted by a call about a noisy neighbour.
13:00 — The books: rent received, invoices to pay, a budget line that is over.
14:30 — A difficult conversation about arrears. You follow the process, in writing, and stay civil.
16:00 — A meeting with the owner or the condominium board. They want answers and a plan for next year's repairs.
17:30 — Update the maintenance log and the notices for the building.
22:15 — The phone. The fire alarm has gone off. It is the third time this month.

Honestly

Who loves this, and who should not do it

The second list is the useful one. Nearly every careers page leaves it out, which is why nearly every careers page reads like an advert.

How you actually get there in Ontario

Finish high school, and look at a college or business programme
Job Bank's requirements page for this group says completion of secondary school is required in all provinces and territories except British Columbia, and that training courses or vocational programmes in property or real estate may also be necessary. Look at ontariocolleges.ca for property management and real estate programmes and check each programme's admission requirements.
Start in a support job and learn the building
Job Bank says several years of administrative experience, such as a property clerk, contract clerk or administrative officer, is usually required for the role it describes. Many people begin as a leasing or administrative assistant for a property management firm and move up.
If you manage condominiums, get licensed
The Condominium Management Regulatory Authority of Ontario licenses condominium managers. We could not load its pages, so we have not read its licence types, experience rules or education requirements: read them directly before you plan, because they decide who can manage a condominium and under what supervision.
Consider a designation
Professional designations exist for property managers. They are credentials, not Ontario licences, and we have not read their current requirements, so check what each body asks for and what it costs before you plan.

Where this comes from: Job Bank — Property administrator requirements in Ontario

The money

Property manager salary in Ontario

Job Bank's own figures, quoted rather than summarised, with the period they describe — so you can tell how old they are and go and check them.

$17.95: Low (hourly)
$30.13: Median (hourly)
$56.41: High (hourly)

Ontario, NOC 13101. Reference period 2023-2024, last updated by Job Bank on 19 November 2025. Wages vary a lot by region inside Ontario and by how long you have been doing it — the low figure is roughly where you start, not what the job is worth.

Source: Job Bank — Property manager wages in Ontario

Where it is heading

The outlook for the next three years

Job Bank publishes a three-year outlook for every job in every province. It is the closest thing to an honest forecast, and it moves, so read it as a weather report rather than a verdict.

Ontario, 2025-2027

Very good5 out of 5 stars

Employment growth will lead to several new positions.
Several positions will become available due to retirements.
There are a moderate number of unemployed workers with recent experience in this occupation.

What that rating means: how many openings Job Bank expects in Ontario for this kind of work against how many people are likely to be looking — not whether it is a good job. A “limited” rating means more competition for each opening; it does not close the door, and it can change before you are ready to walk through it.

What is changing in this work

Large number of investment properties in Ontario
New housing developments to meet population growth in some of Ontario's largest urban centres
Greater non-residential construction activities will add to the stock of facilities requiring property management services

Who hires for it

Majority employed in the real estate and rental and leasing industry, particularly in property management, and leasing firms

21,200: people work in this job in Ontario
57%: are women (48% across all jobs)
28%: are self-employed (15% across all jobs)

Source: Job Bank — Property administrators job prospects in Ontario (NOC 13101). Outlook updated by Job Bank on 10 December 2025; read by us on 5 October 2026.

Before you leave school

Things you can do now

Take business and maths, and any law or civics course. Leases and budgets are the paperwork of the job.
Get a part-time job where you handle complaints, such as retail or a restaurant. Staying civil when someone is angry is the main skill.
Ask your guidance office whether a property management firm takes a co-op student. A week of showing units and answering calls tells you everything.
Notice the building you live in or go to school in: who looks after it, what is broken, who is told. Ask the person.

Test it

Do this before you decide anything

Reading about a job tells you almost nothing. This is designed to be done alone, this week, for free.

Walk a building like a manager and phone one firm

About 75 minutes

Walk through the building you live in, or your school, as if you were responsible for it. Write down ten things that need attention: lights, cracked paint, a door that does not close, a bad smell.
Rank them by what you would fix first, and write one line on who you would call for each.
Phone a property management company and ask whether a property manager could answer one question about how they got started. Do not ask for a job or a unit.
Imagine a phone call at 11pm about a flood in one unit. Write down what you would do in the first ten minutes.

What it tells you. A yes is finding the list of problems interesting, and not minding the thought of the late call. That is a reason to look at business and property programmes and ask a manager about a job-shadow. A no is dreading the complaints or the on-call part; the administrative assistant and event planner pages offer organising work with fewer emergencies.

Better than any article

Questions for somebody who does this job

Most people say yes to a teenager who asks good questions. These are the ones that get real answers rather than encouragement.

“What is the worst part of being on call, and how often does it happen?”
“How did you get your first property management job?”
“How do you handle a tenant or resident who is angry?”
“What do owners or boards want that is hard to give them?”
“What does a licence or designation change in practice?”

Could you own one of these?

The part other career sites never mention

Yes, in two ways. Job Bank's figures show a share of self-employed people in this group, and some people run their own small property management firm for owners of rental buildings. Managing condominiums for others requires the right licences, so check the rules for what you plan to manage before you start.

Business 101 is free and teaches that part

Quick answers

Questions people ask about this job

How much does a property manager make in Ontario?

The median pay for a property manager in Ontario is $30.13 an hour, according to Job Bank (reference period 2023-2024, updated 19 November 2025). The range Job Bank publishes runs from $17.95 to $56.41 an hour. Pay varies by region, employer and experience.

What is the job outlook for a property manager in Ontario?

Job Bank rates the employment outlook for this work in Ontario as very good for 2025-2027 (updated 10 December 2025). Employment growth will lead to several new positions. Several positions will become available due to retirements. There are a moderate number of unemployed workers with recent experience in this occupation. A lower rating means more competition for each opening, not that no one is hiring.

What do you need to become a property manager in Ontario?

Job Bank says this work usually needs a shorter college programme or apprenticeship, or over six months of on-the-job training. The usual route in Ontario, in order: Finish high school, and look at a college or business programme; Start in a support job and learn the building; If you manage condominiums, get licensed.

Where does a property manager work in Ontario?

Majority employed in the real estate and rental and leasing industry, particularly in property management, and leasing firms. (Job Bank.)

How many people work as a property manager in Ontario, and how many are women?

Job Bank counts about 21,200 people working in this job in Ontario. 57% of them are women, compared with 48% across all jobs. That describes who does the work today, not who can.

Not sure this is the right list to be reading

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Parent of a teenager weighing this up? Career coaching for teens gets them talking to people who do the work, anywhere in Ontario.

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