How to screen tenants legally in Ontario: a landlord's guide

Choosing a tenant is the most important decision you make as a landlord. In Ontario, you can screen thoroughly, but you need to do it within the Human Rights Code. Here's how.

What you can consider

Ontario regulations allow landlords to request and consider:

• Income information
• Credit references and credit checks, with the applicant's consent
• Rental history, including references from previous landlords
• Guarantees, such as a guarantor

The Ontario Human Rights Commission's guidance is that income should be considered together with credit references and rental history, not as a single rule like "income must be three times the rent" applied alone.

What you can't consider

You can't refuse or rank applicants based on protected grounds under the Code, including race, ancestry, place of origin, colour, ethnic origin, citizenship, creed, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, marital or family status, disability, or receipt of public assistance.

In practice, that means you shouldn't ask:

• Where someone is from, or their citizenship
• Whether they plan to have children
• About their religion or relationship status
• About disabilities or medical conditions

A fair process that works

1. Write down your criteria before you list: rent, move-in date, term, smoking rules, whether you need a credit check.
2. Ask every applicant for the same information.
3. Get consent before any credit check.
4. Call references, especially previous landlords.
5. Compare like with like and keep notes of your decision.

Using Leap to screen

On Leap, every applicant sends the same complete profile: income, employment, household, references, and a soft credit check summary when you've required one. You see applicants side by side, ranked by offer and by an overall score, and you can ask questions, request a credit check, approve or decline in the app. Every step is logged.

Things to avoid

• Asking for a damage or security deposit. Only a last month's rent deposit of up to one month and a refundable key deposit are allowed.
• Requiring post-dated cheques.
• Adding lease terms that conflict with the Residential Tenancies Act. They're void.

List your place on Leap and get complete applications from day one.

General information, not legal advice.