What Can an Ontario Landlord Ask a Rental Applicant?

If you are a landlord choosing a tenant, or an applicant wondering whether a request is fair, the rules in Ontario are narrower than many people expect. Some questions are allowed, some are allowed only in combination, and some are not allowed at all.

This guide walks through what a landlord may ask for, what they may require, and where the Human Rights Code and the Residential Tenancies Act, 2006 (RTA) set limits. It is general information, not advice on a particular situation.

Credit, rental history and income information

A landlord may ask a prospective tenant for credit references and rental history, and for permission to run a credit check. The landlord may use these to select or refuse the applicant.

Income information is treated differently. A landlord may ask for it only if they also ask for credit references, rental history or a credit check, and it must be considered together with that other information.

There is an exception. If the landlord asked for all of the listed information but obtained only income information, the landlord may consider income alone.

Guarantors, deposits and post-dated cheques

A landlord may require a prospective tenant to get a guarantee for the rent, so guarantor clauses are permitted. A guarantor who is named as a tenant in the lease but has no right to occupy the unit does not become a tenant under the RTA. How far a guarantor is responsible depends on the wording of the guarantee, so it is worth reading carefully before signing.

A security deposit may be required only in line with the RTA. The only deposit a landlord may collect is a rent deposit.

• It can be no more than one rent period or one month's rent, whichever is less.
• It earns annual interest at the rent increase guideline rate.
• A landlord or a lease cannot require post-dated cheques or other negotiable instruments for rent.

Human Rights Code limits

Everyone has a right to equal treatment in the occupancy of accommodation, without discrimination because of the following grounds.

• Race, ancestry, place of origin, colour, ethnic origin and citizenship.
• Creed, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression.
• Age, marital status, family status and disability.
• The receipt of public assistance.

Using income information, credit checks, credit references, rental history or guarantees in the manner the regulation prescribes does not infringe the Code. Using them outside those rules can raise a problem.

Exceptions worth knowing

Leases and what to do next

For most private rentals, landlords must use the Ontario standard lease for new leases. If a tenant asks in writing and does not receive it within 21 days, the tenant may withhold one month's rent. The RTA applies despite any agreement or waiver to the contrary, and any lease term that conflicts with the Act is void.

• Landlords: you may ask for credit references, rental history and permission for a credit check, and you may ask for income information only alongside at least one of those.
• Landlords: keep any deposit to a rent deposit of no more than one month's rent or one rent period, whichever is less, and do not require post-dated cheques.
• Landlords: use the standard lease and remove terms that conflict with the RTA.
• Applicants: ask for a request to be explained if it seems to go beyond these rules, and keep a copy of what you signed.
• Both sides: get legal advice if a dispute or a human rights concern comes up.

Frequently asked questions