A landlord has the right to choose a tenant using income information, credit checks, credit references, rental history, and guarantees. A landlord can ask:
- what is your income
- if you work, and where you work
- how many people will be living with you
- the names of people who will be living with you
- if you have pets
- if you smoke
- permission to do a credit check (requiring: full name, date of birth, and current address)
- references from past landlords
- in some cases, if you have a guarantor or co-signer
Landlords can decline a prospective tenant based on the answers to the above questions.
For Example: poor rental history (including rental arrears), having pets, or if your landlord is not confident your income is sufficient to cover the rent.
Residential Tenants:
Residential Rental Supporting Materials:
1. All Tenants Photo ID (driver’s license/ student ID)
2. All Tenants Personal Credit Score Report（need Full report, not only the credit score part)
3. All Tenants Financing Affordability Proof — pay stub, or T4 (if not have, then the past half year bank statment)
4. All Tenants Rental Application（see attachment)（Click To Download Rental Application : Torotno-OREA Reantal Application Residential Form 410）
5. All adult tenant’s job letter (if student — student card or registration)
Necessary information for rent:
1. Copy of valid government-issued photo ID(s)
You need to show at least a piece valid government-issued photo ID to the landlord or the real estate agent, such as Driver’s License, State issued photo ID or Passport. The landlord may ask for a copy of that.
2. Full credit report
A full credit report is a record of the borrower’s credit history from a number of sources, including banks, credit card companies, collection agencies, and governments. There are different agencies that you may apply for your credit reports, such as Equifax and Transunion. Most of the agents and Landlords prefer the Equifax credit report. A credit report has a credit score which could be a number from 300(very poor) to 900(Excellent).
The government designates an agent company to provide such documents to the public. The prospective tenant can prepare the documents by himself on the Internet at a cost of about $20. The following companies can provide them (if the prospective tenant is too troublesome or too late, of course, he can also ask a real estate agent to do this report for you, but he has to pay for 20-30).
Go to the website below and download your personal credit report:
For detailed information about Canada’s credit score, click to view ☛ how Canada checks its own credit record. Or go to Transunion’s authorized third party borowell.com for free.
You can also ask the tenant to go to this address to obtain a personal credit report :
Alert: Landlord requests a “Full Credit Report” (see sample) BUT NOT a screenshot with the credit score figure only; if you do not know how to download a complete Credit Score Report, you can screenshot each part and paste it to an Excel File and submitted in.
Sample of Full Credit Report:
3. Job letter(s)
A Job letter or an Employment Verification Letter is a letter that shows the employee’s name, job position, tenure, and income. Most of the time you need a recent one. If you are applying for more than one adult, The landlord may want to see everyone’s job letter.
4. Income verification(s)
Prepare your last 3 paystubs. like the job letter, you most likely need to prepare it for all of the applicants. A pay stub is a document that summarizes the amounts that you receive in a paycheck.
The latest tax return record is the best. If it is not convincing enough, the bank statement or pay stub in the past half year can be used to prove that the tenant has the sufficient financial strength to guide the monthly rent.
5. DEPOSIT
After the two parties sign the contract, the prospective tenant shall immediately go to the bank to buy a money order or certified cheque and hand it to the landlord’s brokerage company. The amount is two months’ rent, which shall be prepaid as the rent for the first and last months.
6. Rental Application
You need to fill the rental application with the tenants’ information, such as tenants’ names, last places of residence and etc. present and past employment. financial obligations, personal references, and the make and model of your car(s). Also, by signing the application, you need to represent that all statements made are true and correct.
About new immigrants and international students:
New immigrants and international students do not have a history of living in Canada, so credit report can’t get it out, and they haven’t found a job and have no working income in Canada. However, this does not mean that they are not eligible to rent a house. There are usually two methods to solve the problem:
- Find a relative or friend who works locally as a guarantor. The guarantor shall provide his / her own credit report and employee letter and sign the lease contract. When the landlord sees the guarantee, he / she can rent the house to new immigrants or international students.
- Additional advance deposit: for ordinary working tenants, they usually advance the deposit for the first and last two months. Sometimes, the landlord will charge 3, 4 months or half a year in advance, or even the whole year in advance, and accept international students or new immigrants without any background support as tenants.
- Chinese landlords to Chinese students / new immigrant Tenants: Chinese landlords, I believe that new immigrants who are Chinese will have money to rent a house. Very few Chinese people will knowingly have no money in their pockets and deliberately cheat on living in other people’s houses. Therefore, this aspect has a good reputation. Naturally, we have this opportunity today. In this situation, brokers need to make good communication, so everything is easy to discuss, and new immigrants can also live in their favorite houses.
New immigrants and international students have no history of living in Canada, so they may don’t have the CREDIT REPORT yet, also they haven’t found a job, and they have no income from work in Canada, but this does not mean that they are not eligible to rent a house. There are usually two ways to solve it:
Students Need (as more as your can supply, as more competition power added)
1. Photo ID(driver licence/ student ID / passport)
2. School Registration proof, Student Card, and Score report
3. Two reference contacts (name, address, cell no.)
4. Previous 2 landlord contacts(name, cell, address)
5. Guarantor
6. Job letter (from the employer HR, showing address, cell, email)
7. Personal Credit Score report
8. Financing Affordability proof — pay stub, bank statement（past half year)
9. Rental application
New Migrants Need (as more as your can supply, as more competition power added)
1. Photo ID(passport, PR card, driver licence)
2. Immigration Paper
3 Previous 2 landlord contacts(name, cell, address)
3. Guarantor
4. Job letter (from the employer HR, showing address, cell, and email)
5. Personal Credit Score report
6. Financing Affordability proof — pay stub, bank statement（past half year)
Tips for Student Tenants and New Migrant Tenants:
- Find a relative or friend who works locally as a guarantor. The guarantor must provide his own CREDIT REPORT and EMPLOYMENT LETTER, and sign the lease contract. When the landlord sees that it is guaranteed, he can naturally rent the house to newly settled immigrants or international students.
- Additional advance deposit: For ordinary working tenants, the first and last two months’ deposit is usually paid in advance. Sometimes the landlord will charge 3, 4 months, or half a year, or even the whole year, to accept international students or new students who do not have any background support. Immigrants as tenants.
Commercial Tenants:
Commercial Rental Supporting Materials:
1) Articles of Incorporation of tenant, if sole proprietorship then business registration license.
2) Copy of driver’s license ( if partnership all driver’s licenses of all owners).
3) Credit application completed and signed by tenant ;
4) an Equifax personal credit report on themselves for landlord’s review.
5) Existed/Past running same/similar business reference — website, address, landlord contact etc.
6) Bank Statement (optional – the past six months)
How to find a good tenant?
1. Credit report:
How can I get the credit report? In Canada, whether you are buying a house, buying a car, renting a house or applying for a credit card, you need to see your credit report. How can you check your own credit report? You can also buy from the website (Figure 2 and 3) or go to the credit center (Figure 1) to get free credit reports.
The following points can teach you to read the credit report and avoid some bad Tenants:
? If the credit score is lower than 680, it will not be considered ❌
? Credit card bills, mobile phone bills, often due and not paid on time, not considered ❌
? Let’s see if the tenant has any mortgage or car loan ❓
2. Employer’s letter and payroll
? Call to check according to the information on the employer’s letter ❓
? Check the authenticity of the payroll ❓
? Calculate the salary + living expenses on the employer’s letter, and whether you can pay the rent ❓
3. Letter of introduction from the previous landlord
Call the tenant to ask if he owes rent ❓ Why did you move ❓ Is he a troublesome tenant ❓
Before and after success
After sign the lease contract
Once the tenant has completed the filtering, signed the contract, and paid the deposit, the tenant will be arranged to pay the remaining posted cheque 1-2 days before the check-in (if it is an international student, it is likely to be cash payment balance)
Once the tenant is filtered, the contract is signed, and the deposit is paid, the tenant will be arranged to pay the remaining posted cheque 1-2 days before the check-in (if it is an international student, it is likely to be paid in cash for the balance).
As a landlord, what do you need to prepare when looking for a tenant through a real estate agent?
The landlord needs to provide:
- Property address, floor plan (if any)
- This is the name of the water and electricity company.
- Key list, quantity; How much is the key deposit?
- Rules: whether to accept pet lovers and smokers.
Renting seems to be a small matter, but the actual responsibility is heavy. The iHome Realty Team team model serves guests, regardless of the size of the business, and does its best to ensure that the landlord finds a good tenant! Assist tenants to respond to the needs of landlords according to their actual conditions, and efficiently help tenants find a warm home. For any rent-related questions, call Michael G. Li.
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