Landlord guide · Applications
Ontario rental applications: what landlords can ask, and what they can't
Short answer
Ontario has no official government rental application; many landlords and agents use the Ontario Real Estate Association's Form 410. Under the Human Rights Code you may ask for credit references, rental history, a credit check and income information, but income has to be weighed together with the rest. Don't require a Social Insurance Number.
Is there an official Ontario rental application?
No. The province publishes a standard lease, but not a standard application. Many landlords and real estate agents use the Ontario Real Estate Association's Form 410, Rental Application – Residential. When agents are involved, it usually travels with OREA's Agreement to Lease (Form 400), and the standard lease is signed once the offer is accepted.
You can use any form, or your own, as long as what it asks for is allowed. The rules come from Ontario's Human Rights Code and from privacy law.
An application only helps if someone checks it. Our tenant screening takes each answer and confirms it at the source, which is what the rest of this guide is about.
What you can ask for
Ontario's Human Rights Code allows landlords to use certain business practices when choosing a tenant, set out in a regulation (O. Reg. 290/98). Under it, you may ask for:
- credit references and rental history
- written permission to run a credit check
- income information, but only if you also ask for the items above, and only to weigh together with them
An application can also ask for the basics you need to run those checks and plan the tenancy: names and contact details, current and past addresses, past landlords' contact details, the employer and position, how many people will live in the unit, pets, and vehicles if parking is limited.
What you can't base a decision on
The Code protects people from being refused housing because of race, ancestry, place of origin, colour, ethnic origin, citizenship, creed, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, marital status, family status, disability or receiving public assistance.
So leave out questions that only make sense if you'd use those grounds: plans to have children, religion, country of birth, or whether someone receives social assistance as a reason to say no. Ask everyone the same questions and apply the same checks.
Don't require a Social Insurance Number either. The Privacy Commissioner of Canada recommends that businesses don't ask for a SIN; if you do ask, giving it must be optional. A credit check works without one.
Using income fairly
Many landlords were taught a rule of thumb that rent should be no more than about a third of income. The Ontario Human Rights Commission says rent-to-income ratios and minimum income cut-offs, used on their own, breach the Code, because they shut out people who can and do pay their rent.
Income still matters; it just isn't the whole picture. Weigh it with the credit report, the rental history and the references. Someone with a modest income and five years of on-time rent may be a better bet than a high earner with no history at all.
The Commission also warns that asking for a guarantor only because an applicant receives social assistance may breach the Code. If you ask for a guarantor, have a reason that applies to everyone, such as no credit history at all.
Consent and privacy
Get written consent before you run a credit check or call references. The Privacy Commissioner's tips for landlords also warn against background checks on social media without the applicant's knowledge.
Collect only what you need, keep applications somewhere secure, and don't keep documents from applicants you didn't choose longer than you need them. If you work with an agent or a screening service, they should follow the same rules.
Checking what the application says
A filled-in form proves nothing until it's checked. The checks that matter most:
- Call the employer on a number you find yourself, not the one on the pay stub or job letter.
- Compare the pay stubs with the payroll deposits on a bank statement.
- Call past landlords and ask what only a landlord would know: the rent, the move-in date, how notice was given.
- Make sure the names, addresses and dates match across the ID, the credit report and the application.
Our guide on how to spot a fake pay stub goes through each check in detail.
After you choose
Tell the applicants you didn't choose, promptly and politely, and return or securely destroy their documents. Then sign Ontario's standard lease with the tenant you chose, collect the first month's rent and the rent deposit, and do a move-in inspection with dated photos.
Sources
Want every application checked for you?
Our 27-point screening checks each serious applicant's identity, credit, income and references, and it's included in every placement for one flat fee of one month's rent plus HST.