Reply as fast as you can, and the same evening at the latest. Confirm the unit is available, give the rent and move-in date, ask every renter the same short questions (move-in date, budget, pets, parking), then offer two specific showing times and confirm in writing. Put your business name in every text. In RentEngine’s own data for January to March 2025, “58% of leads come in after hours” (RentEngine, Q1 2025).
A rental inquiry is a lead with a short shelf life. The renter asking about your 2-bedroom may be messaging other listings on Kijiji, Rentals.ca or Zumper the same evening.
How fast should you respond to a rental inquiry?
As fast as you can, and the same evening at the latest. RentEngine’s Q1 2025 report says most prospects reach out in the evenings, early mornings and on weekends, and that only 47.8% of leads schedule a showing. It names “response time and ease of scheduling” as the biggest drivers of conversion (RentEngine, Q1 2025).
Digible analysed 170,825 calls to multifamily properties in one quarter and found that 60.8% went unanswered (Digible, November 2024). Treat a missed call as the most urgent item in your inbox, because a renter who reaches voicemail can simply call the next listing.
For the evening and weekend rush, see how to answer rental inquiries after hours and what a missed leasing call costs.
What should you say first?
Answer the question the renter asked, then move toward a showing. Lead with the facts renters need, in one or two sentences: whether it is still available, how much it is, and when they can see it.
A good first reply includes:
- Whether the unit is available, and from what date
- The monthly rent and what it includes (heat, hydro, parking)
- One clear next step: two showing times
Which questions can you ask every renter?
Ask a short, fixed set of questions about the rental, in the same order, of everyone. Leave out anything about who the renter is. Consistency keeps you fair and keeps your notes comparable:
- When do you want to move in?
- What monthly rent are you looking for?
- Do you have pets?
- Do you need parking?
- When are you free to see the unit?
If you manage several units, ask the first two questions together with how many bedrooms they need, then name only the units that fit. When none do, offer the closest one and say how it differs, such as a unit free a month later.
Provincial human rights laws apply to housing, and the protected grounds vary by province:
| Province | What the official source says |
|---|---|
| Ontario | Protected grounds include race, colour or ethnic background, religion, ancestry, place of origin, citizenship, sex, family status, marital status, disability, sexual orientation, age and receipt of public assistance. Income may only be used to confirm the person can cover the rent (OHRC). |
| Quebec | A landlord cannot require the number of people who will live there, the age or sex of children, employment or salary details, or ID numbers such as a social insurance number. You can verify ability to pay, for example with proof of regular payments, and you cannot use French abilities as a selection criterion (CDPDJ). |
| British Columbia | The code covers grounds including Indigenous identity, race, religion, marital status, family status, disability, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age and lawful source of income (BC Human Rights Code, s. 10). |
| Alberta | Landlords cannot refuse to rent based on a protected ground, and the protection includes advertising a rental unit. Age, for people 18 or older, has been protected in tenancy since January 1, 2018 (Alberta Human Rights Commission). |
Questions like “Do you have kids?” or “Where are you from?” do not belong in a leasing conversation. Describe the unit, never the ideal tenant. For the full list in your province, see what landlords can ask in Ontario, Quebec, British Columbia and Alberta.
What should you say on the phone?
Confirm availability and rent, ask one question, then offer two times and book one before you hang up:
“Hi, thanks for calling Maple Street Properties. Yes, the 2-bedroom on Oak Avenue is available from November 1. It’s $1,850 a month with heat and one parking spot included. When are you hoping to move? … Great. I can show it Thursday at 6:00 p.m. or Saturday at 10:30 a.m. Which works better? … You’re booked for Thursday at 6:00. I’ll text you the address and a reminder.”
What should a text reply say, and how long should it be?
Name your business, give the unit, rent and date, offer two times, add a link to your contact details and opt-out page, and keep it to 160 characters or fewer. One standard SMS holds “160 7-bit characters”; a longer message is split into segments of 153 characters each, and an emoji switches the encoding and cuts the limit to 70 characters (Twilio).
“Maple Street Properties: 2-bed at 118 Oak Ave, Nov 1, $1,850/mo, heat & parking incl. Thu 6pm or Sat 10:30am? Reply 1 or 2. Address/opt out: maple.example/sms”
Under CASL, each commercial message, including this one, also needs a mailing address, a phone number, email or web address, and an unsubscribe mechanism (CASL, s. 6(2); regulations, s. 2(1)). If the address and contact details do not fit, they can sit on a readily accessible web page linked clearly and prominently in the message (regulations, s. 2(2)). The link at the end of the script does that job: swap in your own page, and make sure it shows your mailing address and contact details and lets the renter unsubscribe.
That script is 158 characters, so it sends as one message. Leave emoji out. The federal government’s texting guidance says “It’s important to include your business name in commercial messages, including texts,” and asks businesses to text sparingly, keeping texts for the most important information (ISED).
Can you text a renter who contacted you?
Generally yes, within the rules of Canada’s Anti-Spam Legislation (CASL), which covers commercial texts and emails, including an offer to lease land or an interest in land (CASL, s. 1(2)). Here is how the main rules line up with a leasing conversation:
- The first reply. The consent requirement does not apply to a message that solely gives a quote or estimate the person requested, including for an interest in land (CASL, s. 6(6)(a)).
- Follow-ups. An inquiry about leasing creates an existing business relationship, and so implied consent, for the six months after the inquiry (CASL, s. 10(10)(e)).
- What each commercial message must carry. Your business name, a mailing address, a phone number, email or web address, and an unsubscribe mechanism (CASL, s. 6(2); regulations, s. 2(1)). If it is not practicable to include your name, mailing address and contact details, they can be posted on a “readily accessible” web page linked “by means of a link that is clearly and prominently set out in the message” (regulations, s. 2(2)).
- Opt-outs. Give effect to an unsubscribe without delay and within 10 business days, and keep the opt-out address valid for at least 60 days (CASL, s. 11). ISED adds: “It is not enough for a business to simply offer their clients a ‘STOP’ response” (ISED).
- Penalties. The maximum is $1,000,000 for an individual and $10,000,000 for any other person (CASL, s. 20(4)).
For the details, read how to text rental prospects legally in Canada.
How do you make your reply look legitimate, not like a scam?
Name your business and the exact unit, skip unknown links, and never ask for money before a viewing and a lease. Renters are wary for good reason: the government tells consumers they “should never click on unknown links” (ISED), and suggests forwarding suspicious texts to 7726 (Get Cyber Safe).
New Brunswick’s financial regulator lists rental scam signs, including being asked for a deposit without a lease in place and an email that sends you to a website asking for personal or financial information. It advises renters to arrange a viewing with the landlord present (FCNB). So, in your first reply:
- Use the business name the renter saw on the listing
- Give the unit address and the rent from the listing
- Offer an in-person or guided viewing
- Leave out links to forms that ask for financial details
- Ask for an application or deposit only after the viewing, with a lease in hand
What should an email reply say?
The same facts as a text, with room for a few questions and a full signature:
Subject: 118 Oak Ave, 2-bedroom: showing times
Hi Jordan,
Thanks for your interest. The 2-bedroom at 118 Oak Avenue is available November 1 at $1,850 a month, with heat and one parking spot included.
You can see it Thursday at 6:00 p.m. or Saturday at 10:30 a.m. Reply with the time that suits you and I’ll send a confirmation with directions.
A few quick questions so the visit is useful: your target move-in date, your monthly budget, and whether you have pets.
Maple Street Properties 200 King Street, Suite 4 613-555-0142 Prefer not to hear from us? Reply “unsubscribe” and we’ll stop.
What should your after-hours voicemail say?
Point the renter to texting, and record it in English and French if you rent in a bilingual market:
“You’ve reached Maple Street Properties. We’re away right now. To see a listing, text this number with the address and we’ll reply with showing times. Or leave your name, number and the unit you’re calling about, and we’ll call you back first thing.”
A greeting that points to texting catches renters who will not leave a message. If you would rather not handle every evening call yourself, Nolan sends a text back after a missed call and turns each voicemail into a lead. For listing-site emails that land overnight, see how to answer listing-site leads after hours.
How do you turn a reply into a booked showing?
Offer two specific times instead of asking when the renter is free, then confirm right away in writing. Every extra back-and-forth is a chance for the renter to book another place first, so keep the gap between inquiry and visit short.
The format matters too. RentEngine’s Q1 2026 report found that “self-guided converted 2X more leads into completed showings and yielded ~25% more submitted applications” than accompanied showings (RentEngine, Q1 2026). To keep booked renters coming, see how to reduce showing no-shows, and compare tools in showing software for Canadian landlords.
Does a text count as written notice?
For showing times and logistics, a text is a fine written record. Legal notices are different: in British Columbia, landlords and tenants should communicate in writing by email or text when possible, but “can’t serve notice via text message” (Government of BC). For notices in other provinces, check your provincial tenancy board.
What should you log after each inquiry?
Log the channel (phone, text, Kijiji, Rentals.ca, Zumper), the listing, the answers to your standard questions and the outcome. Over a month, that tells you which listing sites send renters who actually book, and how many inquiries it takes to fill a unit.
In RentEngine’s Q1 2026 data, “median leads per leased property climbed from 16 to 22” (RentEngine, Q1 2026). At a median of 22 leads per leased property, a single vacancy can mean more than 20 conversations worth tracking.