What can I ask a tenant?

Ask what you need to decide whether to rent, and say why you are asking: move-in timing, contact details, rental history and references, roughly what they earn, who will live in the unit and whether they have pets. Alberta's Personal Information Protection Act requires you to tell the person your purposes, and the name or title of someone who can answer their questions, before or at the time you collect their information.

The Alberta Human Rights Commission lists using a rent-to-income ratio to screen potential tenants as an example of discrimination. It says landlords can ask about the amount of income, but cannot refuse someone because of its source, which is a protected ground under the Alberta Human Rights Act.

Avoid collecting it. The OIPC's landlord guidance says a full name and date of birth will produce a credit report in nearly all cases, and that unless you can show a SIN is required by law, you cannot deny a tenancy because someone refuses to give it. Service Canada also says a SIN is not needed to fill out a rental application.

It needs express consent in a verifiable form, which section 44 of the Consumer Protection Act says includes writing and audio recordings. A verbal yes on a call therefore needs to be captured, for example in a recording.

Security deposits are capped at one month's rent under section 43 of the Residential Tenancies Act, and refundable fees such as a key or pet deposit count toward that limit. The government's June 2025 handbook does not treat application fees as prohibited, but says fees should reasonably reflect actual costs and be disclosed when an application and security deposit are taken.

No. Section 15 of the Residential Tenancy Act says a landlord must not charge a person anything for accepting an application, processing it, investigating the applicant's suitability or accepting the person as a tenant.

Ask about the unit and the tenancy, and say why you are asking: move-in timing, contact details, where they rent now and for how long, whether they can give references, and whether they have pets. Keep money, the SIN, bank details and photos of ID off the first call.

Half of one month's rent, and the same cap applies to a pet damage deposit. A security deposit can be required only when the tenancy agreement is entered into, and only one pet damage deposit is allowed per tenancy, whatever the number of pets.

Avoid asking all applicants for a SIN, or make it optional, since a full name and date of birth are often enough for a credit check. You may view photo ID to match the name, but the Residential Tenancy Branch says landlords cannot copy any identification, and the OIPC says to return it without keeping it.

Yes. The Business Practices and Consumer Protection Act bars obtaining a report for a tenancy without the individual's consent, which can be given through a prominent, clear statement in the application. If the report leads you to refuse the applicant, you must give written notice within 30 days of the decision.

Income and employment verification are on the Residential Tenancy Branch's list of what landlords can request. The OIPC puts pay stubs, bank statements and tax assessments in the sometimes category: they are permitted only if the applicant cannot provide satisfactory references or employment and income verification. Full bank account numbers are not needed until rent payments are set up.

The OIPC says in most situations, running a criminal record check on a prospective tenant will be neither necessary nor reasonable.

With the applicant's consent and significant caution. The OIPC says the service needs the applicant's consent too, warns that software pulling personal information from multiple sources could be inaccurate or excessive, and says a landlord cannot outsource collection the landlord would not be authorized to do directly.

At least one year after using it for a decision. Section 35 of the Personal Information Protection Act says if you use personal information to make a decision that directly affects a person, you must keep it for at least one year so they have a reasonable opportunity to request access. Destroy it once no longer needed for legal or business purposes.

No. Section 14(2) of The Residential Tenancies Act bars a landlord from requiring or receiving any payment from a prospective tenant for taking, processing or accepting an application, or for investigating their suitability as a tenant. The Residential Tenancies Branch says this wording came into force on May 30, 2023, and that such payments were never allowed under the Act.

A security deposit cannot exceed half of the first month's rent (section 29 of The Residential Tenancies Act). A pet damage deposit can be up to one month's rent, with one per tenancy and none for a tenant who relies on a service animal (section 29.1). The tenant must be told about either deposit before the tenancy agreement is first entered into, and a security deposit cannot be required until the agreement is made.

Yes. The Personal Investigations Act bars investigating a prospective tenant, including through a credit report or a call to a former landlord, without consent given under its regulation. Written consent must be clear, in at least 10-point type and above the signature. Consent given on a call must be recorded with who gave the required information, who received the consent, and the date and time.

The Manitoba Human Rights Commission's housing guideline says a ratio may be used to evaluate ability to pay, but applicants should be able to list income from all sources and offer a guarantor or co-signer. The Commission's policy on social disadvantage adds that ratios should generally not be used to exclude potential tenants.

It should not be required. The Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada says no one can be denied a product or service for refusing to give a SIN unless it is required by law or no alternative identifier would do, and that a credit check needs at minimum a name, address and date of birth. Service Canada says a SIN is not needed to fill out a rental application.

No. Section 6 of the Residential Tenancies Act bars demanding, accepting or receiving any money or other value from someone who applies, or may apply, to become your tenant, in consideration of or respecting the application. The province's Renting Guide adds that any money a landlord takes before the lease is signed or before rent is due is considered a security deposit.

Section 12 of the Residential Tenancies Act caps the security deposit at half of one month's rent and treats any money taken on top of rent as a security deposit. The deposit is held in trust and earns interest. The province's Renting Guide says a landlord can't charge an additional deposit for pets.

Yes. The Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada says a landlord needs consent to share an applicant's information with a credit reporting agency. Section 11 of the Consumer Reporting Act sets the consent and notice rules, which can be met in the application if set out in type of at least 10 point above the applicant's signature. If the landlord uses a report and then refuses the applicant, it must tell them in writing right away, with the agency's name and address.

Source of income is protected by section 5 of the Human Rights Act. The Nova Scotia Human Rights Commission lists refusing someone whose income comes from Income Assistance, a student loan, Employment Insurance or other benefits as a common discriminatory practice. It also says the Act does not stop landlords from making business-related inquiries about credit or rental history, or asking for references.

The province's Renting Guide says landlords can run credit and background checks but are not allowed to force tenants to provide their Social Insurance Number. The Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada says a credit check needs at minimum a name, address and date of birth, and Service Canada says a SIN is not needed to fill out a rental application.

Stick to the unit and the logistics: which unit, the move-in date, a viewing time and contact details. Screening questions belong on the application, where O. Reg. 290/98 lists what they may cover, and the Ontario Human Rights Commission says the regulation allows no other questions.

The Ontario Human Rights Commission says it is illegal to apply a rent-to-income ratio, such as a 30% cut-off, unless you provide subsidized housing. Under O. Reg. 290/98, you may request income information only together with credit references, rental history or credit check authorization.

No application fee is among the permitted charges. Section 134 of the Residential Tenancies Act bars a landlord, or anyone acting for the landlord, from requiring a fee, commission, key deposit or similar amount from a prospective tenant unless prescribed, and application and screening fees are not on the prescribed list.

Only a rent deposit, required on or before entering into the tenancy agreement and no more than the lesser of one rent period and one month's rent. It earns interest yearly at the rent increase guideline and is applied to the last rent period.

Under the Consumer Reporting Act, give the applicant written notice before you request or obtain a consumer report, in bold type or underlined, in letters at least 10 point. If you deny the unit wholly or partly because of a report, give notice when you communicate the decision, saying the applicant may ask within 60 days for the agency's name and address.

Only what is needed to rent the dwelling: which unit, the move-in date, a time to visit and how to reach the person. A question about the unit is fine, such as whether the person has a car so you know whether the lease includes parking, but filtering callers on a ground protected by the Charter is not.

No. Quebec's human rights commission (CDPDJ) lists the social insurance number, employment and salary details, the employer's contact information, a T4, a pay stub, a bank balance and a bank account number among the information a landlord cannot require to sign a lease. A credit check needs only the applicant's name, address and date of birth, with consent.

No. Under article 1904 of the Civil Code, a landlord may demand in advance only the first payment period of rent, never more than one month, may not exact any other amount as a deposit or otherwise, and may not demand postdated cheques.

With the applicant's consent, using only their name, address and date of birth, so the social insurance number is not needed. The CDPDJ suggests a credit check only when the person cannot provide proof of regular payments, and the applicant may also run the check and give you the report.

The CDPDJ says a maximum share of income spent on rent, used as a filter, can be indirect discrimination based on social condition. You may refuse, or ask for a guarantor, when a person cannot show they can pay, but not on stereotypes, and people with no rental or credit history must be allowed to show they can pay another way.

Between January 1 and March 31, for a lease of 12 months or more. Article 1942 of the Civil Code requires the notice at least three months and at most six months before the lease ends, and JuridiQC gives January 1 to March 31 for a 12-month lease ending June 30.

The tenant has one month from receiving the notice to refuse the change or say they are leaving. Under article 1945 of the Civil Code, a tenant who does not answer within that month is deemed to accept the renewal on the terms the landlord proposed.

One month from receiving the refusal, to have the rent fixed or the other change ruled on. If the landlord does not apply within that month, the lease renews at the same rent and on the same conditions (article 1947 of the Civil Code).

No. Article 1904 of the Civil Code allows only the first month's rent in advance, with no deposit and no postdated cheques. The TAL gives the example of a lease signed April 15 that starts July 1: the landlord may ask for the first month's rent right away, and only that.

$2.99 plus tax, or $3.44 in total. Each party needs a valid email address for the electronic signature, the process must be finished within 36 hours of starting, and the lease can be downloaded as a PDF for 90 days.

The statutes of British Columbia (s. 15), Manitoba (s. 14(2)), Nova Scotia (s. 6) and Saskatchewan (s. 23) expressly bar charging a person for a rental application. Ontario's Act does not name application fees, but section 134 bars fees and like amounts from a prospective tenant unless prescribed, and no prescribed exemption covers an application.

Quebec: none, only the first month's rent in advance. Ontario: a rent deposit of one month or one rent period, whichever is less. British Columbia, Manitoba and Nova Scotia: half a month's rent. Alberta and Saskatchewan: one month's rent, and in Saskatchewan the landlord can require at most half of it at signing.

Of these provinces, only the British Columbia and Manitoba statutes provide one: up to half a month's rent in British Columbia, and up to one month's rent in Manitoba, never for a service animal. Alberta's handbook counts refundable pet fees toward the one-month security deposit, Nova Scotia's Renting Guide says a landlord can't charge an additional deposit for pets, and Ontario's standard lease guide says a lease term requiring a pet deposit is void.

The official texts point different ways. Article 1904 of the Civil Code bars any amount other than rent, in the form of a deposit or otherwise, while JuridiQC, a legal information service funded by Quebec's Ministry of Justice, says a landlord may ask the tenant to pay reasonable fees for the check.

No. Under section 3(b) of the Electronic Commerce Protection Regulations, section 6 of CASL does not apply to a commercial message sent in response to a request, inquiry or complaint, or otherwise solicited by the recipient. Answering a renter's question about a unit, sending the details they asked for and booking the showing they requested are replies.

Six months on implied consent. CASL treats an inquiry or application made in the six months before your message as an existing business relationship. After that, you need the renter's express consent, and every commercial text still needs sender identification and an unsubscribe mechanism.

Without delay and no later than 10 business days after the request is sent. The mechanism must be free, use the same electronic means as your message where practicable, and stay valid for at least 60 days after you send it.

CASL names no keywords, but Twilio's Canadian guidelines say programs should support STOP and HELP in the user's local language. The Canadian Telecommunications Association's short code rules make STOP and ARRET mandatory and list FIN, ANNULER, QUITTER and DESABONNER as French opt-out commands.

Not to text Canadian phones: Twilio's Canadian guidelines list no pre-registration for domestic local numbers. Texting a US phone number is different, because Twilio says US and Canadian local numbers must be registered under the US A2P 10DLC system before they send messages from an application to US recipients.

In the federal and Quebec sources we checked, we found no statute that requires it outright, and a federal government page says Canada has no regulatory framework specific to AI. Canada's privacy commissioners nonetheless say organizations using a public-facing generative AI tool should make sure people know they are interacting with one.

It is risky. Section 74.01 of the Competition Act makes it reviewable conduct to make a representation to the public, to promote a product or any business interest, that is false or misleading in a material respect. The section does not mention AI, so the safe course is to never claim or imply to be human.

If a decision is based exclusively on automated processing of personal information, section 12.1 requires telling the person no later than when you tell them of the decision, explaining on request the information used and the reasons and principal factors, and letting them submit observations to a staff member who can review the decision.

Yes. The Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada says an organization recording customer calls must tell the caller, state the purpose clearly and ask for consent, and offer another way to proceed if they object. Consent is implied if the caller continues knowing the call is recorded and why.