In Nova Scotia, the Residential Tenancies Act sets the money rules and the Human Rights Act sets the grounds on which you cannot turn someone away. Federal privacy law governs what you collect from the first call, text or email, and the Consumer Reporting Act governs credit checks.
What can you ask on the first call or message?
Ask about the move-in date, work and references, and say why you are asking. Federal privacy law (PIPEDA) applies, since the OPC lists only British Columbia, Alberta and Quebec as having their own private sector laws for landlords. PIPEDA requires you to identify your purposes before or when you collect information.
The province’s Renting Guide says a landlord may ask for standard information such as name and contact details, employment information, and personal or landlord references. Questions that fit a first conversation:
- When they want to move in, and how to reach them.
- Where they work, and whether they can give a personal or landlord reference.
- Their rental and credit history. The Human Rights Commission says the Human Rights Act does not stop landlords from making business-related inquiries about credit or rental history, or asking for references, and deciding on that basis.
- Whether they have pets, if your rules limit them. The guide says landlord rules must be reasonable and apply equally to all tenants, and the Human Rights Act defines physical disability to include reliance on a service dog or a guide dog.
Never ask for money for the application, and keep the SIN and copies of ID off the call. The limits on each are below.
What should you never ask?
Anything that sorts applicants by a characteristic the Human Rights Act protects. Section 5(1) bars discrimination in accommodation, and in publications and advertisements. The protected characteristics are age, race, colour, religion, creed, sex (including pregnancy), sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, physical or mental disability, an irrational fear of contracting an illness or disease, ethnic, national or aboriginal origin, family status, marital status, source of income, political belief, affiliation or activity, or association with someone who has one of these characteristics.
Section 4 says a distinction counts whether it is intentional or not. The Commission says source of income usually covers people whose income is not from employment, such as social assistance, the Canada Pension or Employment Insurance. It lists these among the most common discriminatory practices (Commission, 2019):
- Refusing someone whose income comes from Income Assistance, a student loan, Employment Insurance or other benefits.
- Saying an advertised unit is not available to people with children, same-sex couples, immigrants or members of a religious group.
- Calling a building 55+ without clear evidence that it offers services intended for that group.
The Commission adds that refusing someone perceived as young, and so irresponsible, can be age discrimination. Renting to a protected group on worse terms is illegal too: its page for landlords gives the examples of making them pay rent in advance or a larger damage deposit.
Section 7 bars publishing a notice or sign that indicates discrimination, which covers listings. Section 6(b) exempts renting a single room in a home the rest of which the landlord or their family occupies, if the room is not advertised by sign, through the media or with a rental agency.
What can the application ask for?
Identity, contact, employment and reference information, plus consent to any checks. The Renting Guide says a landlord can ask applicants to fill out an application form and can run credit and background checks, but is not allowed to force tenants to provide their Social Insurance Number. It also says tenants must give the landlord the names of everyone who will live in the unit, and that a landlord can ask for a guarantor (co-signer) based on the tenant’s finances.
The OPC adds these limits:
- Photo ID and pay stubs: a landlord who sees a driver’s licence or pay stubs to confirm identity or income likely does not need a copy.
- SIN: no one can be denied for refusing to give it unless it is required by law or no alternative identifier would do. Service Canada says a SIN is not needed to fill out a rental application.
- Retention: do not collect more than the stated purpose needs, or keep it longer than necessary.
Can you run a credit or background check, and how?
Yes, with consent and the notices Nova Scotia’s credit reporting law requires. The OPC says a landlord needs consent to share an applicant’s information with a credit reporting agency, and at minimum their name, address and date of birth. The province’s credit reports page says credit bureaus must get consent before sharing a report, and lists landlords among those who can receive one.
The Consumer Reporting Act adds:
- Purpose: an agency may supply a report to someone it believes intends to use it in entering into or renewing a tenancy agreement (section 9(1)(c)(ii)).
- Consent or notice: section 11(1) bars obtaining a report without the applicant’s express written consent, or unless you notify them in writing that a report has been or will be requested and give them the agency’s name and address within 10 days of the request.
- In the application: that consent and notice can be part of the application if clearly set out in type of at least 10 point above the applicant’s signature (section 11(2)).
- After a refusal: if you use a report and then deny the unit in whole or in part, or raise its cost, you must tell the applicant in writing right away (section 11(3)). The notice covers their right to see the agency’s file on them, the agency’s name and address, and the source and nature of any information from elsewhere.
On informal checks, the OPC says landlords should get consent for reference and background checks, and advises them not to use social networks to check an applicant’s background. It has also found landlords have no right to report a poor payment history to an unregulated “bad tenant” list.
Are application fees and deposits allowed?
No application fee, and one deposit of at most half a month’s rent. Section 6(1) 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. Under section 6(2), whoever takes such a payment is treated as a landlord in a proceeding over it.
Section 12(1) treats any money or value a landlord obtains on top of the rent as a security deposit, and section 12(2) caps it at half of one month’s rent. The deposit is held in trust at a chartered bank, trust company or credit union, or in authorized securities, and earns interest at a rate set by regulation (sections 12(3) and 12(4)). A landlord who breaks section 12 or 12A commits an offence punishable by a fine of up to $5,000 (section 12(16)).
The Renting Guide covers two common cases: any money taken before the lease is signed or before rent is due counts as a security deposit, and a landlord can’t charge an additional deposit for pets.
At a glance
| Question | Rule in Nova Scotia | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Application fee | Not allowed | RTA s. 6 |
| Security deposit | Up to half a month’s rent, held in trust, earns interest | RTA s. 12 |
| Pet or holding deposit | Counts as the security deposit; no extra pet deposit | RTA s. 12(1); Renting Guide |
| Credit check | Express written consent or written notice; in the application, 10-point type above the signature | Consumer Reporting Act s. 11 |
| Refusal after using a report | Immediate written notice with the agency’s name and address | Consumer Reporting Act s. 11(3) |
| SIN | Cannot be forced | Renting Guide; OPC; Service Canada |
| Photo ID and pay stubs | View them; a copy is likely unnecessary | OPC |
| Guarantor | May be asked for, based on the tenant’s finances | Renting Guide |
| Credit, rental history, references | Business-related inquiries are allowed | Human Rights Commission |
| Human Rights Act grounds | Never a reason to refuse, including source of income | Human Rights Act s. 5 |