How to Screen a Tenant in Ontario (Step by Step)
A step-by-step guide for Ontario landlords: what the Human Rights Code allows, which checks to run with consent, deposits and the standard lease.
Ontario has some of the most detailed rules in Canada on how landlords choose tenants. This guide walks through a fair, consistent screening process, from the listing to the signed lease.
1. Set your criteria before you advertise
Write down what you need from every applicant — move-in date, who will live in the unit, rental history, references and the checks you'll run — and apply the same criteria to everyone.
2. Know what the Human Rights Code protects
Ontario's Human Rights Code protects tenants from discrimination based on race, colour, ancestry, place of origin, citizenship, ethnic origin, creed, sex (including pregnancy), sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, marital status, family status, disability and receipt of public assistance. Don't base a decision on any of these, and avoid questions that point to them — for example, asking whether the applicant plans to have children.
3. What you can ask for
Ontario's human rights rules allow landlords to request rental history, references and a credit check, as long as the information is used fairly and the same way for every applicant. A lack of credit history, common for newcomers and students, should not on its own be treated as bad credit.
4. Run consent-based checks
- Identity verification — confirms the applicant is who they say they are, using a government photo ID.
- Credit report — shows credit history and payment patterns, with the applicant's consent.
- Criminal record check — a Canadian criminal record search, with consent.
With Vcheck, you order online and the applicant gives consent and verifies their ID on their phone. Results come back to you in one report.
5. Call references
Ask previous landlords factual questions: dates of tenancy, whether rent was paid on time, and the condition of the unit at move-out.
6. Use the standard lease and collect deposits correctly
Most residential tenancies in Ontario must use the province's Standard Form of Lease. Ontario landlords can collect a rent deposit of no more than one month's rent (or one rental period, if shorter), and it must be applied to the last month of the tenancy. Interest is owed on it each year at the provincial rent increase guideline. Damage or security deposits are not allowed.
7. Keep records private
Store screening results securely, use them only for this rental decision and don't keep them longer than you need. If a report influenced a refusal, let the applicant know so they can check it with the source.
This guide is general information, not legal advice. For your situation, see the Landlord and Tenant Board, the Ontario Human Rights Commission, or speak with a lawyer or paralegal.