Some essential “Tools” needed before Renting a Property:
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Is it better to buy or rent?: “Compare the costs of buying and renting a home” (click to read more)
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Know the Legislation: Know your Rights and your Obligations as a Tenant (or Landlord) in these Canadian
Provinces: Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Northwest
Territories, Nova Scotia, Nunavut, Ontario, Prince Edward Island, Quebec, Saskatchewan, and Yukon (click on any
of the Province names to read more)
Provinces: Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Northwest
Territories, Nova Scotia, Nunavut, Ontario, Prince Edward Island, Quebec, Saskatchewan, and Yukon (click on any
of the Province names to read more)
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Preparing for Renting a place: “The seven parts in this section will help you prepare to look for rental
accommodations.”(click to read more)
accommodations.”(click to read more)
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Avoid Scams and Frauds: “Avoiding Rental Scam”, “More Tips”, "Useful things to know", “How to Avoid Rental
Property Scams”, “How to: Avoid Vacation apartment rental Scams”, “Rental Scams”, “Common Real Estate/Renter
Scams”, “Sample Rental Scam”, “How to Evaluate Prospective Tenants for Your Rental Property”
Property Scams”, “How to: Avoid Vacation apartment rental Scams”, “Rental Scams”, “Common Real Estate/Renter
Scams”, “Sample Rental Scam”, “How to Evaluate Prospective Tenants for Your Rental Property”
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Tenants: Use Common Sense when looking to Rent a Residential Property:
- Don’t deal with “Landlords in distant location” (e.g. unable to meet with you)
- Don’t pay without first seeing the Property in-person
- Do a background check on the Property and on the Landlord; Check Property Title; Check Owner’s Identity; Ask
around: Inquire with the neighbours about the Property and its Owner; last but not least, Google, and then Google
some more!
- Check the local Rental market (specific to the Property); Remember, if a deal looks “too good to be true”, it usually is!
(e.g. rent below market, etc)
- Ensure the Landlord has the correct documents
- Don’t fall victim to upfront fees
- Don’t give cash, or wire money (e.g. via Western Union or MoneyGram), and NEVER pay beforehand
- Don’t give out your credit card information
- Don’t deal with Landlords who are pressuring you to make financial transactions beforehand
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Landlords: Use Common Sense when looking to Rent-out a Residential Property:
- Check Tenant Identity
- Check Tenant’s references; make sure they are relevant, and not “phony” (e.g. friends answering phone)
- Meet in Person and Interview the Tenant
- Check Tenant’s Credit (pull a report)
- Get the Tenant to fill in a Rental Application; Ensure your rental application requires the prospective Tenant to list the
previous landlord's phone, the reason for leaving previous place, any bankruptcies or foreclosures.
- Inquire about Tenant's employment status and obtain contact information for the employer
- Ask the Tenant to present most recent few paystubs, and verify income
- Don’t hand over the key(s) before the deposit check clears
- Additionally, you can ask the Tenant for a Canadian Police Clearance certificate (obtainable at local Police stations)
- Don’t fall for the OVERPAYING Scam, where the fake prospective Tenant will send a cheque or money order for
MORE than you have requested, followed by him asking you to deposit the money and return the excess.
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If you are also looking to Buy a Real Estate Property “For Sale By Owner”, please check
out our dedicated FSBO websites: www.refsbo.ca and www.allbyowner.com
out our dedicated FSBO websites: www.refsbo.ca and www.allbyowner.com