What can landlords legally ask for?

For ordinary rentals, no province covered here allows a security deposit of two months' rent (New Brunswick allows up to three months' rent only for a mobile home site). The caps run from half a month in British Columbia, Manitoba and Nova Scotia to one month in Alberta, Saskatchewan, Ontario (as a rent deposit), New Brunswick and PEI, and three-quarters of a month in Newfoundland and Labrador. With a pet, BC and Manitoba allow a separate pet damage deposit on top. Paying the first month's rent plus the deposit when you sign can come close to two months' rent where the cap is one month, but the deposit itself cannot be two months. Manitoba's human rights commission warns that an ad demanding three months' rent as a deposit may discriminate against seniors on fixed incomes and people on social assistance.

A landlord can confirm that you are an adult, but cannot refuse to rent to you because of your age, which is a protected ground in each province covered here. Protection starts at 18 in Alberta and Saskatchewan and at 19 in British Columbia, Ontario protects people 18 and over plus 16 and 17 year olds who have left parental control, and PEI sets no lower or upper limit. BC's privacy commissioner says a landlord may ask for proof that you are over 19 if your age is in doubt, and New Brunswick's commission says questions about the ages of occupants should wait until after the unit is rented. Renting young? See how to rent an apartment at 18.

Yes. Ontario's human rights regulation lets a landlord require a prospective tenant to get a guarantee for the rent. The Ontario Human Rights Commission adds that a landlord can do this only if it has the same requirement for all tenants, not just for people identified by a protected ground, such as recent immigrants or people receiving social assistance. A guarantor does not let a landlord take a bigger deposit: the only security deposit allowed in Ontario is the rent deposit.

Credit references, your rental history, your permission for a credit check, and income information, as long as the landlord asks for the other items too and considers everything together. It can ask to see ID, but the federal privacy commissioner says it does not need your Social Insurance Number for a basic credit check. A landlord cannot charge you anything to apply. Our Ontario rental application guide covers how to prepare.

Yes. Alberta's privacy commissioner says reasonable proof that you can pay the rent is something a landlord may collect, and Manitoba's human rights commission says a landlord may ask about your employer, position and salary. Limits apply on how the landlord uses it: in Ontario, income information must be weighed with your credit and rental history, and in Newfoundland and Labrador it should only be used to check that you can pay the rent. For what counts as proof and whether bank statements are fair to ask for, see can a landlord ask for bank statements.

Yes. The federal privacy commissioner says privacy law does not stop a landlord from asking to see your pay stubs to confirm your income, but the landlord likely does not need to keep a copy. If you do not have pay stubs, for example because you are self-employed, a student or on benefits, Manitoba's commission says you should be able to list income from all sources and offer a guarantor or co-signer, and you can offer the same in any province.

A landlord can ask, but should not make it a condition of renting. The federal privacy commissioner says a landlord does not need your Social Insurance Number and you cannot be denied for refusing it unless the law requires it or no other identifier would do. Alberta's commissioner says to avoid it unless a law requires it, BC's says landlords should avoid asking all applicants or make it optional, and Nova Scotia's renting guide says a landlord cannot force you to give it. Your name and date of birth are usually enough for a credit check.

With your consent, a landlord can contact your employer as a reference, usually to confirm that you work there, your position and what you earn. Manitoba's commission says those three things are fair to ask, and the federal privacy commissioner says landlords should get consent for reference checks. New Brunswick's commission treats requiring a permanent job or a minimum time with an employer as discriminatory.

It depends on the province. Saskatchewan bans collecting future rent in advance, New Brunswick bans paying last month's rent ahead or any single payment larger than the regular rent payments, and Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador count extra money a landlord takes as part of the security deposit, so the deposit cap applies to it. In Ontario the only security deposit allowed is a rent deposit of up to one month's rent. As SQRFT's own suggestion, check with the province's tenancy office before paying several months ahead anywhere else.

In Ontario, a last month's rent deposit is the only security deposit a landlord may take. It is applied as the rent for the final rental period before you move out, and the landlord can ask for a top-up when the rent goes up. In New Brunswick a landlord cannot ask for last month's rent in advance, only the first month's rent and a security deposit. Elsewhere, landlords usually take a security deposit instead, within the caps in the table above.

We found no separate holding deposit rule in the Acts covered here, and in Newfoundland and Labrador the Act does not regulate money paid before a rental agreement exists. In Ontario, money paid before move-in is a rent deposit, and PEI allows no deposit other than the one security deposit. Our page can a landlord keep a holding deposit has the province-by-province rules.

Generally yes, to look at it. The federal privacy commissioner says privacy law does not stop a landlord from asking to see your driver's licence to confirm who you are, but a landlord who only checks it likely does not need to take a copy. Alberta's commissioner says copying or keeping ID may not be reasonable, and British Columbia's says a landlord should look at your photo ID and hand it back. SQRFT advice, not law: if a landlord wants to keep a photocopy, ask why it is needed and how it will be stored and destroyed.

Not before you have been chosen as the tenant, in British Columbia: the privacy commissioner there says a landlord cannot require your banking information before the tenancy is set up. Alberta's commissioner says a landlord may collect banking information only as far as it is reasonably needed to process rent, and if you do not consent, a different way to pay should be considered. Ontario bans requiring a prospective tenant to give post-dated cheques or to allow automatic debits from their account, and Manitoba bans requiring post-dated cheques. For Saskatchewan, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and PEI we found no rule on which payment method a landlord may require, so check the terms in the lease and ask the tenancy office if you are unsure.

In SQRFT's reading, a landlord should not need medical details to decide whether to rent to you. Manitoba's human rights commission warns that questions about medical needs, along with marital or family status, ancestry and religion, can lead to discrimination, and Alberta's privacy commissioner says collecting information that the Alberta Human Rights Act protects is usually not a reasonable purpose. If you need an accommodation, such as a service animal, the landlord has a duty to accommodate up to the point of undue hardship in Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba and New Brunswick, and in British Columbia the landlord has a duty to inquire when it has reason to believe a renter needs one. If a landlord's question about your health or disability feels out of place, you can contact the human rights commission in your province.