What to do if you have no landlord reference?

Alberta landlords who rent for profit follow Alberta's Personal Information Protection Act. The privacy commissioner's guidance says a landlord may ask only for the information it reasonably needs to decide whether to rent to you, which can include reasonable proof that you can pay rent or references from other landlords. It may contact your references only with your consent.

A landlord can request a credit report if it has concerns about non-payment of rent, again only with your consent, and you and the landlord may agree that you get your own report and give it a copy. With no landlord reference, your own credit report and proof of income are the practical substitutes. The landlord should avoid asking for your SIN, and unless it can show a law requires it, you cannot be refused for not giving it.

British Columbia's Personal Information Protection Act covers landlords. The privacy commissioner's guidance says a landlord may collect information from a reference only with your consent, and that it would be reasonable to decline to process an application if you refuse to give contact information for previous landlords. It is also reasonable for a landlord to ask whether you have ever been evicted.

If you cannot give adequate references, the guidance says it may be reasonable for a landlord to ask for proof of income or employment instead. A credit check needs your consent and should be run only near the end of selection, on the few applicants being considered. Your SIN should be optional, and a landlord should look at your ID and hand it back rather than copy it.

Manitoba landlords fall under the federal privacy law, so a landlord should get your consent for reference and background checks, needs your consent for a credit check, and cannot require your SIN. The Manitoba Human Rights Commission says landlords may screen for ability to pay, income stability and suitability using application forms, interviews and reference checks, but must assess each applicant individually rather than rely on assumptions.

A landlord may ask about your employer, position and salary. The Commission says you should be able to list income from all sources, including non-employment income, and to offer a guarantor or co-signer, which helps when you have no landlord reference. If a landlord requires a guarantor, Manitoba's Act says the tenancy agreement must be in writing.

We found no screening rules in Saskatchewan's tenancy Act, so the federal privacy law sets the limits. A landlord needs your consent for a credit check and should get it for reference and background checks. It may ask to see your ID or pay stubs but likely does not need copies, and unless a law requires your SIN or no other identifier would do, you cannot be refused for not giving it.

The Saskatchewan Human Rights Commission says a landlord may get information relevant to your qualifications as a tenant, as long as it is not used to discriminate, and that a lack of rental or credit history should not be viewed the same as a negative report. If you have no landlord reference, offer proof of income, other references and records of rent you have paid.

Ontario's Residential Tenancies Act points to a regulation under the Human Rights Code that sets what a landlord may use to choose tenants. A landlord may ask for credit references, rental history, or both, and for your consent to a credit check. It may ask for income information only if it also asks for those, and must consider income together with everything else it gets. It may require a guarantee for the rent, and a deposit only as the Residential Tenancies Act allows.

The Ontario Human Rights Commission says a lack of rental or credit history should not be viewed negatively, and that a rent-to-income cut-off such as 30% is illegal. A guarantor can be required only if the landlord asks the same of all tenants, not just people identified by Code grounds such as recent immigrants or people receiving social assistance. Your former landlord must give you rent receipts free of charge on request, even up to 12 months after you move out.

New Brunswick's government says a landlord may ask for your name, contact information, employment information and references, and may request a credit check. The federal privacy law applies, so the landlord needs your consent to send your information for a credit check, should get it for reference checks, and cannot require your SIN.

The New Brunswick Human Rights Commission says asking for income information, rental history, credit checks or other guarantees is not discrimination in itself, but these inquiries should not violate your dignity and privacy or be used to exclude protected groups. It treats minimum income rules and rent-to-income ratios as discriminatory. A landlord may be justified in asking for a guarantor in some cases, but not to exclude tenants because of a ground under the Act.

Nova Scotia's renting guide says a landlord may ask for standard information such as your name and contact details, information about your employment, and personal or landlord references. It may run credit and background checks, but cannot force you to give your Social Insurance Number. Since the guide lists personal references alongside landlord references, you can offer a personal reference when you have no landlord one.

The federal privacy law applies, so the landlord should get your consent for reference and background checks and needs it for a credit check. It may look at your ID or pay stubs but likely does not need copies. Any money a landlord takes on top of rent counts toward the half-month security deposit cap.

We found no rules in PEI's Residential Tenancy Act on what a landlord may ask applicants, so the federal privacy law sets the limits. A landlord needs your consent to share your information with a credit reporting agency, should get it for reference and background checks, and cannot require your SIN. It may ask to see your ID or pay stubs but likely does not need copies.

A landlord cannot charge a fee to accept or process your application or to check whether you are a suitable tenant, and it can take only one security deposit, of up to one month's rent (one week's where rent is paid weekly). So it cannot ask for an extra fee or a second deposit because you have no landlord reference.

Newfoundland and Labrador's Human Rights Act lets a landlord use income information, credit checks, credit references, rental history and guarantees to choose tenants. The Human Rights Commission says income information should be used only to check that you can pay the rent, and that a landlord should not reject you solely because you have no credit history.

The Commission also says a landlord may ask for a co-signer or guarantor if an applicant has poor references, a bad credit rating or a history of default, but cannot require one because of a prohibited ground. The federal privacy law also applies: a landlord needs your consent for a credit check, and unless a law requires your SIN or no other identifier would do, you cannot be refused for not giving it. Your former landlord must give you a receipt for rent or other money you paid when you ask.