Screening Tenants Legally in Alberta

Two laws apply to tenant screening. The first is the Personal Information Protection Act (PIPA), Alberta's private sector privacy law. It covers landlords renting for profit, including property managers and an individual acting in a commercial capacity. Social housing bodies fall under a different law. The second is the Alberta Human Rights Act, which bans refusing to rent, or treating a tenant differently, because of a protected ground.

The privacy test is simple: you may collect personal information only for reasons that are reasonable, and only what you reasonably need to decide whether to rent. The Information and Privacy Commissioner's guidance for landlords says this can include reasonable proof the applicant can pay rent and references from other landlords. A landlord also cannot make consent to more than that a condition of renting.

This guide covers the Alberta limits. For a general walkthrough of screening steps, see how to screen tenants.

The Commissioner's guidance for landlords sets out how the reasonableness test applies to common items.

For plain-language answers, see Can a landlord do a credit check?, Can a landlord ask for bank statements? and What can landlords legally ask for?.

Section 5 of the Alberta Human Rights Act protects people renting a self-contained dwelling unit or a commercial unit. You may not deny a person the right to rent, or discriminate in any term of the tenancy, because of any of these 15 grounds:

• race, colour, ancestry and place of origin;
• religious beliefs;
• gender, gender identity and gender expression;
• physical disability and mental disability;
• age;
• marital status and family status;
• source of income;
• sexual orientation.

The Alberta Human Rights Commission says this covers advertising a rental as well as the terms of the tenancy. Some grounds are broader than they sound.

• Source of income means lawful income that carries a social stigma, such as social assistance, AISH, disability benefits or rent subsidies. It does not cover ordinary wages. The Commission lists refusing an applicant because they receive these supports, and using a rent-to-income ratio to screen tenants, as examples of discrimination.
• Family status includes childcare and other family responsibilities. Gender includes pregnancy.
• Age protects people 18 or older. Seniors-only housing is allowed where every unit is reserved for occupancy by someone aged 55 or older. Age limits in some condominiums, co-operatives and mobile home sites that existed before January 1, 2018 are being phased out, and the Commission says they must convert by January 1, 2033.

Criminal record is not one of the 15 grounds. That does not make a criminal record check a free-for-all: the privacy test still applies to anything you collect. See Can a landlord ask about a criminal record?. The Act also treats a contravention as not having happened if it was reasonable and justifiable in the circumstances, but do not plan around that defence.

Landlords must accommodate people with a disability to the point of undue hardship, and the hardship must be substantial in nature. That means weighing a request such as a service dog before you reject an applicant.

The Service Dogs Act bans denying occupancy of a self-contained dwelling unit, or setting different terms, because a disabled person has a service dog. A breach carries a fine of up to $3,000. The protection does not apply if the person does not control the dog's behaviour.

A no-pets clause is otherwise allowed. The Residential Tenancies Act Handbook says emotional support animals that are not trained service dogs are typically outside the Service Dogs Act. The Human Rights Commission adds that a duty to accommodate other assistance animals may still arise, depending on the facts and reliable medical information. So a flat refusal of an animal tied to a disability is risky. A complaint to the Commission must be made within one year of the act.

The Residential Tenancies Act does not ban or cap application fees, and the government's Handbook only says that a person who does not want to pay the fee does not have to apply. The Regulation has no sections on additional fees or charges.

Keep the fee separate from the security deposit. A refundable charge counts toward the one-month deposit limit, however it is labelled. See the Alberta landlord deposit guide. For a short answer, see Can a landlord ask for an application fee?.

1. Decide your criteria first. Base them on ability to pay and landlord references, and apply them the same way to every applicant.
2. Ask only what you need. Leave out questions that relate to a protected ground.
3. Get consent before you check. Credit reports and reference calls both need the applicant's consent. Ask the applicant to bring their own report if they prefer.
4. View ID, do not copy it, and do not ask for a SIN.
5. Do not search social media to build a profile of the applicant.
6. Write down your reason for each decision in neutral terms tied to your criteria.
7. Ask who will live in the unit and put their names in the lease. The health standards also bar letting a unit become overcrowded. A bedroom is overcrowded with less than 3 square metres of floor area and 5.6 cubic metres of air space for each adult sleeping in it.

If you hold applicant information, be ready to say why each item was reasonable to collect. A complaint on a protected ground has a one-year limit with the Commission, and the Act's fine and damages rules apply to other breaches.

This guide explains the rules in general terms; for a specific case, ask the tribunal or a licensed legal professional.