How to Screen Tenants Legally in BC

Private landlords in BC fall under the provincial Personal Information Protection Act (PIPA). The BC Information and Privacy Commissioner's guidance for landlords (September 2019, for information only) sets the practical limits. The core rule: you cannot make a tenancy conditional on consent to collect, use or disclose more personal information than the tenancy needs.

• Government photo ID: you may look at it, then hand it back. Do not copy or keep it.
• References: only with the applicant's consent. You may decline to process an application if the applicant will not give former landlords' contact details.
• Past evictions: asking whether the applicant has ever been evicted is reasonable.
• Income or employment: may be reasonable to ask if the applicant cannot give adequate references.
• Credit check: only after you tell the applicant why and get consent, and only near the end of the selection process on the few applicants you are considering.
• Social insurance number: avoid asking all applicants, or make it optional. Name and date of birth are usually enough for a credit agency.
• Criminal record check: cannot be required unless necessary for the tenancy. In most situations it is not.
• Banking information: you cannot require it before the tenancy is established.

1. Write down your criteria before you advertise: rent, move-in date, number of occupants and any pet or smoking rules you will put in the agreement.
2. Advertise the unit without limits tied to a protected ground.
3. Collect an application with only the details the tenancy needs. Do not charge for it.
4. Ask for consent before contacting references.
5. View government ID and return it. Where age is in doubt, you may ask for proof that the applicant is over 19.
6. Narrow to a few finalists, then ask for credit check consent and run the check on those people only.
7. Offer the tenancy and sign a written agreement. See our guide to becoming a landlord in BC.

Treat every applicant the same way. Using one set of questions and the same steps is the easiest way to show your decision was based on the tenancy, not on a personal trait.

Section 10 of the Human Rights Code covers tenancy. You must not refuse to rent advertised space, or discriminate in a term or condition of the tenancy, because of: Indigenous identity, race, colour, ancestry, place of origin, religion, marital status, family status, physical or mental disability, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, or lawful source of income. The ban also covers discrimination because of a ground that belongs to another person, such as someone the applicant lives with.

Discriminatory notices and ads are separately banned, using the same list without lawful source of income. Retaliation against someone who complains, is also banned.

The exceptions are narrow. The Code does not apply where the other person will share sleeping, bathroom or cooking space with the landlord. A building reserved for people 55 or over is also an exception, as are units designed for people with disabilities.

The Residential Tenancy Branch does not apply the Code. Discrimination complaints go to the BC Human Rights Tribunal.

Source of income. You cannot refuse an applicant because they are on social assistance or disability benefits, as long as the income is lawful. The Human Rights Commissioner gives an example of unlawful reasoning: turning down a renter on disability assistance because you do not want to fill out the forms. You may still assess whether the applicant can pay the rent.

Family status. Children are a protected ground, apart from 55 plus buildings. The Act also bars a rent increase because a minor is added as an occupant.

Disability. You must accommodate applicants and tenants up to the point of undue hardship, and you have a duty to inquire if you have reason to believe a person needs accommodation.

Age. The Code's age ground covers people 19 or older. A person under 19 may sign a binding tenancy agreement, but a landlord may refuse to rent to a minor.

Pets and service animals. A tenancy agreement can prohibit pets or limit their size, kind or number. Guide and service dog teams are different: you cannot deny a unit or impose discriminatory terms because of the dog, and you cannot refuse because the dog is not certified, since certification is voluntary. Emotional support animals have no automatic right under the Residential Tenancy Act, but a disability related request may fall under the duty to accommodate and is decided case by case.

Under section 15 of the Residential Tenancy Act, a landlord must not charge a person anything for accepting an application, processing it, investigating the applicant's suitability, or accepting the person as a tenant. A landlord who charges one commits an offence with a fine of up to $5,000, and the RTB director can also impose an administrative penalty of up to $5,000, per day if the breach continues. The BC deposits and fees page repeats the rule.

Money you may collect later is limited. A security deposit is capped at half a month's rent and a pet damage deposit at the same amount. See our landlord security deposit guide for BC.

You can require tenant's insurance as an additional term of the agreement. The government lists it as an example, and additional terms are generally binding if the tenant agrees and they do not contradict the Act.

Collecting is only half the job. PIPA limits what you gather, and the same thinking applies to what you keep. The guidance says a landlord should view ID and return it, not copy or retain it. Keep applicant details only as far as the tenancy needs, and do not use them for anything unrelated.

Be careful with search results about applicants. The guidance treats BC's court registry and published tribunal decisions as publicly available sources. Social media is excluded from those sources, so do not collect information from it without consent.

If an applicant refuses to consent to more than the tenancy needs, you cannot make the tenancy depend on it. If they refuse to give contacts for former landlords, the guidance says it is reasonable to decline to process the application.

• You turned someone down and they say it was discrimination. A complaint goes to the BC Human Rights Tribunal. Keep your written criteria and your notes on each applicant.
• You charged a fee. Refund it. The Act makes it an offence and the director can impose penalties.
• You photocopied ID or collected a SIN from everyone. Stop. Destroy copies you do not need.
• You required a criminal record check. Only ask if it is necessary for the tenancy. The Code has no criminal record ground for housing, but the privacy limit still applies.

For common questions see the Ask pages on credit checks and criminal record questions. If you want help running consistent checks, SQRFT offers tenant screening tools.

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