Screening Tenants Legally in Manitoba

You are allowed to screen. The Manitoba Human Rights Commission says landlords may screen applicants on qualifications such as ability to pay, income stability and suitability, using application forms, interviews and reference checks. The catch is how you do it. You must assess each applicant individually, and your criteria cannot rest on assumptions or impressions about a person's ability to pay.

You may ask for the applicant's employer, position and salary to judge ability to pay. A fair rent-to-income test counts all sources of income, not only wages, and lets the applicant offer a guarantor or co-signer. If you decide to require a guarantor, the tenancy agreement must be in writing under The Residential Tenancies Act.

For the national picture, see our guide to screening tenants. Short answers are on the Ask pages about credit checks and criminal record questions.

Manitoba has no provincial private-sector privacy law for landlords, so the federal privacy law, PIPEDA, applies. A tenant who thinks you mishandled their information complains to the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada. Its guidance sets out the following.

Financial records, including banking information, count as personal information. Ask only for what you need to decide, and say why you need it.

Section 16 of The Human Rights Code bans discrimination in renting, and in the terms of a tenancy, unless bona fide and reasonable cause exists. Section 9(2) lists the protected grounds:

• ancestry, including colour and perceived race
• nationality or national origin
• ethnic background or origin
• religion or creed, or religious belief, association or activity
• age
• sex, including pregnancy-related circumstances
• gender identity and gender expression
• sexual orientation
• marital or family status
• source of income
• political belief, association or activity
• physical or mental disability, including reliance on a service animal or a wheelchair
• social disadvantage, where the treatment rests on a negative bias or stereotype

The Code has two narrow exceptions for renting: a boarder or roomer chosen by the occupier of a private residence, and the choice of a tenant for one unit of a duplex when the owner lives in the other unit. A criminal record is not one of the listed grounds.

The Human Rights Commission gives examples of conduct that is likely discrimination or may unreasonably exclude people:

• Family status. Refusing families because children are too noisy, restricting families to certain floors, or charging an inflated deposit when more than four people will live in a unit. A birth, adoption or marriage during a tenancy is a natural increase in the family, and you cannot give notice or raise the rent because of it.
• Source of income. Refusing someone because their income is from assistance or disability benefits. Asking for three months' rent as a deposit may exclude seniors on fixed income or people on social assistance. The Act caps a security deposit at half a month's rent anyway.
• Disability. You must accommodate a disability up to undue hardship, and bona fide cause is no defence to a failure to accommodate.
• Service animals. A service animal is not a pet. You may ask whether the animal is trained and for information to clarify the disability-related need, but not for a diagnosis. Do not charge a deposit or cleaning fee for it.
• Age. Age is protected, and a 55-plus or adults-only building will be challenged to justify the restriction.

1. Write your criteria before you take applications: for example income evidence, references and rental history. Apply the same ones to everyone.
2. Use one application form for all applicants. Leave out questions on marital or family status, ancestry, religion or medical needs.
3. Charge no fee for taking, processing, investigating or accepting the application.
4. Get written consent before you run a credit check or call references.
5. Look at ID and pay stubs, say why you need them, and avoid keeping copies you do not need.
6. Count all income sources and accept a guarantor or co-signer if offered.
7. Decide on your criteria, note the reasons, and tell the applicant the outcome.

Our guides on Manitoba security deposits and how to become a landlord in Manitoba cover what comes after you pick a tenant.

The Act bars a landlord from requiring or receiving any payment the Act does not permit. It names the taking, processing, investigating and accepting of an application as things you may not charge for. A tenant who paid a fee can ask the Residential Tenancies Branch to order it repaid. You also cannot require a security deposit before the tenancy agreement is made.

Once you hold applicant information, the privacy rules continue. Photos of a unit are personal information, so you need a stated purpose and the person's consent. If you install video cameras, post signs, tell tenants first and keep the lens off the inside of units. Keep applicant files to what you used for the decision, and handle them as you would your own financial records.

Refusing an applicant on a protected ground breaks the Code, even if every Residential Tenancies Act requirement is met. This guide explains the rules in general terms; for a specific case, ask the tribunal or a licensed legal professional.