Screening Tenants Legally in Prince Edward Island (PEI)

The Residential Tenancy Act in Prince Edward Island (PEI) does not set out a screening process. It has no rules on what to put on an application form or how to run a credit check. The limits come from three other places: the Act's ban on certain fees, the provincial Human Rights Act, and federal privacy law.

PEI has no provincial private-sector privacy law, so the federal Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) applies to landlords. The Privacy Commissioner of Canada confirms this on its landlord and tenant privacy page. A tenant who has a privacy complaint files it with that federal office.

For a national overview of the process, see how to screen tenants. This guide covers what is specific to PEI.

The Human Rights Act bars denying someone a rental unit, or setting different terms of occupancy, on a discriminatory basis. The protected grounds are age, colour, creed, disability, ethnic or national origin, family status, gender expression, gender identity, marital status, political belief, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation and source of income. The full text is on the Government of PEI legislation site.

Here is how the PEI Human Rights Commission explains some of the grounds that come up most in screening.

• Family status means a parent and child relationship. Landlords should not ask about family or marital status, but may ask how many people will live in the unit.
• Source of income covers where income comes from, not how much. Refusing an applicant because the main income is Financial Assistance is not allowed. You may still look at whether the amount covers the rent.
• Disability includes reliance on an assist animal or wheelchair, and the Commission says drug and alcohol addiction are covered.
• Age has no lower or upper limit on the protection, with narrow exceptions where another law makes the accommodation unavailable at that age.

Criminal record is different. The Commission says that protected ground applies to employment only, not to housing. Even so, a blanket rule can still run into the grounds above, so look at the facts of each case. See whether a landlord can ask about a criminal record.

The Privacy Commissioner's guidance for landlords is practical.

• Credit checks: you need the applicant's consent to share their information with a credit reporting agency. At a minimum a credit check needs name, address and date of birth. Driver's licence, passport, employer, income and expenses are not needed for the check, though you may ask for them.
• Social Insurance Number: you cannot require it. No law stops you asking for it, but the applicant can say no.
• Identity and income documents: privacy law does not prevent you asking to see a driver's licence or pay stubs. The Commissioner says you usually do not need to take a copy of these sensitive documents.
• References and background checks: get consent first. The Commissioner advises against using social media for them.
• Bad tenant lists: you may not disclose a tenant's poor payment history to an informal or ad hoc "bad tenants list".
• Bank statements: the Commissioner lists banking information and other financial records as personal information, so the same purpose and consent rules apply. There is no specific answer on bank statements.

For the national question, see can a landlord do a credit check.

A PEI landlord cannot charge a person a fee for accepting an application, processing it, investigating the applicant's suitability as a tenant, or accepting the person as a tenant. That covers screening fees and credit check fees passed on to the applicant.

You also cannot take a holding deposit. The Act allows one security deposit only, up to one month's rent (one week's rent where rent is paid weekly), and you can require it only when you and the tenant enter into the tenancy agreement. Any other kind of deposit is barred. For the full deposit rules, read the PEI landlord security deposit guide.

These steps keep you inside the rules above. They are suggestions for good practice built on those rules.

1. Decide your questions before you advertise, and ask every applicant the same ones. Stick to what you need to judge the tenancy: who will live there, whether the rent is affordable, and how the person has handled past tenancies.
2. Explain why you are asking for each item. The Privacy Commissioner says purpose and consent matter.
3. Get written consent before any credit check, reference check or background check.
4. Look at identity and income documents without taking copies unless you need them.
5. Base your decision on neutral reasons such as ability to pay the rent, and write the reasons down.
6. Do not ask about family or marital status, or screen on any protected ground.
7. If you accept the applicant, prepare the written tenancy agreement and give the tenant a copy within 10 days.

A person under 18 may enter into a tenancy agreement in PEI, and age is a protected ground, so do not set a flat minimum age without checking the rules.

You may refuse pets and put a no-pets term in the lease. Service animals are different. A lease term that bans service animals is void, and the Commission says a "no pets" policy does not apply to them. There is no standard identification or certification for service animals in PEI. The Commission also says animals that give comfort and companionship but are not trained to assist with a disability are not protected by the Human Rights Act.

On storing information, the privacy principles are the guide. Collect only what you need for the stated purpose, keep it secure, and avoid copying sensitive documents you do not need. The Act has one specific retention rule, for information a tenant gives about family violence when ending a tenancy: keep it confidential and destroy it within 60 days. That rule does not apply to applicant screening.

A person who thinks they were discriminated against can complain to the PEI Human Rights Commission within one year. The Act also bars evicting someone because they made a complaint. If you are building your wider landlord knowledge, the PEI landlord starter guide covers leases, deposits and notices.

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