Why a Tenant-Supplied Report Is Weak Evidence
Consumers can download their own credit report for free from Canada’s two main credit bureaus, Equifax and TransUnion, so many applicants arrive with one already in hand.1 Most are genuine. The problem is that you cannot tell which ones are, because the file came from the applicant and not from the bureau.
A consumer copy is usually a PDF or a screenshot. Changing a score, deleting a collection or swapping a name on it is ordinary document editing. A report from someone else with a similar name, or an old report from before a default, can also be passed off as current.
Ontario law gives landlords a direct route instead. A landlord may ask a prospective tenant for authorization to run a credit check, and a consumer reporting agency may supply a report to someone it believes will use it in connection with entering into or renewing a tenancy agreement.2,3
Signs a Credit Report Was Edited
If a supplied report is all you have for now, read it for internal consistency. These signs do not prove an edit, but each is a reason to pull the report yourself:
- The score does not fit the file: a high score next to collections, recent late payments or maxed-out cards, or a low score on a clean file.
- The name, date of birth or address history differs from the ID and the application.
- No inquiries at all, on a file with recently opened accounts.
- Account balances or limits that are round numbers throughout.
- The report date is weeks or months before the application.
- Some pages are missing, cropped or in a different resolution from the rest.
- Fonts or spacing in the score or account lines differ from the surrounding text.
- The applicant sends a screenshot of a score from an app rather than the report itself.
Altering a genuine report in a material way is making a false document under the Criminal Code, and knowingly passing it off as genuine is a separate offence.6,7
How to Pull the Report Yourself
Pulling the report directly takes three things: the applicant’s authorization, enough identifying information to match the right file, and a route to a bureau, usually through a screening service.
- Get written authorization. O. Reg. 290/98 lets a landlord request it, and the Privacy Commissioner says a landlord must have the applicant’s consent to share their information with a credit reporting agency.2,4
- Give written notice. Ontario’s Consumer Reporting Act requires written notice to the consumer before requesting a report that contains personal information, and the name and address of the agency if the consumer asks.3 Check that your rental application’s consent wording gives this notice.
- Collect only what the check needs. The Privacy Commissioner says a credit check needs, at a minimum, name, address and date of birth.4
- Do not ask for the Social Insurance Number. The Privacy Commissioner says a landlord cannot require it, and the Ontario Human Rights Commission says housing providers should use other means to run credit checks.4,5
A report that comes from the bureau to you, rather than through the applicant, removes the editing step entirely. PropTx Verify runs the credit check as part of the screening, after the applicant authorizes it in the flow. It is a soft check that does not affect the applicant’s score. For how the credit check fits with the other checks, see what a full tenant screening in Ontario covers.
Fraud Alerts and Thin Files
A report you pull yourself can carry two signals a supplied copy may hide.
The first is a fraud alert. In Ontario a consumer can require a bureau to add an alert to their file warning anyone who sees it to verify the identity of a person claiming to be them, along with a phone number to call.3 The Act puts a duty to verify on lenders extending credit; for a landlord the alert is still a clear instruction to confirm, through the contact number in the alert, that the applicant is the person on the file.3
The second is a thin or empty file. That is not a red flag on its own. The Ontario Human Rights Commission says landlords cannot equate the absence of a credit rating with a bad one and should not reject applications based on a lack of credit history, which often affects newcomers, young people and people returning to work.5 Use the other evidence the regulation allows: rental history, references and, alongside them, income.2
If You Decline Because of the Report
Tell the applicant. Under the Consumer Reporting Act, a person who denies a benefit wholly or partly because of information from a consumer reporting agency must give notice of that when the decision is communicated, and if the consumer asks within 60 days, must name the agency.3 The applicant can then check the file with the bureau, which matters if the problem is identity fraud against them rather than fraud by them.
If a supplied report turned out to be edited, keep your notes and consider a report to local police and the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre.8 The wider checklist is in rental application fraud, and identity mismatches are covered in tenant identity fraud.
This page is general information about Ontario law, not legal advice. For a decision that turns on specific facts, talk to a lawyer or licensed paralegal.
Questions
Can a Landlord Accept a Credit Report From the Applicant?
They can look at it, but it should not replace a report the landlord pulls with the applicant’s authorization. A supplied copy passed through the applicant’s hands and can be edited.
Does a Landlord Need Consent to Run a Credit Check in Ontario?
Yes. O. Reg. 290/98 lets a landlord request authorization for a credit check, and the Privacy Commissioner says consent is needed to share the applicant’s information with a credit reporting agency.2,4
Does a Landlord Need the Applicant’s SIN for a Credit Check?
No. The Privacy Commissioner says name, address and date of birth are the minimum for a credit check and that a landlord cannot require a SIN.4
What Should You Do if the Report Shows a Fraud Alert?
Confirm the applicant’s identity before going further, using the contact method in the alert. Ontario lets consumers add these alerts so anyone checking their file verifies who they are dealing with.3
Sources
- Getting your credit report and credit score
Financial Consumer Agency of Canada, Get your credit report online. Accessed October 22, 2026.
- O. Reg. 290/98: Business Practices Permissible to Landlords in Selecting Prospective Tenants for Residential Accommodation
Government of Ontario, e-Laws, s. 1(1) to (5). Accessed October 22, 2026.
- Consumer Reporting Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. C.33
Government of Ontario, e-Laws, ss. 8(1)(d)(ii), 10(2), 10(7), 12.1 to 12.3; consolidated from July 1, 2026. Accessed October 22, 2026.
- Privacy in the landlord and tenant relationship
Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada, What personal information do I have to provide to a prospective landlord?; Does a landlord require my Social Insurance Number (SIN)?. Accessed October 22, 2026.
- Policy on human rights and rental housing, V. Identifying discrimination in rental housing
Ontario Human Rights Commission, s. 4.2.4 Credit history; s. 4.2.5 Social Insurance Number (S.I.N.) information. Accessed October 22, 2026.
- Criminal Code, R.S.C. 1985, c. C-46
Justice Laws Website, Government of Canada, s. 366(1) and (2), forgery and making a false document; current to 2026-09-30. Accessed October 22, 2026.
- Criminal Code, R.S.C. 1985, c. C-46
Justice Laws Website, Government of Canada, s. 368(1), use, trafficking or possession of forged document. Accessed October 22, 2026.
- Report fraud and cybercrime
Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre, Report online; Why you should report fraud and cybercrime (modified 2025-11-27). Accessed October 22, 2026.
