How Landlords Use It
Ontario’s tenant-selection regulation lets a landlord request authorization for a credit check and consider the result, alone or with credit references and rental history.2 Ontario law sets no minimum score for renting, so any cut-off is the landlord’s own business practice.
Ontario’s Consumer Reporting Act calls a score generated from a bureau’s file a “consumer score”.3 Read it next to the report it came from: missed payments, collections and the age of accounts say more than the number alone.
No Score Is Not a Bad Score
The Ontario Human Rights Commission says a lack of rental or credit history should not be viewed negatively, and that landlords should not reject applications for lack of credit history.4 Newcomers and young applicants often have thin files.5 Weigh income, references or a guarantor instead, applied the same way to every applicant.
This page is general information about Ontario law, not legal advice.
Related Terms
Sources
- Credit report and score basics
Financial Consumer Agency of Canada, Who creates your credit report and score; Your credit score and how it’s used (page dated 2026-07-01). 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, ss. 1 to 4, consolidated from March 8, 2018. Accessed October 22, 2026.
- Consumer Reporting Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. C.33
Government of Ontario, e-Laws, s. 1(1) definitions, ss. 8(1)(d)(ii), 8(2), 10(1), 10(2) and 10(7), consolidated from July 1, 2026. Accessed October 22, 2026.
- Policy on human rights and rental housing
Ontario Human Rights Commission, Overview, Choosing tenants. Accessed October 22, 2026.
- Policy on human rights and rental housing, V. Identifying discrimination in rental housing
Ontario Human Rights Commission, ss. 4.2.1 to 4.2.6. Accessed October 22, 2026.
