Hard Credit Check

When a Rental Check Is Hard

The Financial Consumer Agency of Canada lists credit card, mortgage and loan applications as hard inquiries, along with “some rental applications” and some employment applications.¹ Applicants who are shopping for a unit and a mortgage at the same time notice these.

Ask the screening provider whether its check is recorded as hard or soft, and tell applicants which it is before they consent. It is one less objection when the applicant has several applications in at once.

What It Means for the Decision

A hard inquiry is a line on the report, not a judgment about the applicant. In Ontario, what a landlord may weigh from a credit check is set by the tenant-selection regulation, and the check needs the applicant’s authorization either way.²

This page is general information about Ontario law, not legal advice.

Related Terms

• Soft Credit Check
• Credit Score (Canada)
• Tenant Screening Report

Sources

1. Improving your credit score

   Financial Consumer Agency of Canada, Hard inquiries; Soft inquiries (page dated 2026-07-01). Accessed October 22, 2026.

2. 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.