Step 1: Get Written Consent
Start with consent, because every later step depends on it. The regulation speaks of the applicant’s authorization for a credit check, and the Privacy Commissioner expects landlords to get express consent before running one and before reference or background checks.1,3
Ontario’s Consumer Reporting Act adds a form rule. Before requesting a consumer report with personal information, give the applicant written notice, and on request tell them the name and address of the agency supplying it. The notice must be in bold type or underlined, in letters at least ten point.2
Good consent says what you will collect, why, and who will see it.3 Details in Can a Landlord Run a Credit Check in Ontario?.
Step 2: Collect the Application
Ask for what the regulation names and stop there: credit references, rental history, authorization for a credit check, income information, and whether a guarantor is offered.1 Collect landlord and employer contacts now so nobody chases them later.
Leave off anything that reveals a Human Rights Code ground: ages of household members, marital status, citizenship, and questions that separate employment from social assistance.6 A credit check needs name, address and date of birth, not a Social Insurance Number.3 The full list is in What Can a Landlord Ask on a Rental Application in Ontario?, and the paperwork in What Goes in a Rental Application Package in Ontario.
Step 3: Verify Identity
Check that the person applying is the person on the ID and that the ID is real. A photo of a driver’s licence shows only that someone has a picture of one. Verification means checking the document against its issuer or an authoritative source, and matching it to the applicant.
Keep only what you need. The Privacy Commissioner notes that viewing a driver’s licence to confirm identity likely does not require taking a copy.3 PropTx Verify verifies ID against authoritative databases and issuing sources. For what an invented or borrowed identity looks like, see Tenant Identity Fraud and Synthetic Identities.
Step 4: Verify Income and Employment
Get income and employment from where they are created, not from documents the applicant forwards. A payroll record the applicant connects confirms the employer, status and income; deposits in a bank account they connect show pay arriving and from whom. PropTx Verify integrates with payroll providers and reads income from connected bank accounts.
Two Ontario rules shape this step. Income can be weighed only together with the credit and rental history you also requested, unless income is the only thing that comes back.1 And the OHRC says income should only confirm the applicant can cover the rent: a fixed rent-to-income cut-off is illegal, and the regulation does not permit asking for employment history.5,6
When an employer has to be called, use a number you found yourself. The method is in How to Verify a Tenant’s Employment Without Calling the Employer, and the income rules in Income Requirements and Rent-to-Income Ratios in Ontario.
Step 5: Check Credit
Pull the credit report yourself, with the applicant’s consent, rather than accepting one they downloaded. A report the applicant sends you can be edited. PropTx Verify runs a soft credit check with Equifax.
Read the report for payment patterns, collections and judgments, and read a thin file fairly. The OHRC says landlords cannot equate no credit rating with a bad one, and that a person with bad credit should be able to explain their situation before being rejected.6 See How to Read a Tenant Credit Report in Canada.
Step 6: Check Landlord References
Call previous landlords, with the applicant’s consent.3 Confirm that the person you reach owns or manages the address the applicant lived at, then ask about rent payment, the condition of the unit and notice given at the end. A current landlord who wants the tenant gone may give a glowing reference, so the previous one is often more useful.
No rental history is not a bad rental history, and refusing someone only because of where they lived before can be discriminatory.6 PropTx Verify contacts previous landlords for references, and its voice assistant, Alex, calls landlords and employers around the clock. See How to Check a Tenant’s Landlord References and how a call works.
Step 7: Compare Applicants on the Same Criteria
Decide the criteria before you read the files, and apply them to everyone. The OHRC says housing providers should rely on objective and standardized criteria, and that asking for a deposit or guarantor from some applicants but not others can be evidence of discrimination.6
Comparing on paper is slow when there are several strong files. Chat with Report lets you ask questions of finished reports in plain English and compare applicants side by side. Presenting the shortlist to the landlord is covered in How Listing Agents Present Tenant Applicants to a Landlord.
Step 8: Document the Decision
Write down who was chosen and why, in terms of the criteria the regulation allows. Where several people applied, the OHRC says the housing provider should be prepared to show how the successful applicant was chosen, and that being first to apply is a legitimate reason.6
If an applicant is refused because of something in a consumer report, the Consumer Reporting Act requires the person who used the report to tell the applicant at the time and, if asked within sixty days, name the agency that supplied it.2 Then handle the files: keep personal information only as long as you need it and dispose of it so it can’t be recovered.4
This page is general information about Ontario law, not legal advice. Where a situation turns on its facts, get advice from a lawyer, a licensed paralegal or a community legal clinic.
Questions
What Is the First Step in Screening a Tenant?
Getting written consent. Ontario’s Consumer Reporting Act requires written notice before a consumer report is requested, and the Privacy Commissioner expects express consent for credit, reference and background checks.2,3
Can a Landlord Ask for a Social Insurance Number?
They can ask but can’t require it. The Privacy Commissioner says a basic credit check needs name, address and date of birth, and the OHRC says landlords should use other means than a SIN.3,6
Can a Landlord Choose the First Qualified Applicant?
Yes. The OHRC gives being the first person to apply as an example of a reason a landlord can show for choosing the successful applicant.6
Does a Landlord Have to Tell an Applicant Why They Were Refused?
If the refusal turns on information in a consumer report, yes: the user must tell the applicant so at the time, and name the reporting agency if asked within sixty days.2
Sources
- O. Reg. 290/98: Business Practices Permissible to Landlords in Selecting Prospective Tenants for Residential Accommodation
Government of Ontario, e-Laws, ss. 1 and 2, consolidated to March 8, 2018. Accessed October 22, 2026.
- Consumer Reporting Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. C.33
Government of Ontario, e-Laws, ss. 10(2), 10(6) and 10(7), consolidated to July 1, 2026. Accessed October 22, 2026.
- Privacy in the landlord and tenant relationship
Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada, How should landlords be obtaining my consent?; What personal information do I have to provide…?; Does a landlord require my Social Insurance Number?; Can a landlord ask to see my driver’s licence…?; Can a landlord look into my background…?. Accessed October 22, 2026.
- 10 privacy tips for the rental housing sector
Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada, Tip 4, Think about disposal right from the start. 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. 4.1.2.1, 4.1.2.3, 4.2 and 4.2.1 to 4.2.5. Accessed October 22, 2026.
