How to Check a Tenant’s Landlord References

Why a Reference Check Matters

Rental history is one of the three things O. Reg. 290/98 lets an Ontario landlord request and rely on to select or refuse an applicant, alongside credit references and a credit check.¹ It is also the item most often faked, because the applicant supplies the name and number. A reference you have not confirmed tells you only what the person on the phone chose to say.

Before calling, get consent. The Privacy Commissioner says landlords should get consent for reference and background checks, and that asking another landlord about an applicant is a collection of personal information to which privacy law applies.⁴ Put a line in the application consent that names reference checks with current and previous landlords.

Step 1: Confirm the Reference Is the Real Landlord

Start from documents, not from the phone number the applicant wrote down.

1. Ask the applicant for the first page of their current lease. Every written tenancy agreement in Ontario entered into since June 17, 1998 must set out the landlord’s legal name and address for notices.⁵ The name on the lease is the name you are looking for.
2. Check who owns the address. Ontario’s land registry holds the official records of property ownership, and anyone can do a self-search on OnLand for a fee.⁶ If the owner on the parcel register is not the person giving the reference, ask how they are connected: a property manager, a family member, or a company the owner controls.
3. Find the contact yourself. For a managed building, call the management company through the number on its website. For an individual landlord, match the name on the lease to the owner record before relying on the number.
4. Compare the dates. The tenancy dates the reference gives should match the dates on the application and on the lease.

A mismatch is a question, not a verdict. Many owners hold property through a numbered company, and many tenancies are run by a manager. What you are testing is whether the person speaking has a real connection to the unit.

Step 2: The Questions to Ask

Ask the same questions in the same order for every applicant, and write down the answers as you hear them. The Ontario Human Rights Commission says housing providers should use objective, standardized criteria applied equally to every applicant.³

1. Can you confirm the address and the dates of the tenancy?
2. What was the monthly rent?
3. Was rent paid in full and on time? Were there any arrears when they left, or now?
4. Did you ever file an application with the Landlord and Tenant Board about this tenancy?
5. Did they give proper notice before leaving, or are they giving it now?
6. Was the unit left in good condition, apart from normal wear?
7. Would you rent to them again?

Then stop. The answers you can use are about the tenancy itself: payment, notice and condition. A current landlord may have a reason to give a glowing reference to a tenant they want gone, so weight the previous landlord’s answers at least as heavily as the current one’s.

Questions Not to Ask

The Human Rights Code protects equal treatment in the occupancy of accommodation on sixteen grounds, including age, family status, marital status, disability, citizenship, place of origin and receipt of public assistance.² A reference call is part of the selection process, so steer clear of:

• Who lived in the unit, how many children there were, or how old anyone was.
• Health, disability, or any accommodation the landlord made.
• Where the applicant is from, their language or their immigration status.
• Whether rent came from a job, a pension or social assistance. The OHRC says landlords may verify that income exists but not judge the source type.³
• Complaints the applicant made about repairs or other rights under the Residential Tenancies Act. These describe the landlord, not the tenant.

If the reference volunteers this kind of information, don’t write it down and don’t pass it on. The decision should rest on what the regulation allows.¹

Signs of a Fake Reference

• The name on the lease, the owner on the parcel register and the person on the phone are three different people, with no explanation.
• The reference answers on the first ring at any hour, or replies only by text.
• The reference can’t give the rent, the unit number or the move-in date without hesitation, or gives figures that differ from the application.
• The “landlord” uses a personal email domain while claiming to be a management company.
• Two applicants for different units list the same reference number.
• The applicant pushes to have you call a specific number rather than the office line you found.

Fake references often travel with other fabricated documents. See rental application fraud and tenant identity fraud for the patterns.

No Previous Landlord Is Not a Bad Reference

Newcomers, students and people leaving a family home may have no landlord to call. The OHRC says landlords should not treat a lack of rental history as a negative rental history, and should look at other available information instead.³ See screening newcomers with no Canadian credit history.

Automating the Calls

Reference calls take time because landlords answer when they answer. PropTx Verify contacts and verifies references from previous landlords automatically, and its voice assistant, Alex, can place those calls around the clock and verify tenancy history. See how Alex works.

Automation changes who dials, not the rules. The consent, the confirmation that the reference is the real landlord and the limits on what can be asked all still apply.

What to Record

Write down who you spoke to, how you confirmed them, the date, and the answers to the standard questions. Keep it only as long as you need it for the decision.⁴ If a landlord turns down an applicant partly because of what a reference said, Ontario’s Consumer Reporting Act may require telling the applicant that, and on request within sixty days, the nature and source of the information; the section speaks of a “benefit” being denied, and whether that covers a rental decision is a question for a lawyer.⁷

This page is general information about Ontario law, not legal advice. Where a situation turns on its facts, get advice from a lawyer or paralegal.

Questions

Sources

1. O. Reg. 290/98: Business Practices Permissible to Landlords in Selecting Prospective Tenants for Residential Accommodation

   Government of Ontario, e-Laws, s. 1(1) and (2). Accessed October 22, 2026.

2. Human Rights Code, R.S.O. 1990, c. H.19

   Government of Ontario, e-Laws, s. 2(1), consolidated to July 1, 2025. Accessed October 22, 2026.

3. Policy on human rights and rental housing, V. Identifying discrimination in rental housing

   Ontario Human Rights Commission, ss. 4.1.2.3, 4.2.1 and 4.2.2. Accessed October 22, 2026.

4. Privacy in the landlord and tenant relationship

   Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada, Can a landlord look into my background by looking at what I post on social media or by calling another landlord?; Can a landlord put my name on a “bad tenant” list?; Can a landlord ask to see my driver’s licence? My tax information? My pay stubs?. Accessed October 22, 2026.

5. Residential Tenancies Act, 2006, S.O. 2006, c. 17

   Government of Ontario, e-Laws, s. 12(1), consolidated to September 21, 2026. Accessed October 22, 2026.

6. Overview of land registry

   Government of Ontario, Search land registry records using OnLand; updated April 14, 2026. Accessed October 22, 2026.

7. Consumer Reporting Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. C.33

   Government of Ontario, e-Laws, s. 10(7), consolidated to July 1, 2026. Accessed October 22, 2026.