Which One Proves More?
The payroll record proves more. When an applicant signs in to their payroll provider and authorizes the pull, the employer name, employment status and pay come from the same records that produce their pay. Nobody retyped them and the applicant had no chance to edit them on the way to you.
An employment letter proves that someone wrote a letter. It can be accurate, and most are. But on its own it carries no more weight than the letterhead and the phone number printed on it, and both are whatever the applicant chose to send.
| Question | Payroll record (connected) | Employment letter (uploaded) |
|---|---|---|
| Where does the information come from? | The payroll provider, with the applicant’s own login | The applicant, who forwards a letter from whoever they say is the employer |
| Can the applicant change it before you see it? | No, it does not pass through the applicant’s hands | Yes, a PDF or scan is easy to edit |
| Does it confirm pay actually being paid? | Yes, it reflects pay the system has run | No, it states a salary; it does not show any being paid |
| Does it work for a job that starts next month? | No, there is no pay history yet | Yes, an offer or confirmation letter is the normal evidence |
| Does it work for the self-employed? | No, there is no payroll | Rarely; an accountant’s letter or tax documents usually take its place |
| What does it need from the applicant? | Their payroll login and consent to the pull | A letter from HR or a manager |
| How do you check it? | The record is the check; compare it with the application | Call the employer through a number you found yourself |
Where Each Piece of Evidence Comes From
Ontario employers must give each employee a written statement on or before pay day setting out the pay period, the wage rate if there is one, gross wages, each deduction and its purpose, and net pay.1 That statement, the pay stub, is produced by the same payroll run a payroll connection reads. So a connected payroll record and a genuine stub should agree, and when they don’t, the record is the one to trust.
No equivalent rule governs employment letters. They are written on request, by whoever the employer asks, in whatever form they like. That is why a letter is a lead to follow, not a finding. See Fake Employment Letters: Red Flags and How to Verify for how altered and invented letters usually look.
PropTx Verify integrates with payroll providers to verify employment at the source. When payroll is not available, it falls back to income deposits in a connected bank account, and the reverse.
How Long Does Each Take?
A letter arrives quickly, because the applicant usually has one ready. The time goes into checking it. You find the employer’s main number yourself, reach payroll or human resources, and wait for someone who is allowed to confirm employment. Some employers only confirm in writing, and some route requests through a third party, so one call can turn into several days.
A payroll pull takes as long as it takes the applicant to sign in. If the applicant’s provider can be connected, the check is done when they finish. If it cannot, you are back to the letter and the call.
Alex, PropTx Verify’s voice assistant, places employer and landlord reference calls around the clock and confirms employment status, income and job title, which takes the waiting off the agent when a call is the only route. See how a call works.
Which Is Easier to Fake?
The letter, by a wide margin. Templates are easy to find and a scanned signature is easy to paste. The usual tells:
- The only contact is a mobile number or a personal email domain.
- The company name, address or phone number matches nothing public, or matches a different business.
- The salary is a round number that does not reconcile with the stubs or the deposits.
- The person who signed cannot be found at the company, or the title is vague, such as “Manager”.
- The letter is dated well before the application but describes the job in the present tense with no change since.
A payroll record is much harder to fake because the applicant does not handle the data. It is not immune to error. The record shows what the payroll system holds, so a change the employer has not entered yet, such as a raise, a reduced schedule or a notice of termination, will not appear. Read it as accurate for what has been paid, not as a promise about the future.
When a Letter Is Perfectly Fine
A letter is the right evidence in several common cases, and insisting on payroll in these cases only stalls a good application:
- A new job. An applicant relocating for work often has an offer letter and no pay yet. Confirm the offer with the employer and look at the rest of the file.
- An employer that can’t be connected. Small businesses often run payroll in ways an applicant cannot link. A letter confirmed by phone, plus bank deposits, is a sound substitute.
- A confirmed letter. Once you have reached the employer through an independent number and they have confirmed status, title and pay, the letter has done its job.
- An applicant who declines to connect. Connecting payroll means sharing sensitive financial information, which calls for express consent.4 Some applicants will say no. Offer the letter route rather than treating the refusal as a red flag.
For self-employed and gig workers, neither option fits well. Bank deposits, tax documents and contracts usually carry the load. See Screening Self-Employed and Gig-Income Applicants.
What Ontario Law Lets You Do With the Result
Whichever route you take, the result is income information, and Ontario limits how you use it. A landlord may request income information only when also requesting credit references, rental history or a credit check, and may weigh it only together with that other information, unless income is all that comes back.2 The details are in What Can a Landlord Ask on a Rental Application in Ontario?.
Verifying a job is also not the same as requiring a particular kind of job. The Ontario Human Rights Commission notes that nothing in the regulation permits landlords to ask for employment history, and that requirements for permanent employment or a minimum time with an employer have been found to discriminate on Code grounds.3 Use either method to confirm that the stated income is real, not to screen out contract, seasonal or newly hired workers.
Get consent before you call an employer, and don’t keep copies of documents you only needed to look at. The Privacy Commissioner expects landlords to obtain consent for reference and background checks, and notes that viewing a pay stub to confirm income likely does not require taking a copy.5
This page is general information about Ontario law, not legal advice. Where a decision turns on the facts, get advice from a paralegal or lawyer.
Which Should You Use?
Choose payroll verification if the applicant has been paid by their current employer and their payroll provider can be connected; it is the stronger evidence and needs no follow-up call. Choose the employment letter if the job is new, the employer cannot be connected or the applicant declines to connect, and confirm the letter through a number you found yourself before you rely on it. Where neither payroll nor a letter settles the question, regular pay deposits in a connected bank account are the next source to check.
Questions
Is an Employment Letter Enough to Rent in Ontario?
It can be, once you have confirmed it with the employer through a number you found yourself. Unconfirmed, it proves only that someone wrote it. Income is also weighed together with credit and rental history, not alone.2
Can a Landlord Require Payroll Verification?
A landlord can ask for it, but connecting payroll shares sensitive financial information, which calls for express consent.4 Offer a confirmed letter or bank deposits as an alternative for applicants who decline.
Can a Landlord Require a Permanent Job or a Minimum Time With the Employer?
That is risky. The Ontario Human Rights Commission says requirements for permanent employment or minimum tenure have been found to discriminate on Code grounds.3
What Should You Ask When You Call an Employer?
Confirm employment status, job title and, if the employer will share it, pay. Call a number you found independently, have the applicant’s consent first, and ask nothing about family, health or other Code grounds.5
Sources
- Employment Standards Act, 2000, S.O. 2000, c. 41
Government of Ontario, e-Laws, s. 12(1), statement re wages, consolidated to January 1, 2026. 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.
- Policy on human rights and rental housing, V. Identifying discrimination in rental housing
Ontario Human Rights Commission, s. 4.2.3 Employment history. Accessed October 22, 2026.
- Guidelines for obtaining meaningful consent
Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada, Form of consent; Sensitivity. Accessed October 22, 2026.
- Privacy in the landlord and tenant relationship
Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada, Can a landlord ask to see my driver’s licence? My tax information? My pay stubs?; Can a landlord look into my background by looking at what I post on social media or by calling another landlord?. Accessed October 22, 2026.
