What Should the Landlord Receive?
Give the landlord two things per applicant: a short summary they can read in a minute, and the full report for anyone who wants to check the detail. Most landlords decide from the summary and open the report only for the finalists, so the summary has to be accurate and complete on the points that matter.
The points that matter are set by law. Ontario’s O. Reg. 290/98 lets a landlord request credit references, rental history and authorization for a credit check, and select or refuse an applicant on that information. Income may be requested and weighed only together with those, unless income is all that comes back.1 Build the summary around exactly those items and the landlord’s decision rests on criteria the regulation allows.
If you use PropTx Verify, the sample report shows the full-report side of this; the summary is the page you write on top of it.
What Goes in the One-Page Summary
Keep the same rows, in the same order, for every applicant:
| Row | What to write | Where it comes from |
|---|---|---|
| Offer terms | Rent offered, start date, lease term, deposit offered | The offer to lease |
| Identity | Verified or not verified, and how | ID check in the screening report |
| Credit | Score band, payment history, collections or judgments, or “no Canadian file” | The credit report the applicant authorized1 |
| Rental history | Current and past landlords, tenancy dates, what each reference said | Reference checks1 |
| Income | Verified monthly income and how it was verified, beside the rent | Payroll, bank deposits or documents, read with the rows above1 |
| Open items | Anything unverified, inconsistent or still pending | Your own notes |
Write the income row as a fact (“verified $6,200 a month through payroll”) rather than a pass or fail against a ratio. The Ontario Human Rights Commission’s position is that rent-to-income cut-offs such as 30% are not permitted and that a landlord should only assess whether the applicant has enough income to pay the rent.3 More on that in rent-to-income ratios in Ontario.
The open-items row is where you earn trust. A missing reference or an income figure that came from an upload rather than a connected source should be visible on the page, not discovered later.
How to Compare Several Applicants Side by Side
Put the summaries next to each other in one grid, one column per applicant, with the rows above. The same rows for everyone is the point: the OHRC says housing providers should rely on objective, standardized criteria applied equally to every applicant, and that a landlord who receives several applications should be prepared to show how the successful one was chosen.3
- List applicants in the order their complete applications arrived. The OHRC gives being the first to apply as an example of a reason a landlord can point to.3
- Treat a blank credit file or a first rental differently from a bad one. The OHRC says landlords cannot equate no credit history with bad credit, or no rental history with bad rental history.3
- Ask for the same deposit and the same guarantor rule from every applicant. Asking only some people is one of the patterns the OHRC calls evidence of discrimination.3
- Note the reason for the landlord’s choice in one line, in terms of the rows on the page.
If your reports come from PropTx Verify, Chat with Report lets you compare multiple applicants and produce a summary of each application. See Chat with Report. Check anything it summarizes against the report before it goes in front of the landlord.
What Not to Share
The rule of thumb: share what the landlord needs to choose a tenant, and nothing else. Three sets of rules point the same way.
Human Rights Code Grounds
The Code protects equal treatment in the occupancy of accommodation on sixteen grounds, including age, family status, citizenship, place of origin, disability and receipt of public assistance.2 The Code of Ethics for Ontario real estate registrants separately says a registrant shall not treat any person in a way that would contravene the Code.4 Keep these off the summary even when the application or report reveals them:
- Ages of the applicant or household members, and the number of children. The OHRC notes that asking ages has been found to be prima facie discrimination based on family status.3
- The type of income, such as Ontario Works or disability support. The OHRC says landlords may verify that a source of income exists but may not judge the source type.3
- Citizenship, immigration status or country of origin.
- Anything about health or disability that came up in conversation or a reference call.
Privacy Law
PIPEDA applies to private-sector organizations that collect, use or disclose personal information, and the Privacy Commissioner says landlords must comply with it.6,5 Under its limiting-use principle, personal information may be used or disclosed only for the purposes it was collected for, unless the person consents otherwise, and kept only as long as those purposes need.7 In practice:
- Send each applicant’s information only to the landlord or manager deciding on this unit. Don’t forward it to another landlord for a different listing without fresh consent.7
- Never include a Social Insurance Number. The Privacy Commissioner says a SIN is not needed for a credit check.5
- Share a link or a protected file rather than loose attachments, and limit who can open it. The Commissioner’s rental-sector tips call for passwords and encryption for electronic records and access only for those who need it.8
- Plan disposal for the applicants who are not chosen. Information should not be kept indefinitely and should be destroyed so it cannot be reconstructed.8
Your Duties as a Registrant
If an applicant has their own agent, the Code of Ethics requires you to communicate with that applicant through their agent unless the agent has consented in writing.4 Send requests for missing documents, and the landlord’s answer, through the co-operating agent. And because a registrant must make best efforts to ensure representations are accurate and not misleading, don’t describe an unverified figure as verified.4
When the Landlord Says No
Tell declined applicants promptly and in neutral terms. Ontario’s Consumer Reporting Act has an adverse-action rule: where a benefit is denied to a consumer wholly or partly because of information from a consumer reporting agency or another person, the user of that information must give notice of that fact and, on request within sixty days, name the source.9 The text does not say whether a rental decision is a “benefit” under that section, so giving the notice is the cautious choice. Ask a lawyer if you need a firm answer.
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
Can a Listing Agent Send the Full Credit Report to the Landlord?
Yes, when the applicant consented to it being shared with the landlord for this rental. Send it only to the person deciding, by a protected link or file, and don’t pass it to anyone else without fresh consent.7,8
Should the Summary Include a Rent-to-Income Ratio?
No. State verified income beside the rent instead. The OHRC’s position is that income ratios such as 30% are not permitted and that a landlord should only assess whether the applicant has enough income to pay the rent.3
How Should a Landlord Choose Between Two Strong Applicants?
On the same written criteria for both, with a one-line reason recorded. The OHRC says landlords should be prepared to show how they chose and gives being first to apply as an acceptable reason.3
Can I Contact an Applicant Who Has Their Own Agent?
Only through their agent, unless that agent has consented in writing. That is a rule in the Code of Ethics for Ontario real estate registrants.4
Sources
- 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), consolidated to March 8, 2018. Accessed October 22, 2026.
- 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.
- 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, 4.2.1, 4.2.2 and 4.2.4. Accessed October 22, 2026.
- O. Reg. 365/22: Code of Ethics, under the Trust in Real Estate Services Act, 2002
Government of Ontario, e-Laws, ss. 5, 6 and 14, consolidated to December 1, 2023. Accessed October 22, 2026.
- Privacy in the landlord and tenant relationship
Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada, Are there any privacy laws that set out the rules for how landlords handle tenants’ personal information?; Does a landlord require my Social Insurance Number (SIN)?. Accessed October 22, 2026.
- PIPEDA in brief
Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada, Does the Act apply to your business?. Accessed October 22, 2026.
- PIPEDA fair information principle 5: Limiting use, disclosure, and retention
Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada, Your responsibilities. Accessed October 22, 2026.
- 10 privacy tips for the rental housing sector
Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada, Tips 3 and 4. Accessed October 22, 2026.
- 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.
