Income Requirements and Rent-to-Income Ratios in Ontario

What the Law Says About Income Criteria

The Human Rights Code gives everyone equal treatment in the occupancy of accommodation, and receipt of public assistance is one of the protected grounds.¹ Section 21(3) then allows landlords to use income information, credit checks, credit references, rental history and guarantees, but only in the manner the regulations prescribe.¹

The regulation, O. Reg. 290/98, sets three conditions on income:²

1. You may request income information only if you also request credit references, rental history or authorization for a credit check.
2. You may use income to select or refuse an applicant only together with all the other information those requests produced.
3. If, after asking for everything, income is the only information you get, you may consider it alone.

Rent-geared-to-income housing is the exception. Landlords of the social and public housing units the regulation lists may use income on its own to decide eligibility for geared-to-income rent.² The OHRC says rent-to-income ratios may also be considered in that setting.³

Why a 30% Rule Is a Problem

The OHRC’s position is direct: it is illegal for housing providers to apply a rent-to-income ratio such as a 30% cut-off rule.³ Its policy explains the history. In Shelter Corp. v. Ontario, an Ontario human rights tribunal found that income ratios had a systemic impact on a range of groups protected by the Code and were not bona fide requirements because they had no value in predicting whether a tenant would default.⁴ The OHRC says section 21(3) and the regulation, added later, do not permit income ratios, as a later tribunal decision clarified.⁴

The test the OHRC sets instead: assess only whether the applicant has enough income to pay the rent, not whether what is left over is enough for everything else.⁴ Its own example is a lone parent applying for an $800 unit with $1,627 a month from social assistance, the Child Benefit and a part-time job, plus good references and a solid credit check. The landlord sees enough income to pay the rent and offers the unit.⁴ A 30% rule would have rejected her, since $800 is about 49% of $1,627.

Even without the OHRC’s position, a neutral-looking rule that excludes a protected group is constructive discrimination under section 11 of the Code unless it is reasonable and bona fide in the circumstances.¹ A fixed ratio is exactly that kind of rule.

The same applies to guarantors. A landlord who asks for a co-signer cannot require that person to meet a minimum rent-to-income ratio that couldn’t be imposed on the applicant.⁴

How to Use Income With the Other Information

Read income as one input next to the others, and use it for one question: can this person pay this rent?

• Credit check and references. These show how the applicant has handled obligations. The OHRC says a lack of credit history must not be treated as bad credit.⁴
• Rental history. Paying rent on time at a similar amount is the closest evidence you have. No rental history is not a negative rental history.⁴
• Income. Confirm the amount and that it is ongoing. Income information covers the amount, source and steadiness of income.⁴
• Guarantor. If the file is thin, a guarantee for the rent is allowed, as long as the same requirement applies to every applicant.^2,3

For what the application can ask in the first place, see what a landlord can ask on a rental application. For the consent the credit check needs, see credit checks and consent in Ontario.

Applicants With Variable or Non-Employment Income

Verify that the income exists; don’t judge where it comes from. The OHRC says landlords may verify that an applicant has a source of income but may not assess or judge the source type, such as Ontario Works.⁴ Public assistance, in the OHRC’s reading, includes Ontario Works, ODSP, CPP, OAS, the Child Benefit and OSAP.⁴

Employment rules carry the same risk. Nothing in the regulation permits asking about employment history, and requirements for permanent employment or a minimum time with one employer have been found to discriminate.⁴ The OHRC names seasonal workers, newcomers, young people and people returning to work after caregiving as groups such rules affect.⁴

For contract, gig, commission or self-employed income, the practical question is the same: does money arrive reliably enough to cover the rent? Several months of deposits answer that better than a single stub or letter. PropTx Verify pulls income data from bank accounts the applicant connects, and falls back from payroll to bank deposits when payroll data isn’t available. For the employment side, see how to verify a tenant’s employment.

Documenting the Decision

Write down what you looked at and why you chose, in terms the regulation allows. The OHRC says larger housing providers should rely on objective and standardized criteria when selecting occupants, to reduce the chance that bias plays a role.⁴ A short note per applicant, kept with the file, is how you show that later.

1. Record that you requested references, rental history and credit check consent before or with income.²
2. Note the income figure and whether it covers the rent, without a ratio.⁴
3. Note anything else that decided it: references, history, the credit result, a guarantor.²
4. If credit bureau or other third-party information contributed to a refusal, tell the applicant when you give the decision and, if they ask within sixty days, name the source.⁵
5. Keep the file only as long as needed, but long enough for the applicant to ask to see the information used to decide.⁶

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

Questions

Sources

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

   Government of Ontario, e-Laws, ss. 2(1), 11(1) and 21(3), consolidated to July 1, 2025. 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 3, consolidated to March 8, 2018. Accessed October 22, 2026.

3. Policy on human rights and rental housing

   Ontario Human Rights Commission, Overview, Choosing tenants. Accessed October 22, 2026.

4. 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 Income requirements (with note 150), 4.2.2, 4.2.3, 4.2.4 and 4.2.6. Accessed October 22, 2026.

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

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

6. Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act, Schedule 1

   Justice Laws Website, Government of Canada, Clauses 4.5 and 4.5.2. Accessed October 22, 2026.