Selecting Prospective Tenants (RTA)

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

10 In selecting prospective tenants, landlords may use, in the manner prescribed in the regulations made under the Human Rights Code, income information, credit checks, credit references, rental history, guarantees, or other similar business practices as prescribed in those regulations. 2006, c. 17, s. 10.

SWT-23235-11 (Re), 2011 CanLII 91399 (ON LTB)

6. Section 10 of the Act provides that in selecting prospective tenants, landlords may use, in the manner prescribed in the regulations made under the Human Rights Code, income information, credit checks, credit references, rental history, guarantees, or other similar business practices as prescribed in those regulations. The applicable regulations are found in O. Reg. 290/98.

7. Since the Landlord had already accepted the Tenants, the information request made on August 31, 2011 was not for the purpose of selecting a prospective tenant as permitted by section 10 of the Act and the regulations under the Human Rights Code. The information request was also broader in scope than the verification of information permitted under the terms of the rental application because the Landlord was seeking additional information not already disclosed, such as the Tenant’s 2010 income, year-to-date income and monthly income before April 2011. Therefore, I find the stated purpose of the request, to “ascertain the accuracy of information that is provided,” was false. I find the request was a fishing expedition undertaken for no good reason after the Tenants’ applications were filed, and the Landlord ought to have known it would be unwelcome. Although it was an isolated incident, the attempted invasion of the Tenants’ privacy, in the guise of information verification, was serious enough to constitute harassment.

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

1. (1) A landlord may request credit references and rental history information, or either of them, from a prospective tenant and may request from a prospective tenant authorization to conduct credit checks on the prospective tenant. O. Reg. 290/98, s. 1 (1).

(2) A landlord may consider credit references, rental history information and credit checks obtained pursuant to requests under subsection (1), alone or in any combination, in order to assess the prospective tenant and the landlord may select or refuse the prospective tenant accordingly. O. Reg. 290/98, s. 1 (2).

(3) A landlord may request income information from a prospective tenant only if the landlord also requests information listed in subsection (1). O. Reg. 290/98, s. 1 (3).

(4) A landlord may consider income information about a prospective tenant in order to assess the prospective tenant and the landlord may select or refuse the prospective tenant accordingly only if the landlord considers the income information together with all the other information that was obtained by the landlord pursuant to requests under subsection (1). O. Reg. 290/98, s. 1 (4).

(5) If, after requesting the information listed in subsections (1) and (3), a landlord only obtains income information about a prospective tenant, the landlord may consider the income information alone in order to assess the prospective tenant and the landlord may select or refuse the prospective tenant accordingly. O. Reg. 290/98, s. 1 (5).

2. (1) A landlord may require a prospective tenant to obtain a guarantee for the rent. O. Reg. 290/98, s. 2 (1).

(2) A landlord may require a prospective tenant to pay a security deposit in accordance with sections 105 and 106 of the Residential Tenancies Act, 2006. O. Reg. 290/98, s. 2 (2); O. Reg. 95/18, s. 1.

3. In selecting a prospective tenant, a landlord of a rental unit described in paragraph 1, 2, 3 or 4 of subsection 7 (1) or subsection 8 (1) of the Residential Tenancies Act, 2006 may request and use income information about a prospective tenant in order to determine a prospective tenant’s eligibility for rent in an amount geared-to-income and, when requesting and using the income information for that purpose only, the landlord is not bound by subsections 1 (3) and (4). O. Reg. 290/98, s. 3; O. Reg. 646/00, s. 1; O. Reg. 95/18, s. 2.

4. Nothing in this Regulation authorizes a landlord to refuse accommodation to any person because of race, ancestry, place of origin, colour, ethnic origin, citizenship, creed, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, marital status, family status, disability or the receipt of public assistance. O. Reg. 290/98, s. 4; O. Reg. 31/00, s. 1; O. Reg. 284/05, s. 1; O. Reg. 95/18, s. 3.