Ontario Rental Application: What Landlords Can and Cannot Ask

The test is straightforward: you can ask for information that is genuinely relevant to a tenant's ability to pay rent and their track record as a tenant. Here is what is clearly within bounds:

These questions — or using this information in a rejection decision — expose you to an HRTO complaint and potential financial penalties:

Two forms get confused in the application stage. OREA Form 410 is the “Rental Application” most real-estate agents use to gather information before a landlord makes a decision. LTB Form 2229 is the Ontario Standard Form of Lease — the lease itself, which is mandatory for most new residential tenancies. Form 410 is screening; Form 2229 is signing.

See the Ontario standard lease guide for what Form 2229 actually contains, and the screening checklist for where each form fits in the five-phase process.

Source of income is a protected ground under the OHRC. This means:

What you can do is verify that the income is real and sufficient to support the rent. The amount matters — the source does not. You can ask for proof of income and evaluate ability to pay. You cannot reject someone because of where the money comes from.

The rent-to-income ratio problem

Many landlords use a rule of thumb that gross monthly income should be 2.5–3x the monthly rent. This is not a legally protected practice in Ontario — applying it inconsistently, or in a way that systematically excludes people on social assistance, can constitute discrimination based on source of income.

The safer approach: evaluate affordability based on total income, not ratios, and apply the same standard consistently to every applicant. Document your process.

Running a credit check requires the applicant's voluntary written consent. You cannot run a credit check without it. The consent form should specify:

• →Who will pull the credit report (you or a third-party service)
• →What it will be used for (tenant screening for this rental unit)
• →The applicant's full legal name and date of birth (required for the search)

SIN is not required

You do not need a Social Insurance Number to run a credit check. Equifax and TransUnion can search by name, address, and date of birth. Making the SIN mandatory is both unnecessary and a PIPEDA overreach — collect only what you actually need.

What happens if they refuse?

An applicant can decline a credit check. You can factor this refusal into your decision — the absence of credit information is relevant to your assessment. But declining alone is not grounds to reject. Consider other income verification methods: bank statements, NOA, employer reference.

When you collect personal information through a rental application, you have privacy obligations under PIPEDA (the federal Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act):

You can reject any applicant for any reason that is not a prohibited ground under the OHRC. Legitimate reasons: insufficient income, poor rental history, negative landlord reference, poor credit. You do not have to explain your decision.

What to say (and not say)

Document your decision with a note to the file. If a rejected applicant files an HRTO complaint, your documentation showing a consistent, non-discriminatory process is your primary defence.

The Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario (HRTO) handles discrimination complaints in housing. A tenant who believes they were rejected for a protected reason can file a complaint within one year of the alleged discrimination.

Penalties for HRTO violations in housing include: compensation for losses (rent paid elsewhere at higher cost, moving expenses, emotional distress), and general damages for harm to dignity. Awards in housing discrimination cases have ranged from a few hundred dollars to tens of thousands, depending on the severity and documentation of harm.

The best defence: a consistent, documented process. If you ask every applicant for the same information, apply the same criteria, and can show your rejection was based on financial qualification (not a protected ground), complaints typically do not proceed.