Many newcomers to Canada choose to rent accommodations versus buying property upon their arrival. Finding a new home can be stressful, so this article will provide the basics for you to understand the process of renting in Canada.
You can search for rentals on your own through various online and in person methods. Sites like Condos.ca, Padmapper and Zumper will show you the available accommodations available in different neighbourhoods and at what price. You can also hire a realtor or real estate agent that will support you in finding a place.
One of the easiest ways to find rental housing is to visit the area you would like to live and look for “For Rent” signs on houses or buildings. You can then call the phone number provided or ask the building manager about the rental options.
It is important to consider where you want to live. Some factors worth considering in this process are the average costs of rentals in a particular area, public transportation options, commute times, proximity to schools, your work, grocery stores, etc., parking and crime rates.
Organize essential documents
To be able to rent a place in Canada, you will have to provide certain documents to prove you can afford rent and will pay on time. Landlords may ask for:
An employment letter with your salary details
A credit report
References (i.e. from previous landlords)
Bank statements
Photocopies of IDs
It may be difficult to meet these requirements after just moving to Canada. However, there are a few options or tips to help you find a rental unit without credit history or a job letter.
Tips for finding a rental
If you have yet to find a job, showing sufficient funds that will cover more than a few months of rent will likely help your case. This will demonstrate your reliability as a tenant. You can speak with your bank who may be able to provide a letter indicating that you have the required funds to pay rent.
Another option is to find a guarantor or co-signer. A guarantor or co-signer is someone who agrees to pay rent on your behalf if you are unable to. Being a guarantor or co-signer is legally binding, and they are usually family or close friends.
Each province has legal guidelines about rent deposits that a tenant is required to pay before moving in. For example, in Ontario, renters are required to pay first and last month’s rent. If you are missing important documents like an employment letter, you can offer a few more months of rent upfront, which can incentivize a landlord to accept your rental application over another person. However, landlord’s are not allowed to ask for this kind of money up front and it is entirely up to you to offer it if you are comfortable with it.
It is important to note that landlords are not allowed to ask you for your Social Insurance Number (SIN). In addition, they cannot inquire about your ethic background, religion, marital status, or sexual preferences.
You can also look for individually owned or basement apartment rentals. Apartments that are owned by an individual landlord versus a property management company may have a much simpler application process. For apartments located in large rental buildings, the process can be very strict in terms of credit and employment verification. Individual landlords may be more flexible when it comes to your situation.
Signing the lease agreement
The lease is the legal document that describes the terms that you and your landlord have agreed to. It will likely indicate:
The amount of rent you are required to pay each month
How you are to pay rent each month (i.e. by cheque, direct deposit)
The dates of your lease
Rules about the rental (i.e. smoking, pets)
The conditions for ending or cancelling your lease
The conditions about subleasing
What repairs are your responsibility
What happens at the end of your lease
Since a lease is a legally binding document, you should make sure you understand it in its entirety before signing.
Once you have signed the lease, you may need to transfer utilities like hydro to your name from the past tenants or from the landlord. Finally, upon receiving the keys, you can move in to your new home.
TORONTO – One expert predicts Ottawa‘s changes to mortgage rules will help spur demand among potential homebuyers but says policies aimed at driving new supply are needed to address the “core issues” facing the market.
The federal government’s changes, set to come into force mid-December, include a higher price cap for insured mortgages to allow more people to qualify for a mortgage with less than a 20 per cent down payment.
The government will also expand its 30-year mortgage amortization to include first-time homebuyers buying any type of home, as well as anybody buying a newly built home.
CIBC Capital Markets deputy chief economist Benjamin Tal calls it a “significant” move likely to accelerate the recovery of the housing market, a process already underway as interest rates have begun to fall.
However, he says in a note that policymakers should aim to “prevent that from becoming too much of a good thing” through policies geared toward the supply side.
Tal says the main issue is the lack of supply available to respond to Canada’s rapidly increasing population, particularly in major cities.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17,2024.
OTTAWA – The Canadian Real Estate Association says the number of homes sold in August fell compared with a year ago as the market remained largely stuck in a holding pattern despite borrowing costs beginning to come down.
The association says the number of homes sold in August fell 2.1 per cent compared with the same month last year.
On a seasonally adjusted month-over-month basis, national home sales edged up 1.3 per cent from July.
CREA senior economist Shaun Cathcart says that with forecasts of lower interest rates throughout the rest of this year and into 2025, “it makes sense that prospective buyers might continue to hold off for improved affordability, especially since prices are still well behaved in most of the country.”
The national average sale price for August amounted to $649,100, a 0.1 per cent increase compared with a year earlier.
The number of newly listed properties was up 1.1 per cent month-over-month.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 16, 2024.
MONTREAL – Two Quebec real estate brokers are facing fines and years-long suspensions for submitting bogus offers on homes to drive up prices during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Christine Girouard has been suspended for 14 years and her business partner, Jonathan Dauphinais-Fortin, has been suspended for nine years after Quebec’s authority of real estate brokerage found they used fake bids to get buyers to raise their offers.
Girouard is a well-known broker who previously starred on a Quebec reality show that follows top real estate agents in the province.
She is facing a fine of $50,000, while Dauphinais-Fortin has been fined $10,000.
The two brokers were suspended in May 2023 after La Presse published an article about their practices.
One buyer ended up paying $40,000 more than his initial offer in 2022 after Girouard and Dauphinais-Fortin concocted a second bid on the house he wanted to buy.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 11, 2024.
