Ontario Tenant Screening: What You're Legally Allowed to Ask

Why Tenant Screening Is High-Stakes in Ontario

In Ontario, the tenant selection process is regulated by the Human Rights Code, administered by the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario (HRTO). A prospective tenant who believes they were denied housing for a discriminatory reason can file an application with the HRTO — and unlike the LTB, the HRTO has broad remedial powers including monetary compensation and orders to change your practices.

HRTO complaints are not rare, and they don't require the applicant to prove you intended to discriminate. If your selection process had a discriminatory effect — even if unintentional — you may be required to justify your decision. If you can't, the complaint can succeed.

The 17 Protected Grounds Under the Human Rights Code

The Ontario Human Rights Code prohibits discrimination in housing on the following grounds. Any question, practice, or criterion that screens tenants based on these characteristics — directly or indirectly — is potentially discriminatory.

What You Can Legally Ask

Despite the protected grounds, you have significant latitude to screen applicants on financial and rental history criteria. Here's what's permitted:

• Employment status and income. You can ask about employment, occupation, and total gross monthly or annual income. You can require that income be sufficient to afford rent — most landlords use a rent-to-income ratio of 2.5x–3x the monthly rent as a threshold, applied consistently to all applicants.
• Credit history. You can run a credit check (with the applicant's written consent) and evaluate creditworthiness. Reviewing credit score and payment history is standard practice.
• Rental history. You can ask for prior landlord references and contact them to verify the tenancy history.
• Identification. You can ask for government-issued ID to verify identity.
• Number of occupants. You can ask how many people will be occupying the unit, as it relates to health and safety standards.
• Smoking status. If your lease prohibits smoking, you can ask and make it a condition of tenancy.
• Pets. You can ask about pets, though note that the RTA prevents you from enforcing a no-pets clause in most circumstances once the tenancy begins.

What You Cannot Ask

These questions are either prohibited outright or create significant HRTO risk. Avoid them entirely — even informally, in conversation:

• "Do you have children?" or "How many kids do you have?" Family status is a protected ground. If the answer would affect your decision, you cannot ask.
• "Where are you from?" or "What's your nationality?" Place of origin, ancestry, and ethnic origin are protected.
• "Do you receive ODSP/Ontario Works?" Receipt of public assistance is a protected ground. You can ask about total income; you cannot ask where it comes from in a way designed to screen out assistance recipients.
• "What is your religion?" or "Do you observe [holiday]?" Creed is protected.
• Any question about disability, medical conditions, or health status. Disability is protected. This includes questions that seem neutral but are designed to surface this information.
• Questions about marital status, relationship structure, or sexual orientation. All protected.
• Requesting a photo before meeting. This can be used to screen based on race, and the HRTO has taken a dim view of this practice.

Credit Checks: How to Do Them Right

Running a credit check on a prospective tenant is legal and standard practice in Ontario. The requirements:

1. Written consent is required. You must obtain the applicant's signed consent before pulling their credit report. Your rental application form should include a credit check consent section.
2. Use an approved credit reporting agency. Equifax and TransUnion are the standard options. Some landlords use tenant-screening services that bundle credit, background, and income verification.
3. Evaluate consistently. If you use credit score as a criterion, apply the same threshold to all applicants for that unit. Inconsistent application of criteria is how neutral-seeming practices become discriminatory in practice.
4. A low credit score alone is not automatically disqualifying. If the score is low due to circumstances that could be tied to a protected ground (e.g., a disability that caused income disruption), you need to be careful. A poor score combined with excellent references and stable current income presents a different picture than a poor score with a history of payment defaults.

Income Verification: The Legal Approach

You can ask applicants to demonstrate that their income is sufficient to afford your unit. What you cannot do is discriminate based on the source of that income.

Acceptable verification methods:

• Recent pay stubs (2–3 months)
• Employment letter from employer confirming salary and employment status
• Bank statements showing consistent income deposits
• Notice of Assessment from CRA (for self-employed applicants)
• Government benefit statements (ODSP, CPP, etc.) — these are valid income verification

You can require that total income meet a threshold (e.g., gross income at least 2.5–3x monthly rent). You cannot require that the income come from employment specifically, or that it exclude government sources.

References: What to Ask and What to Document

Prior landlord references are valuable and legal. When contacting a prior landlord, stick to rental history questions:

• Did this person rent from you? (Dates of tenancy)
• Did they pay rent on time, consistently?
• Were there any LTB proceedings during the tenancy?
• Was the unit left in good condition at the end of the tenancy?
• Would you rent to this person again?

Do not ask questions designed to surface protected characteristics, and do not act on information a reference volunteers that relates to a protected ground. If a reference tells you an applicant "has a lot of health issues" — that's information you should not consider in your decision, and you should note that you did not consider it.

Documenting Your Decision

Your decision documentation is your protection if an HRTO complaint is filed. For every rental unit, keep a file that includes:

• All rental applications received, with dates
• Signed credit check consent forms
• Credit report results
• Notes from reference checks (stick to the questions above)
• Your selection criteria applied consistently across all applicants
• A brief written note explaining why the selected applicant was chosen (income sufficient, positive references, good credit history)
• If an applicant was declined: a brief written note on the non-discriminatory reason (income below threshold, negative reference from prior landlord, poor credit history)

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Ontario human rights law is regularly updated and interpreted through HRTO decisions. For specific situations, consult a licensed paralegal or lawyer familiar with Ontario human rights and residential tenancy law.