New Immigrants: Tips For Renting a Home in Canada

New to Canada or thinking of immigration to Canada? You’re probably wondering about finding your first new home in our country; renting may be the best option if you are not living with family or friends. You may be coming to explore apartments with a visitor visa.

Here are some tips for what to expect when it comes to renting an apartment or a home. You might have questions regarding the confusing words in the ads or your rights; read more here.

Prices vary, but the cost of an apartment may be based on the following:

• Neighborhood where it is located
• Number of bedrooms
• Condition or age of the home or apartment

Just as an example, rents in 2018 ranged from $818 to $1,359. The latter price was for a rental in the Greater Toronto area.

They may have you complete an application before they will rent you an apartment or a house. They may ask questions that are related to the rental, such as “How many people will be living there?” or “Do you work?” or “What is your income?”

They may not ask a host of questions involving age, disability, country of origin, religion, family status, pregnancy status or gender expression. Although they cannot ask if you smoke or have pets, they can present you with a lease that says the property is non-smoking.

They can ask for your Social Insurance Number (SIN), but it is not needed to do a credit check. They can do it with your full name, current address and birth date (if you are willing to give them that information). Find out more about what they can ask as well as what they may not ask.

Yes, you can find out more about your rights in the Human Rights Code and the Residential Tenancies Act.

One of your rights is that the home be safe and in good repair. Your home should have heat from September 1 to June 15. Some cities have heat standards; you should check with your community for local heating standards. Rent may only be increased once in a 12 month period. Find out more about your rights as a tenant.

Newspaper and online rental ads may be full of confusing terms. You can find out what some of terms mean with the help of a brochure in your own language.

Common English terms include the following:

• A/C- air conditioning
• Bachelor or studio – one room
• BR – bedroom
• Appl – appliances
• Furn – an apartment with furniture included

There are more terms that can be explained to you with the help of the translated brochure mentioned above.

As a certified immigration consultant, we can help you navigate your immigration and citizenship issues. Your may have a question about your parents immigration to Canada or a temporary visitor visa for your friends from home. Contact us for assistance.