etjotoft

Hi we are moving over in August , and will be renting initially, so what do we need to provide as references for landlords?

We have a short rental period for a reference from here but, mainly owned and been landlords ourselves. We can get character ref from my sister in Canada, or with immigrants will they ask for a guarantor?

I know different landlords will probably ask for different criteria but anyone's experience would be of help so we know what to prepare in advance.

Many thanks Paula

KeithSonja

We met with our landlord and he took us on face value that we are good people but we did have a letter from my employer to hand, just in-case.

etjotoft

Thanks, we are kind of expecting that it will just be down to the individual what they ask for.

Tango Mike

Well our experience was interesting....when I informed our rental agent that although we have funds from a UK flat sale, we don't have jobs and are just 'turning up' to start from scratch, our rental agent (who had been recommended to us by a realtor, called John, who had found a house for a friend of a friend replied: 'Well as you were passed on to me by John, I take that as recommendation enough. Just give me your current landlady's email address and that will suffice.' We did also chat with the house owner but it was basically as simple as that..... good luck!

HGerchikov

I work quite a bit with new arrivals to Canada and trying to find rental properties for them. The answer is that it varies, I have had one landlord that insisted on the full 12 months rent up front - he didn't get it and I believe that after 4 months his property is still available for lease. Some landlords just want to meet the tenants and all is good. I recommend that people try to bring whatever they can to demonstrate that they are a safe bet for the landlord - for example employment letter (if you have one), UK credit score, bank balance (particularly if you have recently sold a UK property and have the funds sitting in the bank), and if you have rented before references from previous landlord.

johnh009

Having done a short term rental in Canada myself, I think you will find it a lot easier than the beaurocratic nightmare it is in the UK.

etjotoft

Loving this would be lovely if it was that simple for us too.

ac646d

Hi there

Being English seems to help a lot - we had no work lined up when we first arrived and starting looking at properties, but when potential landlords met us in person it seemed that our "Englishness" somehow conveyed reliability, which helped!

Everything everyone has said is true - gather together some character references, employment references from your last UK job, and a UK credit report if you can. I even took along my proof of funds from immigration to the last property I viewed. But I was never asked for anything in the end - they take a lot on faith and just meeting you in person over here.

Best of luck

Juliet C

Hi

We moved to Victoria five weeks ago, we bought personal and business references, references from out previous landlord and neighbours (all with contact email addresses) I also made sure my linkedin profile was up to dateand had a recommendations on it, I also got up to date credit reports.

After all that our landlord went on gut feeling (I suspect he did look us up on the internet though) but I think the fact we offered to supply all this helped.

Good luck

Juliet

JonboyE

This is true. And, taking the thread OT for a moment, it is the flip side of "it's who you know not what you know" complaints by job seekers.

While governments and regulating bodies demand endless certificates and qualifications, many, many ordinary Canadians place more value in their own judgement of your character than anything written on a piece of paper.

It is why job hunting from the UK is so difficult if you can't meet employers face to face, and why personal recommendation is so valuable.

englishrose1

The problem certainly in toronto and the suburbs is that the market is swampped with renters. I am looking for a property in the etobicoke area. I find myself playing cat and mouse with the owners of these properties. A lot of them give you lip service. Deposit or not, if you are new they want someone who has a history they can check.

I think this credit check system by private individuals by a friend of a friend is wrong and should be regulated. I think a lot of this rental owner forget we have to have liquid assets to bring into Canada in the first place, and it aint no small amount.

I would not mind but I am working, and have work references but apparently at the minute a lot of apartment owners want to see that you have 2 years work history. Urrmm how when only been here 7 weeks. This has just been my experience so far. I cannot speak for anyone else of for other places where people may be looking.

What I do think and I hope I not shouted down is some of the quality of the rental units for the prices they want are shocking, and when you check the address on the following site and the address comes up. www.bedbugregistry.com. It you even more shocked that building with these problems are rented at such high rents.

London is expensive but I think toronto is more expensive. Regardless of whether is the dollar or pound sign 1000-1500 should get you a decent pad. In toronto I am not finding it to be the case in some parts, even in decent area it should be enough money for a 1-2 bed decent place.

dbd33

I don't think this is the case. Granted I only know prices in central London, and Etobicoke is the equivalent of somewhere like Edgware, but I'd say that as a rule of thumb the rent per month in Toronto is the rent per week in London. For example, my daughter's two bedroom place is 450 a week, say 750 dollars. 3000/month is enough for a wide choice of two bedroomed apartments in Toronto.

Auld Yin

I would not mind but I am working, and have work references but apparently at the minute a lot of apartment owners want to see that you have 2 years work history. Urrmm how when only been here 7 weeks. This has just been my experience so far. I cannot speak for anyone else of for other places where people may be looking.


I don't know if you've ever played the landlord role but I don't care how posh your accent, how beautifully you're attired or what model of car you drive up in. If you want to rent one of my apartments I want to know who you are, what is your history, at least two verifiable references, proof of ability to pay the rent, etc, etc.
Once you're in the property it's a nightmare to get you out should you elect not to pay the rent and/or damage the interior. If you choose not to provide what I need/want and the unit goes unrented then that's better for me than taking the necessary action to evict you.

englishrose1

Yes actually I have played the landlord role, and all I ask for is honesty. If the reason you dont want to rent from me is because you dont trust me say so. Ultimately we all have to live somewhere, it has nothing to do with my accent, and how nice I do or do not speak. The point I was making even with 12 months rent up front that is still now enough for some greedy canadians!!!