Renting property in Canada can be a bit convoluted because of the variety and exclusivity every place has in store. Canada is one of the economic hubs of the world and attracts innumerable migrants from all over the world and not just for residential, but also for commercial properties for rent. The country has a mixed throng of French, English, and South Asians, which explains the diversity it entails. People mostly go around multiple sources and links to learn and research for business property for rent or maybe a residential or commercial property for rent. We are providing all of it in one place, here where you can learn all about renting properties in Canada. Here are the basics of renting out your property in Canada
There are some common key pointers that are followed by the landlords and taken into consideration by all Canadian provinces. Coming to leases, there are two types of legally accepted leases which include written and verbal lease agreements. There is an obvious tilt towards written leases because of the clarity, transparency, and protection that it guarantees. In case of any sort of dispute, the reference can be taken into consideration again. Coming to leases, there are two types of legally accepted leases which include written and verbal lease agreements. There is an obvious tilt towards written leases because of the clarity, transparency, and protection that it guarantees. In case of any sort of dispute, the reference can be taken into consideration again.
Responsibilities During Renting Your Home
Having any tenant move into the property, the landlord must make sure that the building meets the municipal standards, the by-laws issued by the authorities in the area, the zoning criteria, the local building codes, and the fire safety and other anti-hazardous regulations issued by the regional administration. Although all these documents are checked during the initial purchase of the property (by the landlord), they would just need to cross-check and self-verify in order to avoid any unwanted discrepancy.
There are a number of responsibilities to keep in check, once the tenant’s lease begins. The maintenance, keeping the home in a good condition, shape to carry out the minimal repairs, making it habitable, keeping all other amenities and services under check comes under their responsibility as well. If the rent is inclusive of the supply of services like electricity and water supply, then the owner must make sure that all of them are provided accurately and in order. If the landlord wishes to terminate the lease due to some reason, a notice period must be given depending upon the following situations:
| Notice length | Allowable reasons |
| 10 Days | The tenant has failed to paid rent or utilities, even if the contract specified that they must. However, if they pay within five days of receiving this notice, the notice is considered void. |
| 1 Month | In case the tenant has failed to pay the security or pet deposit within 30 days of commencement of the property possession.
In case the tenant has missed the due date at least three times for paying the rent. The tenant or their guests have seriously damaged the property or have put the health and rights of the landlord or another resident in jeopardy. Tenant has sublet the property without your authorization. The tenant is involved in any sort of illegal activity that carries the potential of the property jeopardy, or risk to the landlord, or any other occupants. |
| 2 Months | In case the landlord plans to occupy the property or have a close family who is willing to lend the property further.
In case the landlord sells the property to someone who is willing to occupy it. |
| 4 Months | In case the landlord plans to do major repairs or reconstruction that might require the vacancy of the property. |
6 Tips For Renting Your Home
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Finding a Good Tenant
Apart from listing their basic information and details, one should also cross-check the tenants’ references and social security numbers. The Landlord can also do background checks by evaluating their credit reports and criminal history. The landlord can also make background checks by contacting their previous employers or landlords.
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Determining How Much Rent to Charge
Do your research and get an idea about the market rent rates by reading references online and in newspapers. Be it a commercial property for rent or a business/residential, all rental rates, and legalities must be kept in check.
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Protecting Rights with a Lease
All the rights and the legalities must be written down in order so that everything is put into layout in a written format. The lease should include the following:
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- A leasing term: A month-to-month lease offers flexibility, but an annual lease offers more stability if one is planning to hold on to the property.
- Taking a security deposit: The security deposit is usually one month’s rent or more.
- Issuing a rental date and mentioning the late payment penalties.
- Repairs and segregating the responsibility.
- Keeping a list of the tenants.
- The rules and regulations with which the tenant agreed to stay in the property.
- Specifying the rules and regulations regarding pets and the deposits related to the same.
- Specifying eviction terms which come into action when the tenant doesn’t pay the rent or has damaged the property.
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Property Protection with Insurance
Be it giving out apartments for rent, or any other rental services, insurance is definitely a vital part that the landlord must consider. While renting a home, some sort of rental insurance must be held, which would cover all the damages and structural costs. This policy would also cover your legal and medical expenses, the loss of rental income. We would suggest the landlords definitely check the renters’ insurance out once.
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Hire a Management Company
Hiring a management company would definitely lower the stress levels of a landlord and all the expenses associated can be managed by the organization. The emotions can also be segregated in such scenarios and all the decisions can be made accurately according to the market rates and according to the norms and legalities. It is better to have professionals to handle such situations.
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Prepare for Evictions
The landlord would need an attorney to evict the tenant which would cost anyone $300-$1000. One cannot go to the tenant and remove them physically, hence one would need to get some legal help for the same.
Property Taxes
The Canadian income tax requires remitting 25% of the gross property rental income every year. However, after filling up the NR6 form, the non-residents can choose to pay 25% of the gained rental income, after completing their expenses. In case, the property is put up on rent, giving a net loss, in turn, one may also reclaim previously paid taxes.
Property Taxes According to the Provinces
| Province | Residential Tax Rate |
| British Columbia | 0.24-0.51% |
| Alberta | 0.63-1.11% |
| Ontario | 0.59-1.35% |
| New Brunswick | 1.42-1.78% |
| Saskatchewan | 0.86-1.07% |
| Quebec | 0.76-0.87% |
| Newfoundland And Labrador | 0.73% |
| Nova Scotia | 1.10% |
| Manitoba | 1.24% |
Breakdown of the Table
Generally, cities like Toronto and Vancouver, have high income and low property tax, hence apartment rent in Toronto would be affected accordingly. On the other hand, Winnipeg, Fredericton, and other cities with low-income rates have high tax rates. The ratios depend on the city one is looking to live in or even looking for a commercial property on rent. For instance, the property taxes of Toronto are almost triple as compared to what the market demands in Vancouver.
Taxes on Rental Property
According to the Canadian statistics conducted in 2021, on an approx., 15% of the residential property owners in British Columbia and Ontario owned two or more properties in 2018. Even in Nova Scotia, 22% of the residential property owners owned two or more properties. Due to the rising requirements, the statistics also reveal that people are purchasing more investment properties and units that can be used or rented out for residential purposes or vacation homes.
Rent House in Canada as New Immigrants
Renting a house in Canada as a new immigrant might be a tricky business, but there is no need to worry, since we offer you all the key pointers, here at one place:
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Ask your Friends and Family
This is the obvious first step. For example, If you are looking for renting an apartment in Toronto, try contacting friends or family who might have gone through the same process and would have knowledge and insights on how to find apartments for rent in Toronto.
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Checking Classified Ads in Newspapers, Community Centres, and Bulletin Boards in Shops
Checking ads and listings on the sources easily accessible to you would be the next obvious thing to do when one is looking for a rental property. You can make a list of your requirements and then match them with the classified listings in order to find a rental property that categorizes and fits the best.
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Checking Classified Ads on Online Platforms
After referring to the offline sources, expand your bandwidth and look for some listings on online platforms and sources. Nowadays there are multiple applications that specify in helping immigrants to find a rental home that fits all their requirements.
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Visit Rental Agency Websites
Going to google and searching for “apartments for rent near me” would be the first online step that one might take and just to make this process a little more easy, visiting and reaching out to rental agency websites might also help one find a rental property for a living. One might find multiple options to go through at one place which might make the process a bit more feasible for the tenant since they would have a variety of options to choose from.
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Paying a Rental Agency
One can also pay and hire a rental agency to help them look for some options and properties for renting purposes. This might take the burden of doing everything by self and would help one get a better understanding of the units since the property listings would be managed and organized in a better way, by a professional. This would make the whole process a little easier in comparison.
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Visiting Neighbourhoods and Looking for a Rental Property On-Site
Sometimes there are some landlords who do not like to hire people or have any 3rd party involved in between. Hence, they have a board or a banner in front of their houses that signifies the availability of the property. For eg. If you know that you can find good apartments in Calgary, you can definitely visit the neighbourhood and look around for apartments for rent in Calgary. There are more steps involved and many more formalities to make sure the process is transparent and as legit as it can get. These are some basic steps that might help an immigrant renting property in Canada. The next step includes drafting a lease or an agreement. Refer to the first sub-head in case you are looking for that next step.
What to Rent as Your First Home in Canada?
In our opinion, one should go for something that not just be affordable, but also fulfill all the needs that one was looking for. Obviously, the more expensive the home, the additional charges would definitely push your budget. Looking for a condo or a studio apartment might be a nice option to look at. As working people, you would barely stay at home, so look for something that would just fit right in for the requirements and wouldn’t take in much. Although, some experts would recommend starting from a $150,000 home in a developing or a developed neighbourhood. Adding to that, they also advise not to buy either the nicest or the worst house around the block. So, try looking for something that would fit all your requirements and budget. And as they say, Research is key.
What to Know Before Buying a Rental Property?
There are certain important things that one needs to keep in mind before buying a rental property. Apart from buying a rental property for personal reasons or maybe because you migrated, other reasons might need some more thinking.
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- One needs to know if it is the right time to buy a property- Understand and research the market and make sure of the profits that the property would bring you. You should also know if the property would bring you a minimum of 20% down payment in order to secure financing. The financial factors must also be taken into account before buying or investing in a property for rent.
- Kind of property that you want- Mostly, first-time buyers go for condos and single-family homes. Sometimes, a bigger space doesn’t always bring everything good. The added taxes and the cost of maintenance and repair wouldn’t obviously benefit your expenses.
- Knowing the ideal location- In order to attract quality tenants, you should definitely look for prime locations where the property can be easily accessible to basic amenities and services. So, looking for a property nearby schools, hospitals, transportation services and retail shops might be a good option to consider. Focussing on the neighbourhoods is also one of the basic obvious points to consider.
- What does the market say? – Make sure and be aware of the prices and rates around the market for properties up for rent. Don’t go for the rents and prices that would sound impractical and drive away from the tenants. Be practical when it comes to pricing the properties. A rental property should bear as an asset, ensuring a long-term investment.
- Take Expert Advice- Coordinate with a team of real estate professionals and take their guidance of financial decisions, legal and tax. Taking the right advice would not only save you money in the long run but would also help you make the right decisions. Also consider, including an investment advisor who would manage and count your assets including the rental property.
Important Things to Know
Renting property in Canada might be the single large expense that would go by every month, hence having a better understanding of the expenses and choosing the best option becomes a major task to keep in mind.
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- Compare to find a low rental rate- Compare similar properties and figure out the best deal for your property.
- Understanding what type of expenses must be included in the rental rate- Although the expenses can vary from the province and might be different from a pricing point of view. Some rental charges might also include other amenities and utilities. After considering all these factors, the rental amount must be finalised.
- Figuring out what appliances must be included in the rental- Basically, in Canada the appliances that the landlord provides you with might be subjective and vary from person to person, but a stove and a fridge are the basic requirements. Generally, the maintenance tools are also provided by the landlord, but this is not the case everywhere, but the tenant would be required to maintain this according to the terms of the lease.
- Get Renter’s Insurance- Renter’s insurance is mostly opted by people in Canada. Some landlords might have a property that covers interior damages, but this does not cover the losses made by the tenant to their personal items. The insurance basically covers the furnishings, clothing, and other items that got damaged due to some unwanted circumstances.
Taxes for US Owners of Canadian Property
Being a US Citizen or an organization that plans to buy or sell Canadian real estate properties, they must have an understanding that the US and Canada have specific rules that are implemented for the Property owners. Well, Hendricks CPA does the job of providing some general guidelines and they have their offices and can be approached in WNY, Toronto and Buffalo.
What Documents Are Required for Renting Property in Canada?
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Rental Application
- Regarding Employment
- Regarding Income
- Mentioning and verifying the current address
- Providing references including previous landlords, friends, etc.
- ID issued by the government including Driver’s License, passport, and state-issued ID
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Full Credit Report
- The date of opening the account
- The amount in possession
- If the payments were made on time
- The payments that were missed
- If the debts were transferred to a collection agency
- If the credit limit was surpassed.
- The availability of variant information in public records
In a Nutshell
The above layout is a guide to finding a property for rent in Canada along with the procedure of buying a renting property in Canada in a few simple steps. The above guide includes all sorts of groups including Immigrants and residents of Canada. Canada is a beautiful yet hospitable country. One wants to live their lives in a way that they could experience it all, be it culture, growth, climate. In addition to this, renting property in Canada also requires you to have an agency or a 3rd party that acts as the professional bridge while renting property in Canada. Coming to taxation, all the data available in this article include the tax policy for rental properties, and for people who apply for benefits from the same. The properties might include commercial properties for rent, business properties for rent, or might depend on a favorable location.
The piece also talks about the renting insurance policies that are categorized under the same. All the basics and the important things to know while going through this process have been laid out in this piece. Also, if you have doubts regarding your renting problems, you can always get in touch with professionals or visit online and offline references at any given time.
You May Also Read :
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Know The Rent Control in Ontario |
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Some Places To Rent in Mississauga |
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All About Rental Neighbourhoods in Ottawa |
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Guide To Basement Apartment To Rent |
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Explore Short Term Vs Long Term Rentals |
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
On average, a 1 bedroom apartment in Canada costs around $742, while a two-bedroom apartment costs around $896 while renting property in Canada.
Foreigners can rent a property in Canada and usually at great rental incomes.
Yes, A US citizen can rent in Canada. The accurate work visa and permanent residency address must also be provided for the same. How much rent is in Canada?
Can foreigners rent in Canada?
Can you rent in Canada as a US citizen?
