In Manitoba, four sets of rules decide what you can ask a prospective tenant: The Residential Tenancies Act, The Human Rights Code, The Personal Investigations Act and federal privacy law. Together they apply from the first phone call, text or email.
What can you ask on the first call or message?
Ask what you need to judge ability to pay and reliability, and say why you are asking. Federal privacy law (PIPEDA) applies, since the OPC lists only British Columbia, Alberta and Quebec as having their own private sector laws for landlords. PIPEDA requires you to identify your purposes before or when you collect information.
The Manitoba Human Rights Commission says landlords and rental agents may screen for ability to pay, income stability and suitability through application forms, interviews and reference checks, assessing each applicant individually. Questions that fit a first conversation:
- When they want to move in, and how to reach them.
- Where they rent now and whether they can give references. The Commission warns that refusing someone who has no references may unreasonably exclude a refugee, an immigrant or a young person.
- Whether they have pets. The Residential Tenancies Branch says the Act lets you decide whether to allow pets, and that the Human Rights Code bars discrimination against a person with a service animal.
If you will want a security deposit or a pet damage deposit, say so early: The Residential Tenancies Act lets you require one only if you gave notice before the tenancy agreement was first entered into (sections 29 and 29.1). Never ask for money for the application, and keep the SIN and copies of ID off the call.
What should you never ask?
Anything that sorts applicants by a ground protected by The Human Rights Code. Section 16 bars discrimination in renting a residence, or in its terms, unless bona fide and reasonable cause exists. Section 9(2) protects ancestry (including colour and perceived race), nationality or national origin, ethnic background or origin, religion or creed, age, sex (including pregnancy), gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, marital or family status, source of income, political belief, physical or mental disability (including reliance on a service animal) and social disadvantage.
Social disadvantage means diminished social standing or social regard due to homelessness or inadequate housing, low levels of education, chronic low income, or chronic unemployment or underemployment. It counts only where the treatment rests on a negative bias or stereotype (section 9(2.1)).
The Commission’s housing guideline says questions about marital or family status, ancestry or origin, religious belief or medical needs may require applicants to disclose information irrelevant to screening, and may result in discrimination. Its examples of possible discrimination include refusing families with children as too noisy, an ad requiring proof of Canadian citizenship, and refusing someone only because they receive disability benefits. Its fact sheet adds that refusing someone because their income comes from income assistance is illegal.
You also answer for your staff and agents. Section 10 makes a person responsible for a contravention by its employees or agents acting within their authority, unless it did not consent, took all reasonable steps to prevent it and then to limit its effect. Section 18 bars discriminatory signs, notices and statements, which covers listings, and section 16(2) exempts the choice of a boarder or roomer for the occupier’s private residence and of a tenant for the other unit of an owner-occupied duplex.
What can the application ask for?
What you need to assess ability to pay and reliability. The Residential Tenancies Branch says an application usually asks about current and previous landlords, character references, the employer or source of income, and an emergency contact, and that this information can be used only in connection with the tenancy.
- Income: the Commission says you may ask for the employer, position and salary, and may use a rent-to-income ratio to evaluate ability to pay, as long as you consider the applicant’s whole financial picture, including income from all sources and the option of a guarantor or co-signer. Its policy on social disadvantage adds that ratios should generally not be used to exclude potential tenants.
- Guarantor: the Branch says you may ask for a co-signer or guarantor, for example when ability to pay is questionable or there is no rental record.
- Photo ID and pay stubs: the OPC says a landlord who sees a driver’s licence or pay stubs to confirm identity or income likely does not need a copy.
- SIN: the OPC says no one can be denied for refusing to give a SIN unless it is required by law or no alternative identifier would do, and Service Canada says a SIN is not needed to fill out a rental application.
Can you run a credit or reference check, and how?
Yes, with consent obtained the way Manitoba’s investigation law requires. The Personal Investigations Act covers any inquiry for information about an applicant from a source other than the applicant, with a view to a tenancy, so it reaches both a credit report and a call to a former landlord. Section 3 bars such an investigation without consent given under the regulations, and lets the consent sit in the application.
The Personal Investigations Regulation sets the method:
- Before consenting, the applicant must be told the purpose, what will be collected, the types of sources, any disclosure to a third party, and when the consent takes effect and how long it lasts (section 6).
- Written consent must be clear, in type of at least 10 point, above the signature (section 9).
- Online consent needs that information shown first, a chance to fix errors, and a copy the applicant can keep or print (section 10).
- Consent on a call must be recorded in a reproducible form: that the required information was given and by whom, who received the consent, and the date and time (section 11).
If you then refuse the applicant in whole or in part, section 6 of the Act requires written notice within 10 days, including their right to learn what the investigation found. Within 30 days of that notice, they can ask for the name and address of any reporting agency used (section 7).
The OPC adds that a credit check needs at minimum a name, address and date of birth, and advises landlords not to turn to social networks for background checks. It has also found landlords have no right to report a poor payment history to an unregulated “bad tenant” list.
Are application fees and deposits allowed?
Application and screening fees are banned, and deposits have caps. Section 14 bars any payment the Act does not permit from a tenant or prospective tenant, including for taking, processing or accepting an application, or investigating suitability. The Branch says this wording came into force on May 30, 2023, and that such payments were never allowed under the Act.
Under section 29, a security deposit cannot exceed half of the first month’s rent, cannot be required before the tenancy agreement is made, and needs a written receipt. The Branch’s deposits fact sheet gives the example of $800 rent and a $400 deposit, based on the full rent rather than a discounted one.
Under section 29.1, a pet damage deposit can be up to one month’s rent, with one per tenancy whatever the number of pets, and none for a tenant who relies on a service animal.
At a glance
| Question | Rule in Manitoba | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Application or screening fee | Not allowed | RTA s. 14 |
| Security deposit | Up to half the first month’s rent; notice before the agreement | RTA s. 29 |
| Pet damage deposit | Up to one month’s rent, one per tenancy, none for a service animal | RTA s. 29.1 |
| Credit and reference checks | Consent: written, online or recorded on a call | Personal Investigations Act s. 3; Regulation ss. 6 to 11 |
| Refusal after a check | Written notice within 10 days | Personal Investigations Act s. 6 |
| Photo ID and pay stubs | View them; a copy is likely unnecessary | OPC |
| SIN | Not needed; no refusal for declining | OPC, Service Canada |
| Rent-to-income ratio | Should generally not be used to exclude | Human Rights Commission |
| Code grounds | Never a reason to refuse, including source of income and social disadvantage | Human Rights Code ss. 9, 16 |