Posted on: 10-08-04 07:08:27
Hi 1Gujju,
Your question and subsequent discussion prompted me to call some rental property offices. I specifically asked whether a newcomer would be denied accommodation based on no-employment income/no credit history/no landlord references/no job history criteria. The answers were mixed. Some said the tenant should have sufficient income to pay rent while others suggested that if a new immigrant can provide guarantee or security deposit he/she can rent an apartment.
I did some research on the Internet and found that in a May 2002 judgment by the Ontario Human Rights Commission, the above-mentioned criteria were deemed to be discriminatory. Let me quote from http://www.equalityrights.org-" rel="nofollow">LINK
"One of the most common forms of discrimination in housing is the use of minimum income criteria or rent-to-income ratios to screen prospective tenants and to deny them accommodation. This occurs when a landlord will not rent an apartment to a tenant if the tenant will be paying more than 30-40% of their income on rent. Such minimum income criteria severely restricts housing options for women, immigrants and refugees, young families, people receiving social assistance and other disadvantaged households. Under the Ontario Human Rights Code and its Regulations, the use of minimum income criteria has been found to constitute discrimination and to be illegal by human rights Boards of Inquiry".
The actual Board order was:
"The Respondent was ordered to pay, within thirty days of the decision, five thousand dollars to the Complainant in general damages for the breach of his right to be free from discrimination. The Respondent was also ordered to cease and desist from rejecting applications for tenancy by newcomers to Canada in any of the following circumstances: 1) where such applicants have no credit, employment or rental history in Canada; 2) where such applicants fail to meet minimum job tenure criteria; or 3) where such applicants fail to meet minimum income criteria."
In summary it says that if a new comer can provide either a guarantee or security deposit, he cannot be denied accommodation. The Board's decision has now been very clearly stated in the Code and there is no room for misinterpretation.
Generally the newcomers are not aware of their rights and thus become victim of discrimination.
1Gujju if after arriving in Ontario you are denied accommodation based on the above you can contact The Center for Equality Rights in Accommodation at 1-800-263-1139. They can guide you from thereon.
Hope this piece of information would be reassuring to you.
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Man's Best Friend 
6 months advance rent is a lot... for renting (not subletting) 3 months security deposit should be sufficient...
also, if you just want to circumvent the problems of credit reports et al when it comes to renting, look for subletting a place from someone who wants to get out of their rental agreement... there are always plenty of those as well...
Hi Gujju,
Being a gujarati you worry about renting? Do you know about big communities on Markham Road or Lawrence/Keele? Those apartment owners are renting apartments to any newcomer. Yes they might ask for the things like employment etc., but you should be able to convince them that you are going to pay rent regularly with so and so source or you might have someone who can provide a guaranttee.
Basement apartments from Desi owners are easy to get and they will generally not ask you for paying 6 months rent. Only first and last is enough. Most of them passed thru same situation and so will be very co-operative. In many cases it is better to go for basement apartment as they owner might help you in many things - like groceries, buying few important things etc.
Another alternate is to stay in a sharing accomodation or as a paying guest.
I am not sure where you are looking for rentals, but on CanadianDesi's Classifieds there is a huge list of such things.
Best of Luck!
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Hurat Honani Murat!
Quote:
Orginally posted by bighead
6 months advance rent is a lot... for renting (not subletting) 3 months security deposit should be sufficient...
also, if you just want to circumvent the problems of credit reports et al when it comes to renting, look for subletting a place from someone who wants to get out of their rental agreement... there are always plenty of those as well...
The 4-6 months adv was something that was demanded more than 3 years back, if the new immigrant didn't have job. Upon negotiation, one could reduce it to 3 months as well. I just wanted to give a bigger pic. As I mentioned in the earlier post on this thread, I didn't have to do that, for me, it was just first and last month.
But thanks for clarification.
tc
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Let's help each other to grow & prosper in Canada
Many thanks everyone for the reassuring replies. I do feel a lot better now. Desi landlords will be concentrated in & around GTA, however, if one decides on a destination other than GTA the option of paying 3-6 months rent in advance could certainly come handy.
Rightly said by Yours truly that, if a newcomer can provide either a guarantee or security deposit, he cannot be denied accommodation.
In most of the cases a Guarantor with an established and a good credit history would suffice. Yes, one needs to pay out the first and last month's rent in advance at the time of acceptance of Agreement to Lease. A lot also depends upon the Realtors, who put forth the tenant's information in front of the landlord.
Click below link to find out what tenants need to know about the law..
http://www.settlement.org/sys/guides_detail.asp?faq_id=4000484
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Amit Kalia, Broker, REALTOR®
RE/MAX Real Estate Centre., Brokerage
independently owned & operated
100 City Centre Dr, Unit 1-702
Mississauga, ON L5B 2C9
Phone No.: 905-339-5111
Website: https://www.realestate-ontario.com/
Condo Blog: https://condopundit.com/blog/
A colleague of mine agreed to become cosigner for his friend for renting apartment. Now they have asked banking details of my colleague who is a cosigner (who will not be living in that apartment).
Bank balance in the past 6 months: Min $______. Max. $_______. Average. $___
Total amount of loan: $_______
These are apart from employment details they asked.
Will every newcomer be able to provide a cosigner or guarantor who will be willing to give all his/her financial details?
The only other option is to find basement units or houses whose owners do not insist on you being "permanently" employed.
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