As a general rule, housing costs should be less than 30% of before-tax household income. This includes:

1. Utilities (electricity, heat and water)
2. Rent
3. Municipal services (if applicable)

Below are other considerations to take into account before renting:

Tips for tenants…

While there are no perfect rentals, there is a perfect rental for you.

While you might have to compromise on a few of your wants, finding a place to rent becomes a lot easier when you know what you will and won’t settle for, including how much you want to spend.

Tips for landlords…

Before deciding how much to charge for rent, find out what a comparable price would be for a similar unit in your area. Some provinces keep rental registries with information on prices over several years, or you can check our annual Rental Market Reports.

Apartment

Apartments vary from walk-up units in low-rise buildings to units located in buildings with elevator access. Amenities can vary from a single onsite washer and dryer to full laundry rooms, common rooms and fitness facilities. Some of the advantages of apartment living include secured access and no maintenance of external grounds.

House

House rentals include townhouses, duplexes, semi-detached and single-detached houses. A basement apartment in a house is often considered an apartment. House rentals provide more space than most apartments and provide the advantage of having access to some outside spaces including patios, lawns, garden and parking.

Rooming House

Rooming houses are shared accommodations with both short-term (week-to-week) and longer-term rental options. Many rooms have their own refrigerator for a tenant’s personal use.

What do you need in a rental?

• Affordability: How much can you afford each month and still have money left over for your other bills (property insurance, cable, telephone service, Internet connection, parking, etc.)?
• Location: How close do you want to be to work, school or family and friends?
• Parking and public transportation: If you have a car, how accessible is parking? If you don’t have a car, how easy is it to go grocery shopping or to get to appointments?
• Surroundings: Do you want to be at the centre of activity, or in the quiet suburbs?
• Availability: Some rental properties are harder to find during certain months of the year. Can you wait to move for a few months so you have more variety to choose from?
• Safety: Are there a lot of break-ins or crime in the area that you need to consider?

Looking to find or advertise a rental property in Canada? Be sure to check:

• Local, community and ethnic newspapers in the area where you want to search.
• Free publications that publish rental accommodation ads are often found at local retail stores.
• Physical bulletin board postings at:
• Libraries
• Community centres
• Grocery stores
• Laundromats
• Places of worship
• With friends, family and acquaintances in your community.
• With your campus housing office if you are a student.
• Local real estate offices found in the Yellow Pages.
• The neighbourhood where you want to live. A For Rent/For Lease sign might catch your eye.
• With a local community organization that offers housing assistance and settlement services.
• Online. Search for electronic bulletin board postings, specialized websites, online newspaper classified ads, and Canadian apartment listing websites.

New to Canada? Visit Citizenship and Immigration Canada to find an organization that might be able to help you with settlement services, including: consulting and assistance through the immigration process, as well as locating suitable housing and employment.

Things to discuss when visiting a rental property for the first time:

1. Are utilities such as heat, electricity, water, cable television, or Internet included in the monthly rental fee, or are the costs shared with other tenants? If the costs are shared, not everyone has the same usage or requirements.
2. What type of heating is used – natural gas, oil or electric? Be aware that some energy sources cost more than others (e.g. electric baseboard heaters might cost more than forced air natural gas)
3. Which utility companies service the unit? On average, how much did tenants pay before for utilities each month? Use this as a guideline only since the previous tenants’ could have had different energy needs than your own.
4. Is there parking? How much does it cost? What about additional vehicles? ,including guest parking?
5. Is there additional storage? Is this included in the rental cost? Does this include bicycle storage?
6. Is parking or laundry extra? If so, how much does it cost?
7. Is there rent control in place? If not, how will future rent increases be handled?
8. Who handles installing or moving telephone jacks, satellite dishes, or television cables?
9. Is there high speed Internet available?
10. Can changes be made to the premises, including painting?
11. Why are the current tenants are leaving?
12. If pets are allowed, what kind? Does the property need to be professionally cleaned at the end of the lease?
13. Is smoking permitted?
14. What are the neighbourhood and other tenants like?
15. What makes the property unique?
16. What security systems are in place? Have the locks been changed recently? Are there parts of the building that require key access?
17. Are there policies on overnight guests or long-term visitors?
18. Can vehicles be maintained or repaired on the property? (If applicable)

What to expect during your visit

A visit to a rental property is as much about getting to know the prospective tenant or landlord as it is about touring the space.

This will help both landlord and tenant decide if they would like to enter into a lease agreement together.

For this reason, landlords can legally ask:

• About income and where the prospective tenant works.
• How many people will be living in the home, and if there are any pets.
• If anyone who will be living there smokes.
• For written permission to run a credit check.
• For references and contact information, including from previous landlords.

Fact: It is illegal for a landlord to refuse to rent to people with children. A B.C. woman who was refused rental accommodation 5 times by landlords took her complaints to the B.C. Human Rights Commission and won compensation in each case.

Landlords cannot legally ask:

• Questions that infringe on a tenant’s Human Rights as outlined in the Code for their province.
• If there are plans to have (more) children.
• About a tenant’s ethnic background, religion, or sexual preference.
• If family will be visiting.
• For a Social Insurance Number.
• If the tenant is married, single or divorced.

If you feel that your human rights with respect to rental accommodation have been infringed upon, or if you need more information, discuss the situation with an advocacy agency or your provincial / territorial human rights office.