Housing IV - DOCUMENTS AND APPLICATIONS

Now, it's time to learn about Rent related Documents & Application and required deposit in Ontario.

1. Housing I – FINDING A PLACE TO LIVE
2. Housing II – HOUSING OPTIONS
3. Housing III – RESOURCES
4. Housing IV – DOCUMENTS AND APPLICATIONS
5. Housing V – LEASE

You might need to provide one or more of these documents with a rental application (depends on the Landlord):

• A letter from your employer stating your income (if got a job that soon, which is not most likely to happen specially in your profession)
  
• A bank statement showing that you have enough money
• A credit check (that means what financial history you have in Canada. I will talk in details about Financial issues in Canada in later posts)
  
• A guarantor or co-signer (a person who promises to pay your rent if you cannot pay it), if your income is low, or if you do not have an income
• Personal references, such as a previous landlord, friend, settlement worker or language instructor If you cannot provide all these documents, try to provide as many as you can.

DEPOSITS

When you rent, usually you will have to pay first and last month’s rent for a deposit. You can pay this with cash, certified cheque or money order. Your landlord must give you a receipt.

Your landlord must pay you interest each year on the deposit. The landlord will pay you any interest owing when you move out. This is the only type of deposit allowed by law.

It is illegal for a landlord to ask a tenant to pay a "security deposit" to pay for possible damages or "key money" that is more than the cost to replace the keys.

If utilities such as water and electricity are not included with rent, you must contact the utility company to open an account and start the services.