Are you looking to rent/lease a place in Toronto or a city in Ontario? One of the first steps is to prepare the following documents that most of the Landlords or their real estate agents are looking for. Preparing these documents before applying for a place bring you peace of mind and you are more likely to get the place.
As an employed applicant:
1- Job letter(s)
a Job letter or an Employment Verification Letter is a letter that shows the employee’s name, job position, tenure, and income. Most of the time you need a recent one. If you are applying for more than one adult, The landlord may want to see everyone’s job letter.
2- Income verification(s)
Prepare your last 3 paystubs. like the job letter, you most likely need to prepare it for all of the applicants. A pay stub is a document that summarizes the amounts that you receive in a paycheck.
3- Full credit report
A full credit report is a record of the borrower’s credit history from a number of sources, including banks, credit card companies, collection agencies, and governments. There are different agencies that you may apply for your credit reports, such as Equifax and Transunion. Most of the agents and Landlords prefer the Equifax credit report. A credit report has a credit score which could be a number from 300(very poor) to 900(Excellent).
4- Reference(s)
A reference letter is a document written to a potential landlord by your current landlord, property manager, or superintendent. Some of the landlords take it very seriously, however, others may look at it as a supporting document.
5- Rental application
You need to fill the rental application with the tenants’ information, such as tenants’ names, last places of residence. present and past employment. financial obligations, personal references, and the make and model of your car(s). Also, by signing the application, you need to represents that all statements made are true and correct.
6- Copy of valid government-issued photo ID(s)
You need to show at least a piece valid government-issued photo ID to the landlord or the real estate agent, such as Drivers’s License, State issued photo ID, Passport. The landlord may ask for a copy of that.
As a self-employed applicant:
If you are self-employed, that’s great. however, you should be aware that some landlords may not consider self-employed tenants or they may ask you for lots of supporting documents and the list of require documents are usually different. Beside your full credit report, rental application, references, and copy of your valid goverment-issued photo ID, you might need to provide the following documents too:
a- Notice Of Assessment(NOA):
According to canada.ca explenation “Your notice of assessment (NOA) is an evaluation of your tax return that the Canada Revenue Agency sends you every year after you file your tax return.”
b- Bank statements
c- Supporting documents
If you have a business card, business license, … it might help you to persuade the landlord to accept your offer.