Your First Rental in Ontario (2026): No Credit History Is Not Bad Credit
And most of what people are asked to pay at signing is not lawful to charge.
In short
At signing, an Ontario landlord may lawfully collect exactly two things: a rent deposit of no more than one month’s rent, which must be applied to your last month, and a refundable key deposit no greater than the actual cost of replacing the keys.
Not a damage deposit. Not a security deposit. Not a pet deposit, a cleaning fee or a move-in administration fee. None of those are permitted under the Residential Tenancies Act, whatever the lease says.
And on the thing that worries newcomers most: Ontario Human Rights Commission policy is explicit that a landlord cannot equate the absence of a credit rating with a bad one, and that refusing applicants for having little or no credit history can have a discriminatory effect. An empty file is not a bad file.
What is lawful and what is not
| At signing | Position under the RTA |
|---|---|
| First month’s rent | Lawful — it is rent |
| Last month’s rent deposit | Lawful, capped at one month (or one week if rent is weekly) |
| Key deposit | Lawful, capped at the actual replacement cost, refundable |
| Damage or security deposit | Not permitted |
| Pet deposit | Not permitted |
| Cleaning fee | Not permitted |
| Move-in or administration fee | Not permitted |
| Interest on the rent deposit | Owed to you annually — 2.1% for 2026 |
The deposit is a rent deposit, not a damage fund. It cannot be applied to repairs or cleaning at the end of the tenancy — it pays your final month and nothing else.
What a landlord may ask about your finances
More than you might hope, and less than they often do.
Ontario Regulation 290/98 permits a landlord to request credit references and to run a credit check with your permission, and to use that in deciding. So the check itself is legitimate.
The limits sit around it. A landlord may ask for income information only where they also ask for and consider rental history, credit references and credit checks together. Income may be looked at on its own only where nothing else is available, and even then only to confirm you can cover the rent — not to impose a ratio of your own income to the rent as a rule.
And the part that matters most here: human rights tribunals have found that refusing applicants for having little or no credit history can have a disparate impact on people protected under the Code, newcomers among them. The Commission’s policy states plainly that a landlord should not reject an application on the basis of a lack of credit history, and cannot treat no rating as a bad rating.
A landlord also cannot require a co-signer because you are a recent immigrant or a refugee. A general policy applied to everyone is one thing; a requirement triggered by where you came from is another.
What to bring instead of a credit score
You cannot manufacture a Canadian credit file in a week. You can arrive with a folder that makes the question less interesting.
Offering several months of rent up front is the one move to think twice about. It is not a lawful requirement, and while a tenant may choose to pay early, it puts money beyond your reach in a tenancy you have not tested.
The standard lease, and what cannot be added to it
Most private residential tenancies in Ontario must use the province’s standard lease form. It exists so that both sides are reading the same document, and it is worth knowing two things about it.
First, additional terms can be attached, but a term that conflicts with the Residential Tenancies Act is void. A clause saying you forfeit your deposit for damage does not become valid because you signed it.
Second, a no-pets clause is unenforceable in Ontario, with narrow exceptions such as condominium rules and genuine allergy or safety grounds. It appears in leases constantly anyway.
If your landlord does not provide the standard lease when required, you may ask in writing, and there are consequences for them if it is not supplied.
Red flags
What to do next
Build the folder before you start viewing: employment letter, bank statements, foreign landlord references, and a fully completed application. It changes the conversation from what you lack to what you have.
At signing, check the arithmetic against the table above. First and last, plus a key deposit at cost. If anything else appears, ask what it is for — in writing, politely, before you transfer money.
If you believe you were refused because of a Code ground, the Human Rights Legal Support Centre can advise, and the Landlord and Tenant Board handles unlawful charges.
Setting up the new place? Compare home services in Ontario on Ontario24 and contact businesses directly. Ontario24 is a classified directory — we help you find and compare, and we do not vet anyone. The movers guide covers rates and minimums, the cleaning guide covers move-in cleans, and the pest control guide covers who pays if you find something living there.
Before you call anyone, it helps to know what this job should cost and what the next one will. What things cost in Ontario in 2026 puts 75 service prices in one table.
Frequently asked questions
Two things only: a rent deposit of no more than one month’s rent, which must be applied to your last month, and a refundable key deposit no greater than the actual cost of replacing the keys. A damage deposit, security deposit, pet deposit, cleaning fee or move-in administration fee is not permitted under the Residential Tenancies Act.
They should not. Ontario Human Rights Commission policy is explicit that landlords cannot equate the absence of a credit rating with a bad one, and that refusing applicants for having little or no credit history can have a discriminatory effect on newcomers. A landlord may run a credit check with your permission, but a blank file is not a bad file.
Yes, but not in isolation. Ontario Regulation 290/98 allows a landlord to ask for income information only where they also ask for and consider rental history, credit references and credit checks together. Income alone may be considered only when nothing else is available, and then only to confirm you can cover the rent.
Not simply because you are a newcomer or a refugee. A landlord may apply a general policy, but singling you out on that basis is the kind of adverse treatment the Human Rights Code addresses. Offering a guarantor voluntarily is a different thing from being required to produce one for that reason.
Yes, annually, at a rate tied to the provincial rent increase guideline — 2.1 per cent for 2026. If it is not paid you may deduct it from rent. Most tenants never ask and most landlords never volunteer it.
It was not a lawful charge, and you can apply to the Landlord and Tenant Board to have it returned. Keep the receipt, the lease and any messages. The same applies to cleaning fees and administration fees collected at signing.
First and last month’s rent, the key deposit, and tenant insurance if the lease requires it. That is the lawful maximum. Anything beyond it is worth questioning before you pay rather than reclaiming afterwards.
Sources
Deposit rules, the prohibition on security and damage deposits, the key deposit limit and the annual interest on a rent deposit are set out in the Residential Tenancies Act, 2006 and explained in the Landlord and Tenant Board’s guide to the Act; the 2026 interest rate follows the provincial rent increase guideline. What a landlord may ask about income, credit references and rental history is governed by Ontario Regulation 290/98 under the Human Rights Code, and the policy positions on credit history, co-signers and newcomers are those of the Ontario Human Rights Commission in its Policy on human rights and rental housing. Checked 17 September 2026. Nothing here is legal advice and outcomes turn on the facts of a tenancy — for your own situation, contact the Landlord and Tenant Board, the Human Rights Legal Support Centre or a community legal clinic. Ontario24 is a classified directory and does not rent, manage or list residential property.