Some more general information from my apartment search in the past 3 weeks:
I've found that some Toronto area realtors are expecting 6 months rent upfront from newcomers, pretty crazy. Also, per the advice I've received it is a better idea to go through realtors, rather than looking for apartments to rent on your own in order to avoid being scammed. Additionally, anyone looking for an apartment is advised to book an Airbnb for the 1st month and view units in person, do not make any payments remotely before viewing a unit.
A decent website I've found for finding realtors and condos is realtors.ca.
I have done house hunting for rentals in Vancouver and Victoria BC. Victoria tends to be very tight rental market with less than 1% vacancy. Here is how I did it. Please do note, I have always searched as an employed, married & (now) with a little kid. YMMV.
1. I did NOT use realtor etc. I did not pay 6 months of rent anywhere. If someone asks it, RUN. RUN as far as possible. It is a scam.
2. Rentals in Canada are not free for all game and is regulated by rental/tenancy boards which provide rental agreements and ensures rents are not increased and arbitrates in rental disputes.
3. There are 2 main kind of rentals. Purpose built rental buildings or privately owned homes. Purpose built rental buildings are typically owned by REIT funds or large investors and are NOT controlled by whims and wishes of some weird landlord. They have very well defined rental application form and process - typically it is first come first serve. Privately owned rental units are well... capricious. Lastly, there is this thing called Co-ops but typically Co-ops bar rentals so you wont have access to one.
4. Best place to look for rental ads is Craigslist. I got ALL my rental accommodations via this listing only.Pretty neat.
5. Strata or multi family buildings / units / homes have these things called by-laws which governs what and who can live in a unit. Typically its noise and related issues or occupancy limits or smoking area related limits. Be sure to look at one before confirming a rental.
5.5 Typically multi family buildings have a building manager who manages that buildings and in purpose built rental buildings is also responsible for putting out ads for rentals. If it is not a privately owned unit, insist on talking to this person for he or his employer is usually responsible for rentals.
6. Usually having a good job makes it easier to get a rental in a tight market.
7. Rentals typically start on 1st of month or 15 of month, most 1st of month. So to get a rental, new listings show up around mid of the month. Hit a listing before its taken. Start a conversation.
8. NO ONE can ask you a showing fee. If they do, its a scam. Run! Basically anyone who is offering a rental without showing the place and / or is asking money for it is a scam. This being said, scam rentals are easy to spot. They talk funny on email, they avoid giving any phone numbers to communicate, typically they ask money before showing the place (big red sign), there is no contact to building manager, the owner keeps on telling how they are outside canada. Typically sob stories are thrown in as how owner got stuck in USA due to covid or how owner's wife got cancer and he cannot live in the home due to all the MeMoRiEs. The scam artists tend to overshare and are unprofessional in rental game. Its very easy to spot them and even easier to avoid them. Lastly, if the listing has pictures, just do a google image search or tineye search on images. They almost ALWAYS hilariously end up being of a house or unit from another city, province and sometimes country! I once saw an ad with pictures from an apartment in JAPAN being offered for rent in downtown Vancouver. Yeah! Domo-Arigatou-Mista-Robotto! Lastly, if it is too good to be true, it usually is.
9. There is passive racism in rentals. In the sense individuals may prefer to give their homes for rent to known good races. Yes its 2022 but it is what it is. You can ignore it but don't be surprised if you were told a place has already been taken but it keeps on being listed and owner keeps on asking people.
10. Sometimes you may get what is called a sub-let. Its a rental of a rental. Basically you will be renting a house / unit --usually fully furnished from another tenant who is going away from his home for some time and you can take up that rental and pay rent to the landlord directly. It can be a good place to start but if you are not confident just skip.
11. Most of rentals come with address or atleast a phone no.. if not confirm if it is a real person or a scam. Look point 8.
12. Some people ask for credit score for rentals, which is not strictly needed and may not exist for new movers but including a copy did not seem to hurt me. That being said, never give SIN or other details to your prospective landlord.
13. If you are in job, include 1 or two references from your work place during application. it helps.
I will add more as I remember..
