Renting
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This page contains articles on:

  • Article  1 - Benefits to Tenants
  • Article  2 - Plain Facts About Renting
  • Article  3 - Benefits to Landlords
  • In addition to these articles go to 'Relocating' page for a very comprehensive 'Moving Checklist' and many other helpful hints on Residential Tenancy Act.

Article 1 - Basic Guide for Tenants.

At any given time I have detailed lists of thousands of available properties for rent/lease, furnished/unfurnished, short term / long term, etc. 

  • Thousands of homes, flats, condominiums, commercial space, etc. are listed and kept current, with photos, descriptions and details.
  • The search is fast and specific - i.e., City/ Region/ Location, Style (detached, semidetached, duplex, link, townhouse, flat, apartment, studio, bachelor, etc.), price range (rent per week/ month, all inclusive/ utilities extra), parking spaces (how many, included or extra cost), number of rooms, room sizes, and much more.
  • Total accountability of what is being offered, state of repair, landlord's responsibilities (conforming to the Residential Tenancy  Act - "R.T.A", or subsequent amendments, etc.)
  • Ideal system for individual tenants or large corporations - the Agent does the work in minutes which would take weeks or months using newspaper ads (usually only two or three lines, not very current, lack of accountabilty).
  • I accompany the tenants to the selected properties after arranging with the listing office.
  • Critique the suitability of the properties for the tenants/ family members requirements
  • The Landlord pays the Agents professional fees.  

    Article - 2  PLAIN FACTS ABOUT RENTING
  • Most Landlords are apprehensive of tenants not being 'good tenants'. They are looking for tenants, who:
  1. Will not destroy, damage or otherwise cause devaluation of his property.
  2. Will continue paying rent on time.
  3. Will not disappear without paying the full rent, or without giving proper notice, or leaving damage/garbage behind, or all of the foregoing items.
  4. Will not conduct any illegal business from, or in the property.
  5. Will keep the property clean inside and outside and carry out normal maintenance of items in the property, i.e., appliances, floors, walls, plumbing fixtures, lawn, yard and sidewalk, where applicable.

 HOW TO SELECT A GOOD TENANT?

 

The Landlord doesn’t know for sure which tenant will prove to be a good tenant.

 Over the past twenty-two years, I have been scrupulous in selecting tenants, and have been rewarded with finding AAA+++ tenants. My own and others' experience has shown that generally tenants who are:

 

Ø      Financially responsible, i.e., have good credit rating (in Canada)

Ø      Well employed i.e., have been employed by the same employer for a period of time,

Ø      Have job stability, or income stability (in business, or self-employed)

 

Can be relied upon to be good overall tenants.

 

This is where an experienced Realtor, like me, comes in.

 

Ø      From the time of the first interview with a prospective tenant, as an experienced Realtor I have a pretty fair idea about the tenant’s suitability.

Ø      I ask for a Rental Application form be filled out completely and accurately (it is an offence to falsify information in any form).

Ø      I conduct a Credit Check on the applicants to find out their financial status and past history of making payments on time, their employment situation.

Ø      I check employment and credit references (by actually making phone calls).

 

From this information I have a pretty fair idea of a tenant’s suitability. I have discarded many that requested me to find rental place for him/them.

 

 

There are times when I may make an exception . .

 

 

 

If from my interview I find out that the person is trustworthy and all information checks out then,

 

If there is a non-repetitious credit problem because of:

v              An unfortunate incident, i.e., non-payment of student loan, or,

v              Temporary hardships due to temporary loss of employment, or,

v              Temporary hardships due to marital breakdown, or,

v              Temporary hardships due to a sickness or a death in the family, or,

v              A new arrival to Canada with an excellent previous record of financial and employment responsibility

 

Then I look for two ways to resolve the situation:

 

Ø      Is there an immediate family member or a good friend or employer who will be a guarantor who has a good credit record, etc., or,

Ø      Is the person now well established, has fully recovered from the temporary setbacks and is now able to handle the financial commitment.

 

In extreme situations if the tenant sets up an account in an accredited financial institution in Canada for regular payment of the rental amount without a possibility of stopping payments, or withdrawal of the guaranteed amount for the term of the lease, then I will advise the Landlord or his agent that in my opinion the risk of the tenancy going bad prematurely is very small.

 

 

CUMMER CHOWDHURY, M.Sc., REALTOR®, Salesperson, Award Winner

ROYAL LePAGE REAL ESTATE SERVICES LTD., BROKERAGE.

Office Phone: 905-275-9400, Direct (cell): 416-509-8746  

  • Article 3 - BENEFITS TO LANDLORDS

    Agents with Experience, Maturity and Appropriate Training (i.e., Residential Tenancy  Act - "R.T.A"), can provide fast, efficient, hassle-free rental arrangements, by

    • Screening - I can screen tenants very effectively by
        Doing a Credit check, studying the credit history, Beacon Score, existing debts (if any), payment habits, reported employments, incomes, addresses, frequency of job changes (or job stability), etc.
      • Studying the employment history and earning history provided by the applicant against letters from employers, pay-stubs, phone calls to employers, and establishing authenticity and permanency.
      • One-on-one interview with careful scrutiny of the calibre of responsibility, truthfulness, number of persons that will be occupying (as against what has been stated by the applicant),
      • Applicants habits (i.e., smoking), willingness to be cooperative, responsible, abiding by the rules and regulations, and laws and by-laws of the city, municipality, condo- corporation, etc.
    • Lease Application/ Agreement -
      • I can prepare/check application so it is a legally binding contract
      • Include clauses to protect the landlord - tenant obtaining tenants insurance prior to occupancy, not modifying the property without written permission, etc.
      • Spell out items included in the rent and what the tenants responsibilities are and what optional items may be available, etc.
      • Receive and hold in trust account rents, deposits, etc. and issue receipts in keeping with R.T.A.
      • Have the lease properly executed by all parties and obtain acknowledgements from all parties that they have recieved their copies of the contract
    • Most IMPORTANTLY -
      • Most good quality tenant applicants or corporate HR departments etc. go only through real estate agents for quality accomodation without hassles or wasted time.
      • I weed out financially irresponsible or otherwise unsuitable tenant applicants from the first phone interview and on.
      • Save the landlord time and hassle from unqualified calls, showings, interviews, friction, etc. The Landlord doesn't even have to be there waiting by the phone, or repeat the same things over and over again (as in the case of newspaper ads looking for tenants).

        Here is a link to Government of Ontario offering guidance on some of the issues that come up frequently.

        If the Landlord wants Tenant  to leave

        A landlord must give tenant written notice. The proper form for this notice(Form N4 - for non-payment of rent; Form N12 -for Landlord's own use or if it is being sold, for purcgaser's own use, etc) is available from the Board. Here's a link to some forms:

      • If the Tenant wants to leave

        If the tenant: then the tenant must give: and the termination date must be:
        pays rent on a daily or weekly basis,  at least 28 days notice,  the end of a weekly rental period.  (This only applies to weekly tenancies.)
        pays rent on a monthly basis,  at least 60 days notice, the end of a monthly rental period.
        has a lease for a fixed term,  at least 60 days notice, no earlier than the last day of the lease.

      • I will be happy to bring you up-to-date on these and many other issues. Let me find the suitable tenant - and you have the least of hassles.

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