We won’t be exaggerating if we say that the Toronto condo rental market is extremely competitive. With the vacancy rate down to an astonishing 1%, you will be vying for your dream property against hundreds of other renters. The fact that there are many more renters in Toronto than there are rental units means that you might even have to submit multiple lease applications before finally securing a property. We can tell you from first-hand experience that securing a coveted rental property isn’t a piece of cake when it comes to Toronto. However, don’t lose heart, for there are a few things that you can do to increase the odds of successfully securing the property you want. Toronto Condo’s team’s condo rental experts have put together a list of helpful steps that you can follow to beat out the competition.
Apply Early
The best time to look for a condo rental is at least a month from the day you would want to relocate. There is a highly frustrating reason for doing so. The occupancy date indicated by the landlords on most rental listings is about 4-6 weeks away from the current date. There is no particular reason why landlords do this apart from that they can. Otherwise most landlords know that it would hardly take them a week to find a suitable tenant in such a hot rental market. Nevertheless, we always encourage potential renters to take care of all their documentations before they start looking for a property, so that when they find the right one, they are ready to make an offer and navigate the intimidating process with ease.
Take Care Of All Documentation
Credit Report
Credit reports are important to landlords since it is a good judgement of whether you will make good on timely payments in the future. Be sure to speak to a realtor if this is your first time renting out a Condo in Toronto. They will go through your credit report before you submit an offer and help you address any potential inaccuracies on your report. Not only that, if your credit report isn’t perfect, a realtor can make sure of the best way to present it to the landlord.
Employment Letter
Since your employment letter discloses the stability of your job and your annual income, it reassures the landlord that you can afford the property. If you’re self-employed, you may be asked to present your Notice of Assessments from Revenue Canada, over the past two years, to the landlord.
Rental Application
This inform includes information on any outstanding loans or car leases you may have, as well as a list of credible references and their accurate details. To be safe, ensure that your references are ready and available to vouch for you whenever a landlord calls.
Lease Agreement
Finally, the lease agreement is the offer agreement that indicates your lease terms, including the conditions and duration of the lease, price, etc. This is an important step to get right since you need to make sure that you don’t agree to anything that isn’t in your best interests.
Know Your Rights and Obligations as a Tenant
As a tenant in Toronto, you have many rights. You don't need to bend to your potential landlord's every whim, no matter what you are led to believe. Here are the most important ones to know:
Pets – Most landlords are not favorable to pets and may want to include an actual ‘no pets’ clause in the Lease Agreement. However, in many cases, this clause is unenforceable, and they cannot evict you for having a pet until the Condominium rules don’t allow pets or restrict the types of pets that can be kept inside the property. If you are a pet owner, steer clear of these buildings.
Rent Increases – Rent increases are generally controlled in Toronto, but the rule may not apply to modern condo buildings. However, know that your landlord may only increase the rent once every 12 months and that too by a maximum equal to the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for that year.
Right to Access Property – Unless otherwise stated, your landlord is generally within their rights to enter your unit without any notice to repair and maintain it, or even to show the unit to prospective buyers on a short notice.
What happens if your Landlord Sells –Do you know that your landlord can actually ask you to evict in case the property is sold, if you don’t have a valid written lease? But when you have a proper written lease, the new owner will simply be required to take over your lease. However, if the new owner wants to live in the unit themselves, your landlord has to 60 days’ notice to allow the new owner to move in.
To learn more about the landlord side of things click the In's & Outs of becoming a landlord in Toronto
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