You post your listing, you get some inquiries, you have a couple of conversations, and eventually someone just feels like the right fit. So you go with it. And honestly, most of the time that works out fine. But when it doesn’t, it can get messy fast: missed rent, damage to your property, a drawn-out process to get things resolved. For a lot of small landlords, one bad experience is enough to make them wish they’d done a bit more homework upfront. If you have a Rentals.ca account, you now have access to tenant credit checks directly in your dashboard. This guide walks you through what they are, what they tell you, and how to run one.
Most landlords are making this decision with limited information
Here’s the thing: the information that would actually help you make a better decision is more accessible than most landlords realize. A credit check (or tenant screening, as it’s sometimes called) gives you a real look at how someone has handled their financial obligations: whether they’ve been consistent with payments, whether they have anything sitting in collections, what their overall credit picture looks like. That’s not something you can get from a phone call or a reference, no matter how good the conversation goes. References are almost always positive, and a first impression tells you a lot about how someone presents themselves, not necessarily how they’ll behave once they’ve moved in. We’re not talking about distrust here. It’s just that a credit check gives you one more meaningful piece of information before you make a commitment that’s pretty hard to undo.
What’s actually in a credit report
When you run a credit check on a renter through Rentals.ca, you’ll get a report that covers their credit score, their payment history, any accounts in collections, and how they’ve managed money over time. It’s a snapshot, not a complete portrait of who someone is, but it’s the kind of snapshot that’s genuinely useful when you’re deciding whether to hand someone the keys to your property.
If you have a Rentals.ca account, credit checks are already available in your dashboard. You don’t need to sign up for a separate service or learn a new platform. It’s all in the same place you already manage your listings and leads.
What if the report comes back thin?
Sometimes a renter hasn’t built up much of a credit history yet, maybe because they’re newer to Canada, or they’re younger and just haven’t had many financial accounts. In those cases, parts of the report might be incomplete, and that’s completely normal. A thin report isn’t automatically a red flag, it just means you have less information from that particular source. You can factor it in alongside other things you know about them, like their employment situation or the references they’ve provided.
It’s a $20 decision that’s worth making
You now know what a credit check covers, what it costs, and exactly how to run one through your Rentals.ca account. The only thing left is actually doing it. At the end of the day, you’re already making a judgment call every time you choose a renter. A credit check just means you’re making that same call with a bit more to go on. Most landlords who start using them say they wish they’d started sooner. Not because they’ve had disasters, but because it takes a weight off the decision they didn’t realize they’d been carrying.
Rentals.ca is one of Canada’s largest rental marketplaces, connecting landlords and renters across the country. Credit checks are powered by Certn, a leading Canadian screening provider.