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Free form · Ontario

Ontario rental application form, built for private landlords.

A four-page fillable PDF (and Word file) that asks what Ontario's human rights rules let a landlord ask, and nothing they don't. Use it instead of OREA Form 410 when you're renting out your own unit without a realtor.

Also in Word (.docx)See a filled-in example

Fillable PDF · 4 pages · No email or sign-up · Reviewed September 2026

Page 1 of the Ontario rental application form, filled in with a fictional example applicantFilled-in example

Form 410

OREA Form 410, or this form?

What Form 410 is

Form 410, “Rental Application, Residential”, is one of the Ontario Real Estate Association's standard forms. OREA keeps its forms behind a member login and licenses them to real estate software providers.15 Its terms of use say the forms are for OREA members and certain licensees, and that any other use needs OREA's prior written consent.14

Which one to use

If a realtor is leasing your unit, they'll use Form 410 and you don't need anything here. If you're renting it out yourself, use a form you're free to use. This one is built line by line from what Ontario Regulation 290/98 lets a landlord request: rental history, credit references, consent to a credit check, and income information.1 Anything beyond that, like the SIN or bank details, is marked optional, and household ages aren't asked at all, for the reasons below.

Section by section

What's on the form, and why it's allowed

Every part of the form, and what Ontario Regulation 290/98 says about it.

  1. The rental

    Your offer: address, rent, lease term, rent deposit, parking fee, what's included, your contact, and how long you keep applications.

    Filled in before you hand the form out, so every applicant applies for the same unit on the same terms. The deposit line is capped at one month because a rent deposit is the only deposit Ontario allows.9

  2. About you

    Name, contact details and other adult applicants, then optional SIN, licence number, emergency contact, vehicle, smoking, tenant insurance and pets.

    Enough to identify the applicant and reach them, with the sensitive identifiers marked optional (see below). Each adult fills in their own copy. The form doesn't ask how many children will live there or anyone's age: the Ontario Human Rights Commission says asking applicants' ages on a form has been found to be discrimination based on family status.4

  3. Rental history

    Current and previous address, dates, rent, and each landlord's name and contact.

    Rental history is one of the four things Ontario Regulation 290/98 expressly lets a landlord request.1 There's a note for applicants with no history, because the Commission says a lack of rental or credit history shouldn't be held against someone.3

  4. Income

    Total monthly income, how it can be confirmed, and optional employer and bank details.

    Income information is allowed, but only alongside rental history, credit references or a credit check, and it has to be weighed together with them.1 Only the amount and proof are required: the Commission says landlords may confirm income exists but shouldn't judge its source, and that the regulation doesn't allow questions about employment history.4 So the employer line is optional, and there's no “how long have you worked there”.

  5. Credit references (optional)

    Up to two lenders, utilities or others who can speak to the applicant's payment record.

    Credit references are also on the regulation's list.1 They give newcomers and people with thin credit files a way to show a payment record the credit bureau doesn't have.

  6. Guarantor (optional)

    A guarantor's name and contact, only if the landlord asks every applicant for one.

    You may require a guarantee for the rent, but the Commission says to ask only if you require one from every tenant, or because of poor references, credit or a history of default, never because of a protected ground.1,4 The guarantor gives their own consent before you check them.

  7. Consent, notices and signature

    Consent to contact references and to a credit check, date of birth for the credit check only, and a signature.

    A landlord needs the applicant's consent to share their details with a credit reporting agency, and the minimum for a credit check is name, address and date of birth.5 The Consumer Reporting Act notice is printed in bold 10-point type because section 10 requires that for its notices, and it tells the applicant they can ask which agency supplied the report if they're turned down.8

Filled-in example

See every page, filled in

A fictional applicant, Jane Doe, filled in the real form. The optional fields she skipped are left blank, so you can see what an applicant doesn't have to answer.

Sensitive questions

Sensitive questions are optional, not required

Older forms make these mandatory. On this one the applicant decides, except for the one question Ontario's human rights rules say not to ask at all.

  • Social Insurance Number

    Optional

    A landlord can't require a SIN, and a credit check doesn't need one.5 The Commissioner's tips say that if a form asks for it, it must be clearly marked optional, so this one does.6 Service Canada says applicants don't have to give a SIN on a rental application,7 and a SIN can reveal things like refugee status, so never hold a blank against anyone.4

  • Bank account details

    Optional

    A credit check doesn't use them. In one privacy commissioner case, a property manager resolved a complaint by making banking details, the SIN and the licence number optional on its form, the same approach this form takes.18

  • Licence or ID number

    Optional

    Optional, and still no photocopy: look at photo ID to confirm who you're dealing with, but the Commissioner says landlords likely don't need to keep a copy of a driver's licence.5,18

  • Employer

    Optional

    Useful for confirming income, but the regulation lets you ask about income, not a work history, and the Commission says “stable employment” requirements have been found discriminatory.1,4

  • Pets

    Optional

    A clause banning pets in an Ontario lease is void, so treat the answer as information, not a filter.9,19 If a condo corporation's rules restrict animals, the standard lease lets you require the tenant to follow them; say so in your listing.12

  • Ages, children or relationships

    Not asked

    The one thing kept off. The Commission says asking ages on the form has been found to be discrimination based on family status, and making the question optional doesn't change that. If you truly need an age (a seniors building, say), ask after you've approved the applicant.4

Never a reason to refuse an applicant in Ontario

  • Race
  • Ancestry
  • Place of origin
  • Colour
  • Ethnic origin
  • Citizenship
  • Creed
  • Sex
  • Sexual orientation
  • Gender identity
  • Gender expression
  • Age
  • Marital status
  • Family status
  • Disability
  • Receipt of public assistance
Section 2(1) of the Human Rights Code protects equal treatment in housing on each of these grounds.2 Two narrow exemptions exist: a unit where the tenant shares a kitchen or bathroom with the owner or the owner's family, and buildings restricted to one sex.2 They don't cover an ordinary apartment, basement suite with its own kitchen, or house.

Ontario rules

Six rules that apply before the lease is signed

No application fee

The Residential Tenancies Act bars charging a prospective tenant any fee, premium, key deposit or similar charge unless a regulation allows it, and no regulation allows an application fee.9,10 Applicants can ask the Landlord and Tenant Board to get an illegal charge back.11

A rent deposit, and nothing else

The only deposit allowed is a rent deposit of no more than one month's rent, taken on or before signing, applied to the last month, and repaid if the tenant never moves in. You pay interest on it yearly.9 A refundable key or fob deposit up to its replacement cost is the one exception.10

Income can't be the only test

You can weigh income only together with rental history, credit references or a credit check, unless income is the only information you have.1 The Commission says rent-to-income cut-offs like 30% are not allowed outside rent-geared-to-income housing.3

A guarantor for everyone, or no one

You may require a guarantee for the rent.1 The Commission says to ask only if you require one from every tenant, or because of poor references, credit or a history of default, never because an applicant is a newcomer, young, a lone parent or on social assistance.4

The standard lease is required

Most Ontario tenancies that began on or after April 30, 2018 must use the government's Residential Tenancy Agreement (Standard Form of Lease).9,13 Your application form is separate: it never becomes part of the lease.

Say so if the credit report decided it

If you turn an applicant down wholly or partly because of their credit report, tell them when you give your decision; if they ask within 60 days, give them the agency's name and address.8 The form has a landlord-use box to record the date you did.

Reviewing an application

What to check, and what isn't a red flag

Most bad tenancies show up as small inconsistencies on the application. Some things that feel like warning signs are ones the law says you can't hold against anyone.

Worth a closer look

  • A name, date of birth or address that doesn't match the photo ID you viewed.
  • A current landlord you can't reach, or whose number you can't find anywhere but the application.
  • Gaps in the rental history the applicant hasn't explained.
  • Income figures that don't match the pay stub or the employer contact you called.
  • Pressure to skip steps: signing today, moving in before checks, or paying in cash with no receipt.

Not a red flag

  • No Canadian credit or rental history: the Commission says a lack of history shouldn't count against an applicant.3
  • Income from social assistance or other benefits: receipt of public assistance is a protected ground in Ontario housing.2
  • Income under three times the rent, on its own: fixed rent-to-income cut-offs aren't allowed outside rent-geared-to-income housing.3
  • A blank SIN: applicants don't have to give one, and a credit check works without it.5,7

After it comes back

What to do once an application comes back

  1. 1

    Check it's complete and signed

    Every adult who will live there should have their own signed copy. An unsigned form is not consent.

  2. Screen your shortlist

    Run the credit check the applicant consented to. With The Great Renter the applicant confirms their own details and consent in a secure link, so you never handle their date of birth. See what a tenant credit check shows.
  3. 3

    Call the landlords listed

    Ask each one the same questions: dates, rent, whether it was paid on time, and whether proper notice was given. Our reference letter template includes a written request you can send instead.
  4. 4

    Look up public Landlord and Tenant Board orders

    The Board publishes its final orders on Ontario's open data catalogue, adding new orders two to three months after they're issued; older orders are being added in phases.16,17
  5. 5

    Decide the same way for everyone

    Apply the same criteria to every applicant and keep a note of why you chose the person you did: the Commission says a landlord should be able to show how the successful applicant was chosen.4
  6. 6

    Sign the standard lease

    Use the Standard Form of Lease, collect only a rent deposit (and a key deposit if you like), and securely destroy the applications of everyone you didn't rent to.6,9

Got an application back? Screen this applicant.

Send the applicant a secure link. They confirm their own details and consent, and you get their Equifax credit report and ID verification in one report. No account, no subscription.

See what the report looks like

Got questions?

Ontario rental applications, answered

What documents can a landlord ask for with an Ontario rental application?

Ontario Regulation 290/98 lets a landlord ask for credit references, rental history, consent to a credit check, and income information, and weigh income only together with the others. Proof of income such as a pay stub or employer letter counts as income information. This form asks for those and marks everything else optional.

Can an Ontario landlord take a deposit with the rental application?

Only a rent deposit of no more than one month's rent, collected on or before the lease is signed and applied to the last month of the tenancy; it must be repaid if the tenant never moves in. A refundable key deposit is the only other amount allowed. Application fees and damage deposits are not.

Is there a Word version of this Ontario rental application?

Yes. The form comes as a fillable PDF and as a Word (.docx) file with the same wording. Use the Word version if you want to type in your unit details once and reuse it.

Is this Ontario rental application form free to use?

Yes. Download it, fill it in on screen or print it, and use it as often as you like. There's no email or sign-up. It's written for private landlords renting their own units in Ontario.

Can a private landlord use OREA Form 410?

OREA's terms of use say its standard forms, including Form 410 (Rental Application, Residential), are for OREA members and certain licensees, and any other use needs OREA's prior written consent. If a realtor is handling your rental they will use it; if you're renting on your own, use a form you're free to use, like this one.

Can I ask for a Social Insurance Number on a rental application in Ontario?

You can't require it. The Privacy Commissioner of Canada says a landlord doesn't need a SIN for a credit check, which needs only a name, address and date of birth, and Service Canada says you don't need to give a SIN to fill in a rental application. The Commissioner's tips add that if a form asks for one, it must be clearly marked optional, which is how this form asks.

Can I charge an application fee in Ontario?

No. The Residential Tenancies Act bars charging a prospective tenant any fee or similar charge unless a regulation allows it, and the regulation's list of allowed charges doesn't include application or screening fees. A refundable key deposit is allowed; an application fee is not.

Can I require an income of three times the rent?

Not as a hard cut-off. Under Ontario Regulation 290/98 you can consider income only together with rental history, credit references or a credit check, and the Ontario Human Rights Commission says fixed rent-to-income ratios such as 30% are not allowed outside rent-geared-to-income housing.

What should I do with applications from people I don't rent to?

Keep them only as long as you need to, then destroy them securely. The Privacy Commissioner advises landlords not to keep personal information indefinitely. The form has a blank for you to state how long you keep unsuccessful applications, so applicants know up front.

Keep reading

More free forms

Sources, checked September 2026
  1. 1.Ontario Regulation 290/98, Business practices permissible to landlords in selecting prospective tenants
  2. 2.Ontario Human Rights Code, R.S.O. 1990, c. H.19
  3. 3.Ontario Human Rights Commission, Policy on human rights and rental housing
  4. 4.Ontario Human Rights Commission, Identifying discrimination in rental housing (policy, part IV)
  5. 5.Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada, Privacy in the landlord and tenant relationship
  6. 6.Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada, 10 privacy tips for the rental housing sector
  7. 7.Service Canada, The Social Insurance Number Code of Practice
  8. 8.Ontario Consumer Reporting Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. C.33 (s. 10)
  9. 9.Ontario Residential Tenancies Act, 2006 (ss. 12.1, 14, 105 to 107, 134)
  10. 10.Ontario Regulation 516/06 under the Residential Tenancies Act (s. 17, key deposits)
  11. 11.Landlord and Tenant Board, Form T1 instructions (illegal charges)
  12. 12.Government of Ontario, Guide to Ontario's standard lease
  13. 13.Central Forms Repository, Residential Tenancy Agreement (Standard Form of Lease)
  14. 14.OREA, Standard Forms terms of use
  15. 15.OREA, Standard Forms and Clauses
  16. 16.Landlord and Tenant Board, Law, rules and decisions
  17. 17.Ontario Data Catalogue, Landlord and Tenant Board order catalogue
  18. 18.Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada, Early resolved case summary 2013-01 (optional SIN, licence and banking details)
  19. 19.Government of Ontario, Renting in Ontario: your rights

This form and page are general information, not legal advice. Laws change; check the linked sources, and talk to a lawyer or your province's tenancy office about your situation.