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Tenant credit check consent form, on one page.

A one-page fillable PDF that gets an applicant's written consent to a credit check, with the notices Ontario, BC and Manitoba add to the federal rules printed in the size they require.

Screening with The Great Renter? The applicant gives consent in our secure link, so this form is optional: keep it as a paper record.

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

Fillable PDF · 1 page · No email or sign-up · Reviewed September 2026

Page 1 of the Tenant credit check consent form, filled in with a fictional example applicantFilled-in example

Section by section

What each part of the form does

Five parts, built around the Privacy Commissioner's test for meaningful consent.

  1. Applicant

    Legal name, other names, date of birth, an optional SIN, phone, email, current and previous address.

    A credit check needs at minimum a name, address and date of birth.2 A previous address helps match someone who moved recently. The SIN is an optional line: a landlord can't require one, and Equifax describes it as optional but useful for avoiding mix-ups between people with similar names.2,15

  2. Landlord and rental

    Who is asking, for which unit, through which screening service, and until when.

    Consent has to say which third parties receive the information.2,1 Naming the screening service matters in BC, where both the landlord and the screening company need the applicant's consent.6

  3. What you're agreeing to

    A plain statement of what's collected, who sees it, why, the effect on the applicant, and how long consent lasts.

    The Privacy Commissioner's consent guidelines ask organizations to make four things clear: what information, who it's shared with, for what purpose, and any risk of harm. Financial information is generally sensitive, which calls for express consent.1 In Manitoba the consent must also give its effective date and when it expires.9

  4. Provincial notices

    Ontario, BC and Manitoba notices in one bold box, so one form works anywhere.

    Ontario requires its notices in bold or underlined type of at least 10 points, and Manitoba requires a written consent of at least 10 points above the signature; the box meets both.4,9

  5. Signature and landlord record

    Signature and date, then your record of when the check ran, any refusal notice, and a destroy-by date.

    The record keeps the notice deadlines in front of you, and the destroy-by date follows the Commissioner's advice not to keep personal information indefinitely.3

Filled-in example

See every page, filled in

A fictional applicant, Jane Doe, filled in the real form. She left the optional SIN blank.

By province

Credit check consent rules across Canada

The federal baseline applies everywhere; these are the rules each province adds.

Everywhere: PIPEDA

A landlord needs consent to share an applicant's information with a credit reporting agency, and should get express agreement before a credit check.2 Provincial rules add to this.

Ontario

Tenancy is a permitted purpose for a consumer report. If you refuse someone wholly or partly because of it, tell them when you give your decision, and name the agency if they ask within 60 days.4

British Columbia

Consent is required and can be clear, prominent wording in the application. If a report leads to a refusal, give written notice within 30 days.5 Run the check only on your shortlist.6

Alberta

Consent is required under both the Consumer Protection Act and PIPA. The applicant can instead give you their own report.7

Manitoba

A credit check is a personal investigation that needs consent first, worded as the regulation requires. Refusals get written notice within 10 days.8,9

Quebec

The Commission d'accès à l'information says you need the future tenant's consent before a credit check, and that a name, address and date of birth are enough to run it.10

Soft or hard?

What to tell an applicant about their score

The sources don't agree, so the form promises only what they all support.

It appears as an inquiry

Equifax lists landlords among those who may access a report, and everyone who receives one is recorded under inquiries on the file.11

Providers say no score effect

Certn describes its credit check as a soft inquiry that doesn't affect the score.14 Equifax says only inquiries tied to actively seeking credit may.12

The regulator hedges

The Financial Consumer Agency of Canada lists “some rental applications” as an example of a hard inquiry.13 So the form says the check is recorded as an inquiry, and leaves it there.

After it comes back

Using the form

  1. 1

    Hand it out with the application

    Or collect it once you have a shortlist. In BC the privacy commissioner says to run the check itself only on the few applicants you're seriously considering.6

  2. Run the check

    If you screen through The Great Renter, the applicant confirms their details and gives consent inside the secure link, so this form becomes your paper record. See what the credit report shows.
  3. 3

    Give the right notice if you refuse

    Ontario: when you give your decision. BC: in writing within 30 days. Manitoba: in writing within 10 days.4,5,8
  4. 4

    Destroy it on the date you wrote down

    Shred the form and delete the report once you no longer need them.3

Skip the paperwork on the check itself.

Pay once and send the applicant a secure link. They confirm their details and consent before anything runs, and you get their Equifax credit report and ID verification in one report.

See what the report looks like

Got questions?

Credit check consent, answered

Can a landlord run a credit check without the tenant's consent?

No. The Privacy Commissioner of Canada says a landlord needs the applicant's consent to share their information with a credit reporting agency, and provinces add their own rules: BC and Alberta require consent to obtain the report, Manitoba requires consent before any personal investigation, and Ontario's Consumer Reporting Act adds notice duties.

Do I need written consent to run a tenant credit check?

You need the applicant's consent everywhere in Canada, and the Privacy Commissioner says landlords should get express agreement before a credit check. Written consent is the easiest to prove. Ontario's notices must be in writing, BC accepts clear wording in the application, and Manitoba's regulation sets out how a written consent must look.

Can the consent be part of the rental application?

Yes. BC's consumer protection law accepts clear, prominent consent wording in a tenancy application, and Manitoba's Personal Investigations Act lets the consent sit in the application. Each of our provincial rental application forms includes one. Use this standalone form when your application doesn't.

Will a tenant credit check hurt the applicant's credit score?

It will show as an inquiry on their credit file. Certn, the provider behind our reports, says its tenancy credit check doesn't affect the score, and Equifax says only inquiries tied to seeking credit may. But the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada lists some rental applications among hard inquiries, so tell applicants it will appear as an inquiry rather than promising no effect.

Does the applicant have to give their SIN?

No. The Privacy Commissioner says a landlord doesn't need a Social Insurance Number for a credit check, which needs a name, address and date of birth, and Equifax describes giving a SIN as optional. This form has an optional SIN line the applicant can leave blank.

Do I need this form if I screen with The Great Renter?

Not to run the check. The applicant confirms their own details and gives consent inside our secure link before anything runs. The form is useful if you want a signed paper record, run checks another way, or your application form has no consent wording.

Is there a Word version of the consent form?

Yes. It comes as a fillable PDF and as a Word (.docx) file with the same wording, including the provincial notices.

Keep reading

More free forms

Sources, checked September 2026

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.