Free guide from The Great Renter
The Tenant Selection Playbook
We've screened thousands of Canadian renters and work closely with the teams running property management companies. This is the process we know works, from listing to signed lease, with the templates and rules for your province.
- A listing template and pre-screen questions that pull better applicants
- What your application can and can't ask, province by province
- A fair shortlist scorecard, reference scripts and a fake-document field guide
- of renters screened by our team
- Thousands
- provinces and territories covered
- 13
- steps, listing to signed lease
- 7
Screening for landlords and for property managers like Woodsmere Holdings and Orca Realty.
The Tenant Selection Playbook
Free PDF · 35 pages · 7 steps · 13 provinces and territories
- A listing template and pre-screen questions that pull better applicants
- What your application can and can't ask, province by province
- A fair shortlist scorecard, reference scripts and a fake-document field guide
- of renters screened by our team
- Thousands
- provinces and territories covered
- 13
- steps, listing to signed lease
- 7
Screening for landlords and for property managers like Woodsmere Holdings and Orca Realty.
What's inside
Seven steps, from listing to signed lease
Each step fits on a few pages: the short version, the templates and scripts to copy, and a checklist, with the rules where your province differs, each linked to its source. Built to use, not to sit on a shelf.
- Step 1
Posting the listing
Where to post, a listing template that pulls good applicants, and pre-screen questions that save viewings.
- Step 2
The application form
What to ask, what to skip, and what your province allows, with consent wording you can copy.
- Step 3
Shortlisting applicants
A scorecard you fill in before applications arrive, so every applicant is judged the same way.
- Step 4
Viewings
Let applicants book their own viewing, cut no-shows, and spot the warning signs on the day.
- Step 5
Tenant screening
What a proper check covers, how to spot an edited pay stub, and how to handle renter information lawfully.
- Step 6
References
Call scripts that get honest answers, and how to confirm a reference is who they say they are.
- Step 7
Final selection and the lease
Choosing fairly, telling the others, your province's lease form and deposit rules, and signing fast.
Why this guide
Built from screening renters every day
Tenant screening is our whole business. We screen thousands of Canadian renters for landlords and property managers, and we work closely with property management teams to fit screening into how they already lease. This playbook is the process the best of them run, written down step by step, with the rules for every province and territory.
- sources cited, each one linked
- 90+sources cited, each one linked
- templates, scripts and messages to copy
- 17templates, scripts and messages to copy
- when every rule was last checked against its source
- Nov 2026when every rule was last checked against its source
They built to our workflow instead of asking us to change it.
A flexible API, fast support, and a team that builds around how we work, not the other way around. Feels like a partnership more than a vendor relationship!
Who it's for
Landlords and leasing teams
Landlords with a few units
Fill your next vacancy with someone you trust, without spending a week on it.
Property managers and leasing teams
One consistent process your whole team can follow, documented the same way for every applicant.
Every rule links to its official source: the tenancy office, tribunal, human rights commission or privacy commissioner for each province and territory. Checked November 2026. General information, not legal advice.
Got questions?
About the playbook
Is it really free?
Yes. Enter your first name and email and we'll email you the PDF straight away. There's nothing to buy and no account to create.
Does it cover my province?
Yes. Where the rules differ, each step says so, and the back of the guide has maps and a one-page table for all 10 provinces and 3 territories: application fees, deposit limits, the standard lease and source-of-income protection, with a link to each tenancy office and human rights commission.
Will you call me?
Only if you leave a phone number and ask. Someone from our team may email you once to see if you'd like help setting up the process.
Who wrote it?
The Great Renter, a Canadian tenant screening company. Screening renters is our whole business: we screen thousands of applicants for landlords and property managers, and work closely with property management teams. The playbook is the process we see working, with every rule checked against the official source for each province and territory.
Is this legal advice?
No. It's a practical guide that links to the official rules. For a specific dispute, talk to your province's tenancy office or a lawyer.
I'm a renter. Is this for me?
It's written for landlords, but it shows what a fair process looks like, and what a landlord may and may not ask you.