Tenant credit check
Tenant credit check: what's actually in the Equifax report.
A tenant credit check pulls the applicant's Equifax Canada file at the source, with their consent, and shows you their score, how much of their income goes to debt, and whether the file holds late payments, collections, bankruptcies, or legal proceedings. This page explains each part, what the numbers mean, and what the law says about asking for it.
Reviewed September 2026. Sources linked throughout.
The four sections of an Equifax file, and what we do with them.
Equifax Canada describes a consumer credit report as four parts: identifying information, credit accounts, inquiries, and public records and collections.1 Your Great Renter report reads that file and turns it into the one-page summary below.
Identifying information
The applicant's name, current and previous addresses, and date of birth as Equifax has them on file. This is how the bureau matched the file to the person, so it is also the first place to look when a report comes back thin or empty.1
In your report: Used to match the file. Whether the applicant is who they say they are is answered separately, by the identity verification in every package.
Credit accounts (tradelines)
Each credit card, line of credit, loan, or mortgage the applicant holds or has held: the type of account, when it was opened, the credit limit, the current balance, and the month-by-month payment history. This is the section that tells you how they handle money over time.1
In your report: Feeds the score, the monthly debt-to-income figure, and the late payments flag on the first page.
Inquiries
A record of who has requested the file and when. Hard inquiries come from credit applications the applicant made themselves; soft inquiries, including tenant checks, are listed separately and are not visible to lenders.1
In your report: Our check is recorded as a soft inquiry, so running it does not change the score you are reading.
Public records and collections
Bankruptcies, consumer proposals, court judgments, and accounts sent to a collection agency. Anything here is worth reading closely rather than reacting to: the report shows the date, the amount, and whether it has been paid or discharged.1
In your report: Becomes the bankruptcies, collections, and legal proceedings flags in the credit overview.
What the first page of your report shows
Every block below is on the sample report, in this order, so you can check the page against the real thing before you pay. Each report is watermarked and sealed when it is generated, and carries the date it was produced.
Three dials, powered by Equifax
The numbers a landlord decides on, each with a plain-language label.
- Credit score out of 900 (the sample applicant's 857 reads Great)
- Debt to income: monthly debt payments as a percentage of monthly income
- Rent to income: the rent you entered as a percentage of monthly income
Credit overview
Four yes or no flags read straight from the Equifax file.
- Bankruptcies
- Collections
- Late payments
- Legal proceedings
Report summary
The status of every check in the package you bought.
- Identity verification
- Credit information
- Global watchlist (Complete and up)
- Adverse media screening (Complete and up)
Applicant summary
What the applicant declared about themselves in the screening flow. Shown as entered, not verified.
- Income source, job title, and income per year
- Desired move-in date and other occupants
- Pets, parking, and guarantor
- Whether they have been refused a rental before
The applicant summary and the two income dials rely on the employment details the applicant chooses to enter, which are optional. We do not verify income or employment; if you need that, ask for pay stubs or a letter alongside the report.
Equifax scores run from 300 to 900.
Higher is better. Equifax Canada groups its score into five bands, and notes that lenders and other users of the score choose their own ranges rather than following these.2
Poor
300 to 559
Fair
560 to 659
Good
660 to 724
Very good
725 to 759
Excellent
760 to 900
Bands as published by Equifax Canada.2Your report shows the score on a dial out of 900 with a plain-language label; the sample applicant's 857 reads Great.
The score is one input, not a verdict
A number in the 600s with four years of on-time rent-sized payments tells a different story than a 750 with a single new card. Read the score alongside the tradelines, the payment history, and the applicant's income and references. Human rights rules also limit how far you can lean on money alone: in Ontario, for example, income can be one factor in a decision but never the only one. See Ontario's screening rules for the specifics.
A tenant credit check is a soft inquiry.
Applicants sometimes hesitate because they think a screening will lower their score. It will not, and it helps to be able to explain why.
Hard inquiry
Applying for credit
When someone applies for a credit card, loan, or mortgage, the lender's pull is recorded as a hard inquiry. Equifax says hard inquiries can affect the score and stay on the report for up to 36 months.3
The soft-inquiry classification is Certn's, as the party that places the inquiry with Equifax. We are quoting their documentation, not making our own claim about how Equifax records it.
You need consent. Here is what each province says.
Our flow collects the consent for you: the applicant opens a secure link, confirms their own details, and agrees to the check before anything runs. The rules below are why that step exists. Need it on paper? Use our free tenant credit check consent form.
Everywhere in Canada
PIPEDA (federal)
The Office of the Privacy Commissioner is clear that a landlord needs the applicant's consent to share their personal information with a credit reporting agency in order to run a check.8 Provincial rules add to this baseline; they do not replace it.
Ontario
Consumer Reporting Act
Ontario's Consumer Reporting Act lists tenancy as a permitted purpose for pulling a report. If you turn an applicant down because of something in it, you must give them the name and address of the reporting agency so they can check the file.10CLEO advises that the applicant's consent should be in writing.11
British Columbia
Business Practices and Consumer Protection Act, Part 6
Section 107 requires the applicant's consent before a reporting agency releases a report about them, and section 108 covers a report requested in connection with a tenancy agreement. The consent can be given in the rental application itself.12
Alberta
Consumer Protection Act and PIPA
The Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Alberta says a landlord needs the applicant's consent to obtain a credit report, under both the Consumer Protection Act and the Personal Information Protection Act (PIPA).13
Quebec
Private-sector privacy law, as amended by Law 25
The Commission d'accès à l'information says a landlord must obtain the future tenant's consent before running a credit check, and that a name, address, and date of birth are enough to do it.14Quebec's private-sector privacy law, as amended by Law 25, governs how that consent and the information behind it are handled.14,15
You do not need their SIN
The Privacy Commissioner's guidance is that a Social Insurance Number is not required to run a credit check and that providing one must be optional for the applicant.9Quebec's JuridiQC says the same for that province.15 With The Great Renter, the applicant enters their own details directly into the secure flow, so you never see or store them.
Three things landlords get wrong about the report.
The report is factual. The mistakes happen in the reading.
A thin file is not bad credit
Equifax describes a thin file as one with two or fewer credit lines, and notes that newcomers to Canada often arrive with a credit history abroad that does not carry over to their Canadian file.5 A short file with no negatives is a different thing from a long file with collections. Weigh it with references and proof of income rather than treating it as a red flag.
A no-hit usually means a mismatch
Equifax matches the file on identifying information: name, addresses, and date of birth.1 So when a report comes back with no file found, the first things to rule out are a typo, a maiden name, or a previous address that was left out, before concluding the applicant has no credit at all. Ask them to confirm their details before you read anything into it.
Old problems do fall off
Equifax Canada keeps late payments on file for up to six years, collections for six years, a bankruptcy for six years after discharge, and hard inquiries for three years.4Ontario's Consumer Reporting Act separately caps most adverse information at seven years.10 A collection from 2021 says less about an applicant in 2026 than a missed payment last spring does.
Sources, checked September 2026
- 1.Equifax Canada, What is a credit report? (the four sections of a report)
- 2.Equifax Canada, What is a credit score? (300 to 900 range and score bands)
- 3.Equifax Canada, Understanding hard inquiries on your credit report
- 4.Equifax Canada, How long does information stay on my credit report?
- 5.Equifax Canada newsroom, Global Consumer Credit File for newcomers (thin files)
- 6.Certn, Credit checks (soft inquiry, turnaround times)
- 7.Certn API documentation, Credit check (tenancy inquiries do not impact the score)
- 8.Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada, Privacy in the landlord and tenant relationship
- 9.Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada, Tips for landlords and tenants (SIN)
- 10.Government of Ontario, Credit reports (Consumer Reporting Act)
- 11.Community Legal Education Ontario (CLEO), Credit reports and credit scores
- 12.British Columbia, Business Practices and Consumer Protection Act, Part 6 (ss. 107 and 108)
- 13.Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Alberta, Guidance for landlords and tenants
- 14.Commission d'acces a l'information du Quebec, Signing a lease
- 15.JuridiQC (Quebec), What your future landlord may ask you for
The Equifax report is in every package.
Paid once per report. No account to create, no subscription, and a money-back guarantee of up to $50 on every Quickscreen report.
Volume rates, who pays, and how we compare to other services are on the pricing page. For what the identity, watchlist, and adverse media checks cover, see the tenant background check.
Got questions?
Tenant credit checks, answered
Does a tenant credit check affect the applicant's credit score?
No. Certn, the provider behind every Great Renter report, describes its tenancy credit check as a soft inquiry that does not impact the applicant's score. Equifax explains that only hard inquiries, the kind a lender makes when someone applies for credit, can affect a score.
Do I need the applicant's SIN to run a credit check?
No. The Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada says a Social Insurance Number is not required for a credit check and that providing one must be optional. In our flow the applicant enters their own name, address, and date of birth directly, so you never handle their identifying details at all.
Can I refuse an applicant because of a low credit score?
The score can be one factor in your decision, but treat it as an input rather than a verdict. Human rights rules in provinces such as Ontario limit refusing someone on financial grounds alone, and a low score with a thin file is not the same as a history of missed payments. In Ontario, if you refuse someone because of the report, you must give them the name and address of the credit reporting agency.
What if the applicant has no Canadian credit history?
The report will come back thin or empty rather than negative. Equifax describes a thin file as two or fewer credit lines, and notes that newcomers often have a credit history abroad that does not carry over. Lean on the identity verification, references, and proof of income in that case, and in Ontario remember that a lack of Canadian credit history cannot be held against an applicant.
How long does a tenant credit check take?
Certn says most credit checks return instantly or within minutes once the applicant has completed their part, and up to 24 hours if extra verification is needed. The applicant's consent step is usually the slowest part: the report cannot run until they open the link and agree.
How is this different from asking the applicant for a PDF of their own report?
A PDF is a document the applicant produced and could have edited. Our report is pulled at the source through Certn and Equifax after the applicant consents, then delivered to you sealed, so what you read is what the bureau returned. It also includes the identity verification that a self-supplied PDF cannot.