First time renting basement

Hi All,

It’s our first time renting our basement. We have a good prospective tenant who is a RMT.

What type of due diligence is a must. We have job letters, will get credit report. Called his clinics to confirm he works there.

Is there a Rein approved list of questions for references?
Can we ask for a police clearance?

What kind of clauses should we have in the rental agreement?

Thank you.


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As for your police check question:

You can only request the information reasonably required to make a decision about whether or not to rent property to the applicant. Every piece of information collected must have a reasonable business use attached to it. A police check is not a reasonable requirement and thus can not be ask for. Here is a link to the privacy guidelines for BC it would be a good idea to read through it as it will answer a lot of you're questions / concerns https://www.oipc.bc.ca/guidance-documents/1456
I'm unsure if these guidelines vary greatly from province to province so if you're not in BC then you should look up the privacy guidelines in your province.

For a lease, join your local landlord association. They will have the clauses that are relevant to your province.

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Always a good idea to post the province where the property is located because rules vary greatly.

You may want to check out the member back office for my presentation on advanced tenant screening. It was in Alberta last May (I think), but there are some points that apply everywhere.

In addition to credit and reference checks, we always do a "civil judgment search" at provincial court. It will reveal any judgments against the applicants in that province, including judgments for eviction.

As for leases, I haven't used a standard lease in many years. There are too many things not properly addressed. Remember, a lease is a contract, so as long as your terms do not contradict the Residential Tenancies Act for your province, you can add or amend terms as you see fit. For example, we ban smoking (of any kind) from the premises, and we carefully describe the tenants' insurance requirements so there is no confusion in case of a claim.

I always do a social media search in addition to my usual due diligence too. You often find some things on there they might not want you to know.

-Phil Wong
Obsidian Real Estate Solutions
www.obsidianres.com

Credit checks and references are standard but the best is social media. Facebook, instagram, whatever...... I have found all kinds of dirt on potential tenants.