Realtor Guide: How to Apply for a Lease with LandLord

• Rental Application Instructions - Realtors
• Rental Application Instructions - Applicant
• FAQ - What Counts as Proof of Income
• FAQ - General
• Schedule B-PDF (Opens Externally)

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Are You a Tenant?

GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS - REALTORS

To apply for one of our listings, please ensure the following steps are completed:

COMPLETE OUR ONLINE APPLICATION (TENANTS):

• Your client must complete the online application here.
• You can send our step by step application guide to your client
  • You can share our step-by-step application guide with your client to assist them.
  • Realtors cannot apply on behalf of their clients. Each applicant must personally complete and submit their own application.
  • All applicants over 18 years old must submit their own individual application through the online portal.
  • We do not pre-screen applications. Please show the property and have your client submit an application to be reviewed.
  • We do not accept sensitive documents via email for security reasons. Kindly ensure that all documents are submitted securely through our encrypted online portal – ***NOT VIA EMAIL*** If this email contains sensitive information, it will be deleted.

THE OREA OFFER PAPERWORK (REALTOR):

When submitting an application, please email the following OREA Offer documents:

• Form 400 – Agreement to Lease
  • Note on Schedule A:
    • You do not need to submit a Schedule A with standard clauses. The RTA Lease (which we provide) already includes all necessary legal terms and supersedes the OREA Agreement.
    • What happens if you submit a long Schedule A? If it contains redundant standard clauses, it will be disregarded.
    • When should you include Schedule A? Only if there are specific requests or conditions that are not covered in a standard lease.
• Form 320 – Confirmation of Cooperation
• Schedule B (Required Document – Here)

COMMUNICATION & RESPONSE TIME

• Email is the fastest way to reach us. Please always email me directly for inquiries.
• Office hours are Monday to Friday, 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM.
• Applications and offers are processed only during office hours. If you contact us outside these hours, we will respond the next business day.

GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS - APPLICANT

Rental Application Guidelines

Each person over the age of 18 will need to submit their own completed application package.

Required Supporting Documentation

Before you begin, ensure you have the following documents ready:

• Government-issued ID
• Proof of income (e.g., pay stubs, employment letter, bank statements)
• Rental history (current landlord’s name and contact information, if applicable)
• Employer/supervisor’s contact details
• Full credit report (including score, accounts, payment history, and collections)

*If your application is approved, we will conduct a credit check at our own expense to verify the information provided. This will not affect your credit score. The absence of a specific document will not automatically disqualify you, as we assess all relevant factors in the qualification process.

Submitting Your Application

• All sections of the application form must be fully completed before submission.
• Incomplete applications will not be processed.

Application Review & Processing

• Our team will review applications within three business days.
• During this time, we will contact your references and verify the information provided.
• We reserve the right to pull our own credit report as part of the verification process.

Application Decision & Next Steps

You will be notified of the final decision once your application has been reviewed.

If Approved:

• You must submit a deposit and sign the lease agreement within 24 hours.

If Declined:

• The Landlord is not required to provide a reason for the decision.

Need Assistance?

If you have any questions about the application process, please email [email protected]. We’re happy to help.

FAQ - ROOF OF INCOME

If you are employed and receive a salary, you will need to submit:

• A letter of employment from your employer that specifies:
  • Your name
  • Your position with the company
  • Your annual compensation
  • The date you were hired
  • The letter must also have the company’s letterhead and include a business contact number for the person writing the letter.

AND/OR

• Your most recent paystub. It must clearly show:
• Your name
• The company’s name
• The date of compensation
• The compensation amount
• The pay period range

If you are employed and are paid hourly, you will need to submit:

• A letter of employment from your employer that specifies:
  • Your name
  • Your position with the company
  • How many hours per week you typically work
  • The date you were hired
  • The letter must also have the company’s letterhead and include a business contact number for the person writing the letter.

AND/OR

• Your three most recent paystubs. They must clearly show:
• Your name
• The company’s name
• The date of compensation
• The compensation amount
• The pay period range

If you are self-employed, on contract, or a freelance/gig worker, you will need to submit:

• Six months’ worth of bank statements showing a consistent income of the amount reported in your application and/or a substantial amount of savings.

AND/OR

• Your CRA Notice of Assessment from the most recent tax year, showing your total taxable income for that year.

If you are retired, you will need to submit:

• Your three most recent CPP/OAS deposit receipts.

AND/OR

• Proof of savings/investment income, including:
• Your name
• The bank’s name
• The balance/investment amount(s)
• The dates of any balances/amounts reported

If you are unemployed and receiving government support, you will need to submit:

• Your most recent government support receipt(s) (e.g., if you are receiving OW or EI).

If you are unemployed and being supported by someone else (e.g., a parent, partner, or other friend/relative), you will need to submit:

• That person will need to apply as your guarantor. Their credit will be pulled, income will be verified, and references will be contacted, just as if they were applying to live in the unit themselves.

FAQ - GENERAL

Q: How does the process work?

A: Your clients apply online, via our encrypted online portal. You do not apply for them; they must apply on their own. There is a space on their application for them to link you to the transaction.

Once your clients have applied, you can send your OREA lease with any clauses or conditions you’d like included along with your confirmation of co-operation and representation to our leasing team at [email protected].

Q: I want to introduce my clients, who can I talk to?

A: There’s no need to introduce your clients, we want them to introduce themselves. From there we’ll verify all details and information. Our clients are open to all applicants however an ability to pay the rent on an ongoing basis is required from all applicants.

Q: Will your clients accept students?

A: Yes, our clients are open to all applicants, however, they must demonstrate an ongoing ability to pay the rent.

Q: My clients’ parents will be paying the rent, what do we do?

A: Your clients’ parents need to complete applications in addition to their children. We’ll need proof of income and employment along with credit information and it must be in English.

Q: My clients’ don’t have any proof of employment, income, or credit, will that be a problem?

A: Yes. Unless your clients are able to demonstrate an ability to pay the rent on a permanent basis, their applications will likely not be viable.

Q: Why do you need three days irrevocable?

A: Our screening team must complete a thorough background check. Sometimes, if a complete package is provided to our screening team and there are no unanswered questions, the process can be expedited, however, there are often missing puzzle pieces, and we will not compromise our process for the sake of a shorter irrevocable.

Q: When can I expect a response?

A: Our office hours are Monday to Friday, from 9am to 5pm. You will hear back from us during that time once our clients have reviewed your completed application and have either approved or declined the applicants. If we need more details, we’ll be in touch.

Q: Why do you charge an admin fee?

A: Our admin fee covers the comprehensive service we provide to make the leasing process seamless for you. We handle all the details—from drafting the lease and collecting the deposit (with receipt provided) to coordinating the move-in process. All you need to do is your OREA paperwork—we take care of the rest, including personally meeting your tenants on move-in day.

Q: How does your offer process work?

A: Offers to lease are very different from offers to purchase. When an offer is submitted, it’s useless without a completed application package.

For example, if we have three offers, and only one has a completed application package, we’ll complete our background checks on that application only and forward it to our client for consideration.

If the client is comfortable with it, we’ll move to bind a lease and will only wait for the others if our clients want to risk losing the qualified applicant in hand. In short, our offer process is handled on a first come, first served basis.