Tenant Screening in Burlington.

Four pillars carry every Burlington assessment, and we treat each as a separate confirmation rather than a single score.

Credit. With written consent we pull a current credit report to review payment patterns, outstanding debt, collections, and any prior tenancy related judgments. We read the file for behaviour over time, not a single headline number.

Income. We confirm the applicant earns enough to carry the rent reliably. We review recent pay stubs, employment letters, bank statements, or for self employed applicants, notices of assessment and business records. The goal is verified, sustainable income that clears the rent with room to spare.

Employment. We contact the employer directly to confirm the role, status, and tenure. Documents can be edited, so a live confirmation matters. For contract or gig income we look at consistency across time.

Rental history. We reach prior landlords to ask the questions that matter: did they pay on time, did they care for the unit, were there disputes, and would the landlord rent to them again. We also check for prior Landlord and Tenant Board history where available. Together these pillars give a grounded picture of risk before you commit.

Every Burlington screen runs inside two legal guardrails, and we hold to both.

The first is the Residential Tenancies Act, 2006, with tenancies governed by the Landlord and Tenant Board and documented on the Ontario Standard Lease. We screen knowing the eventual agreement must fit this framework, so the qualification we do supports a clean, enforceable tenancy from day one.

The second is the Ontario Human Rights Code, which governs fair housing in this province. Landlords and their representatives may assess an applicant on financial criteria such as income, credit history, references, and rental history. They may not refuse or differentiate based on protected grounds including race, ancestry, place of origin, religion, family or marital status, age, disability, receipt of public assistance, or related characteristics. Newcomers, families with children, and applicants receiving social assistance are protected.

We operationalize this by applying identical criteria to every applicant and recording the financial reason behind every decision. That consistency is both the fair outcome and your best protection if a decision is ever questioned. In Burlington this work is coordinated with RECO licensed brokers, since MoveSmart is not itself a licensed brokerage.

Burlington attracts newcomers to Canada and young renters who simply have not built a long domestic credit history. A thin or absent Canadian credit file is not a red flag, and treating it as an automatic decline would be both poor practice and inconsistent with fair housing principles. We assess these applicants on the same financial standard, using different evidence.

For newcomers, we look at verifiable current income, an employment letter or signed offer for those relocating for work, bank statements showing stable balances, and any international references or credit documentation the applicant can provide. A relocation letter from an employer often carries more weight than a short Canadian credit line.

For young renters and students, we consider a qualified guarantor or co signer with verifiable Canadian income and credit, alongside the applicant's own employment and savings. We confirm the guarantor with the same rigour we apply to a primary applicant.

The principle is steady: we are confirming reliable ability to pay and a reasonable history of responsible conduct, not insisting on one specific document. This lets you say yes to genuinely strong Burlington applicants whom a rigid credit only filter would wrongly screen out.

You do not receive raw files to interpret yourself. You receive a single, organized report built for a decision.

The report summarizes each applicant across the four pillars: a credit overview, verified income with the supporting evidence noted, confirmed employment, and rental history including direct landlord feedback. It flags anything that needs your attention, such as a gap in employment or a reference we could not reach, and it states what we did to verify each item.

Crucially, the report is framed around your stated criteria. If your threshold is income clearing the rent by a set multiple and clean prior references, the report shows clearly whether each applicant meets it. We present verified facts and the financial reasoning, then the approval decision is yours to make.

Because MoveSmart handles full tenant placement, an approved decision flows straight into the Ontario Standard Lease and signing, with no handoff gap. And our placement carries a six month replacement guarantee: if an approved tenant does not work out within that window, we place a replacement at no additional placement fee, which keeps our screening incentives aligned with your long term outcome.

Here is the plain answer on scope and price. Tenant screening is included inside MoveSmart's full leasing and placement service in Burlington. It is not billed as a separate line item, and there is nothing to pay upfront.

What the service covers: marketing and showing the unit, fielding and pre qualifying applicants, the full verification described on this page, identity authentication, credit, income, employment, rental history, background and reference checks, fair housing compliant decisioning, the written report to you, and preparation of the Ontario Standard Lease through signing.

What it costs: our success fee equals one month of rent, charged only when a screened tenant signs the lease. There is zero upfront cost, so the screening and marketing work happens at our risk, not yours. If the placement does not hold within six months, the replacement guarantee covers a new placement at no additional placement fee.

What we do not do: MoveSmart is a leasing and tenant placement company. We do not provide ongoing management, we do not collect ongoing rent, and we do not handle maintenance. Once your tenant is placed and the lease is signed, you hold the ongoing relationship. In Burlington all of this is delivered in coordination with RECO licensed brokers.