The 4 Challenges of Renting in Toronto
...or why starting a new life in Canada might not be so easy.
One of the first and foremost challenges for newcomers to Canada is finding a suitable place to live. Few people can afford to buy a house right away, especially in big cities like Toronto. So immigrants often look for rental properties. However, this search is not always easy and carefree, sometimes it is associated with great difficulties and problems. In this article, we tried to figure out what difficulties can arise when renting a home. Alexandra, the owner of a company engaged in the sale and rental of real estate, helped us with this.
Complication 1. Most realtors and agents are focused on selling, not renting
Problems can appear at the very beginning — namely at the moment of searching for an intermediary. The fact is that realtors and real estate agents are increasingly focused on selling rather than renting out houses and apartments. It's a matter of trivial profit.
Realtors' income is based on a percentage of the transaction amount. Rental agents often receive an amount equal to one month's rent, or nothing at all. At the same time, when selling, an intermediary receives an average of 2-2.5% of the final value of the home. Because the value of real estate has risen so much in recent years, selling is actually more profitable.
Therefore, it can take a lot of time and effort for an immigrant to find an agent who is interested in helping him rent.
Complication 2. Insufficient number of properties and long queues
In recent years, new construction in Toronto has virtually stopped. Whatever the reasons, the consequence has been a rise in the cost of available housing, especially in the case of rentals. Renting property has become complicated by the fact that there is a whole queue for every apartment or house, sometimes as many as 10-20 people. This is all the more noticeable since the influx of immigrants into the country has not dried up.
Landlords in these cases rarely give preference to newcomers, choosing more "reliable" tenants. Having a credit history in Canada and a steady job plays a major role, as well as having a permanent residency permit. More often than not, immigrants are not considered the most trustworthy tenants, so they are sometimes forced to rent even converted technical spaces and basements.
In addition, rental prices are also steadily rising, which for the newcomer and not yet settled foreigner can be a serious problem.
Complexity 3. Paradoxes of legislation
Strange as it may seem, Canadian law is on the side of those who rent. Even a persistent defaulter is not so easy to kick out of the house — it is a very long process.
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Most often it happens through the court, and the fact of eviction, even if there is a decision in favor of the owner — occurs not earlier than a calendar year.
After eviction, the property owner can demand that the former tenant pay a penalty fee, but this is only possible in the case of those who have something to pay and who have somewhere to look. The immigrant, on the other hand, may leave or not have a high income, which means that he or she will not be able to pay anything. So again the owners may give preference to their fellow citizens over newcomers.
Difficulty 4. Blacklist
Residential selection and brokerage companies often maintain properties in-house and with the help of hired employees. Making minor repairs, fixing appliances, changing light bulbs and making sure the place is livable all fall on the shoulders of real estate companies.
People, in turn, are often unscrupulous — they break furniture, make a mess, don't pay, and cause damage in all kinds of ways. Of course, most of these things are done unintentionally. But you should remember that many real estate companies have blacklists of tenants, and it is sometimes very easy to get on them. Such lists mean that it will be very difficult to rent to someone who is on them, because many realtors and agents will know about their bad "household behavior".
Conclusion
Of course, all of this does not mean that it is absolutely impossible for a foreigner to rent a place in Toronto. There are always agents who are ready to take care of immigrant's interests in real estate, and it is possible to find at least a few satisfying housing options. Remember, however, that no one can give a hundred percent guarantee of avoiding the described problems.
Therefore, anyone who is preparing to move should deal with the issue of finding housing in advance, not leaving it at a time when it will be necessary to urgently somewhere to sleep.
