Yes — and the law is more on your side than most arriving students expect.
It is the most common anxiety we hear from students arriving in Ottawa from outside the country: I have no Canadian credit score, so no landlord will take me. The premise is understandable and largely wrong. In Ontario a landlord is not permitted to hold the absence of credit history against you, and there are three well-worn routes experienced landlords already know how to process.
Here's what the rules say, what a landlord may legally ask, what's negotiable, and what to have ready before you apply.
What Ontario law says about credit and no-credit applicants
Two things are true at once, and it's worth holding both.
A landlord may ask. With your written permission — normally a line on the rental application — a landlord may run a credit check, ask for credit references, ask for rental history, and ask for income information. Under Ontario Regulation 290/98 made under the Human Rights Code, income information may be requested only if the landlord is also requesting credit references, rental history and a credit check, and must be considered together with all of that other information rather than as a standalone filter.
A landlord may not penalise the absence. The same regulatory framework is explicit that a lack of rental or credit history should not be viewed negatively. This matters enormously for newcomers, and it exists precisely because refusing an applicant for having no Canadian credit file falls disproportionately on people who have recently arrived in the country — which engages Code-protected grounds such as place of origin, citizenship and age.
The Ontario Human Rights Commission's guidance goes further on guarantors: a landlord may require a guarantee for rent, but may not require a guarantor simply because an applicant belongs to a Code-protected group — including being a newcomer to Canada or a young adult — and may not impose income or rent-to-income requirements on a guarantor that would be impermissible to impose on the applicant directly.
Practical translation: "no Canadian credit, so no" is not a lawful position. "No Canadian credit, so show me something else that demonstrates you can pay" is entirely normal — that's the conversation to prepare for.
Route 1 — the guarantor
A guarantor (co-signer) agrees to cover rent if you don't. It is the most familiar substitute for a credit file and the one most Ottawa landlords suggest first.
A Canadian-resident guarantor — a relative, a family friend, sometimes an employer — is the smoothest version. Expect them to provide ID, proof of income and consent to a credit check, and to sign the lease or a separate guarantee.
A university guarantor programme. Institutions with large international cohorts sometimes provide institutional backing on a lease. Availability varies year to year and is never universal, but it costs nothing to ask your international student services and housing offices. An underused first call.
A commercial guarantor service. A small industry underwrites tenant guarantees for a fee, typically quoted in the range of 5%–10% of annual rent. Coverage in the Canadian market is patchier than in the US, and a landlord is under no obligation to accept a third-party guarantee, so confirm acceptance with the landlord before you pay any service fee.
A guarantor outside Canada. Many landlords discount an overseas guarantor because cross-border enforcement is impractical. Offer one if you have one, but don't build the application on it.
Route 2 — prepaid rent (know the limits before you offer)
This is where the most misinformation circulates, and where an unprepared student can be pushed into paying something unlawful.
The hard rule: in Ontario a landlord may collect a rent deposit of no more than one month's rent, and it is applied to your last month. Damage and security deposits are not permitted. So "pay six months up front because you're international" is not a request a landlord is entitled to make of you.
The nuance: Ontario courts have accepted prepaid rent that a tenant offers voluntarily — the leading case involved a large deposit the tenant proposed, not one the landlord demanded. The distinction is real but narrow: an offer isn't voluntary if it's demanded of every applicant, printed on the application form, or made a condition of approval. If prepayment appears anywhere in the landlord's process rather than coming from you unprompted, it is a demand wearing a costume.
How to use this route safely. If you have the funds and want to strengthen an application, you can propose a term — say, paying a semester in advance — as your own initiative, in writing, framed as an alternative to a guarantor. If the landlord instead tells you the amount you must prepay, decline and note that Ontario permits first and last month only. Get a written receipt for anything you do pay, and make sure the lease records exactly what months the money covers.
Route 3 — proof of funds and income
Often the strongest route, and the one students underuse. If you cannot show a credit history, show cash flow and reserves.
Documents that carry weight with Ottawa landlords:
- Canadian bank statements. Open an account as early as you can — some banks offer newcomer accounts before arrival. Even two or three months of statements shift the conversation.
- Proof of study funds. Study permit applications submitted on or after 1 September 2025 must show cost-of-living funds of CAD $22,895 for a single applicant, separate from tuition and travel (rising with accompanying family members, adjusted each 1 September). The GIC or bank confirmation you assembled for IRCC is exactly the evidence a landlord finds persuasive.
- Scholarship, funding or assistantship letters stating amount and duration.
- An employment letter stating role, income and start date, if you're working.
- An international credit report or bank reference from home. Not equivalent to a Canadian file, but it evidences a payment record.
- Reference letters from a previous landlord, translated if necessary.
- Your acceptance letter and study permit — these establish a defined period in Ottawa.
We cover the full document set, including what to translate and what to bring on arrival, in our guide to the documents international students need to rent in Ottawa, and the funding evidence specifically in proof of funds explained for Ottawa renters. If you're at the start of the whole process rather than the application stage, the complete international student renting guide sets out the full sequence.
What's negotiable, and what isn't
| Landlord asks for | Status |
|---|---|
| Written consent for a credit check | Normal and lawful |
| Income information | Lawful, but only alongside credit/rental history, considered together |
| A guarantor | Lawful — but not because you're a newcomer, and not with stricter income tests than would apply to you |
| First and last month's rent | Lawful (last month only, applied to your final month) |
| A damage or security deposit | Not permitted in Ontario |
| Several months' rent in advance as a condition | Not permitted as a requirement |
| Rejecting you for having no Canadian credit history | Not a lawful basis on its own |
| Your SIN | You may decline; date of birth is enough for a credit check |
If a landlord charges something outside these lines, you can apply to the Landlord and Tenant Board (Form T1) to recover it. If you were refused specifically because you're a newcomer, that's a Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario matter rather than an LTB one.
Practical sequencing before you apply
- Open a Canadian bank account as early as your circumstances allow.
- Assemble one PDF pack: acceptance letter, study permit or approval, proof of funds, bank statements, scholarship or employment letter, references.
- Line up a guarantor if you have one — and ask your university's international office whether a programme exists.
- Decide in advance what you're willing to offer voluntarily, and what you'll refuse.
- Lead with your strongest evidence. Landlords respond to specificity: "I can provide proof of funds of CAD $22,895, three months of Canadian bank statements and a guarantor" is a different application from "I'm an international student."
Where purpose-built housing changes the maths
Buildings designed around students usually have a documented route for exactly this situation, because most of their applicants are in it — a defined alternative-documentation process rather than an ad hoc negotiation. Riverflow Residences leases furnished studios and one-bedrooms at 550 Wilbrod Street, a seven-minute walk from uOttawa; ask the leasing team what documentation they accept in place of a Canadian credit file, and confirm lease terms, utilities and parking on your tour rather than assuming.
The short version: no Canadian credit history is a documentation problem, not a disqualification. Bring evidence instead of a score, know the deposit limits cold, and the majority of Ottawa landlords will work with you.
Riverflow Residences welcomes all students and residents in full compliance with the Ontario Human Rights Code. This article is general information, not legal advice. Immigration figures change — confirm current requirements with IRCC before relying on them.