First time landlord in Mississauga region

[Mark L.]

Hi,

I bought a condo to rent out in Mississauga. Few questions

1. Should I try to rent it out myself or get a realtor?

If I do it myself 

1. what documents would I need to provide the tenant?

2.  What type of documents should I request from the tenants to be able to screen them. Anyone willing to share what documents they use

3. How do I go about screening them. Any best practice that anyone can share. Any red flags I should I be aware of.

4. If something needs repairs b3 abuse the tenant misused it. Who is responsible to pay.

5. can I put in a factor of inflation in the rental contract

thanks.

[Ryan Dehaney]

Hey Mark,

Congrats! Real estate is one of the best and time tested paths to financial freedom.

The choice is yours on whether to use a realtor or rent it out yourself. Doing it yourself is a great way to learn and expand your investor knowledge, it just requires a little more time and effort. Conversely, an experienced realtor will help save time by helping you establish price based on recent comparable lease data, which can be challenging if your development is the first to come on line in a given area or if the market is going through a shift. I did it myself with my first investment property.

You have to provide the would be tenant with an Ontario Standard Lease, which is now a mandatory requirement.

Documents to request from Tenant: Job Letter with annual/hourly salary, start date, job title, and a contact to call at the company, 3 Pay Stubs (some people are paid weekly), Credit Report, Landlord References and Personal References. If the tenant is  self-employed: NOAs for the two previous years, Bank Statements showing activity going back 90 days, Credit Report, Landlord References and Personal References.

Repairs due to Tenant misuse: Include a clause for Neglect. For example, "Tenant agrees to pay for the entire cost of repair of damage caused by the Tenant's willful damage or negligence."

Rental Increase: The Ontario Government has set the guidelines for rental increase. Based on the Ontario Consumer Price Index (CPI), the guideline on rent increases for 2022 in Ontario is 1.2 per cent. The CPI is a measure of inflation calculated monthly by Statistics Canada using data that reflects economic conditions over the past year.

The guideline applies to most residential rental accommodations covered by the . It does not apply to rental units in buildings occupied for the first time after November 15, 2018, social housing units, long-term care homes or commercial property.

There are some links below you may find helpful. If you need a list of clauses, let me know.

Ontario Standard Lease https://www.ontario.ca/page/gu...

Price Data https://housesigma.com/

Ontario's 2022 Rent Increase Guideline https://news.ontario.ca/en/bul...

Tribunals Ontario https://tribunalsontario.ca/lt...