Experienced landlords are aware that a big part of whether or not you are successful depends on who you put in your rental unit.

There are a lot of good tenants out there. What is a ‘good tenant’? It’s someone who respects the law, your lease agreement, pays on time and respects you and your property.

Renting to such a tenant can make being a landlord a pleasant and profitable experience.

It’s also important to be aware there are bad tenants out there.

The Ontario Residential Tenancies Act isn’t exactly ‘landlord-friendly.’

For example, unlike British Columbia or Alberta in you cannot charge a damage deposit.

This means tenants in those provinces have a clear financial incentive to clean up and make sure repairs are done for any damages before they move out.

In Ontario if a landlord finds a mess and damages, you have to find your ex-tenants and go to Small Claims Court.

How Do You Find Good Tenants?

Tenant screening is vitally important for Toronto Landlords.

However you also have to make sure you get applicants to apply to rent from you. The fewer applicants you have the less chance you have to find tenants you want to rent to.

So How Can I Get People To Apply For My Rental?

One landlord in Charlottetown has an interesting way to create interest in his property and apply for his rental units.

According to a report on CBC News Landlord Jason Pitre rewards an iPad Mins to anyone who leases one of his units.

A Charlottetown landlord is offering a high-tech incentive for new tenants.

Jason Pitre will be handing out iPad Minis to anyone who signs a lease for one of his apartments in Brown’s Court.

He doing this because he has a high vacancy rate and wants to attract more potential tenants.

Pitre says:

“In the Charlottetown marketplace in the last five years we’ve experienced a lot of ongoing development and construction, which typically is a good thing for consumers because it offers them more choice.”

This is only one example of a landlord being pro-active to generate increased interest in their property. The more interest you have the better the chance you can avoid bad tenants.

In the next few blogs we’ll discuss other ways you can be aggressive and positive and help the good tenants out there find you and your rental. To Discuss

This And Other Toronto Landlord and Tenant Issues Go To The Ontario Landlord Forum