Renting in Canada: rents, applications and deposits by province

A two-bedroom costs an average of C$2,363 a month in Vancouver, C$2,034 in the Toronto area and C$1,346 in Montreal (CMHC survey, October 2025)Source: CMHC. Nobody will ask you for a guarantor or a stack of payslips to rent one. Instead, expect a credit check, references and an employment letter. The deposit depends on the province: it’s banned in Quebec, limited to the last month’s rent in Ontario, half a month in British Columbia and one month in Alberta.

This guide is for French citizens renting a place when they arrive, whether on a Working Holiday visa, a work permit or as permanent residents. Housing is a provincial matter, so every rule below is given for Quebec, Ontario, British Columbia and Alberta, the four provinces where most French newcomers settle.

How much is rent in the big cities?

Those averages come from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), the federal housing agency, which measures rent paid in purpose-built rental buildings every fall. A Canadian “two-bedroom” is what you’d call a T3 in France: two bedrooms plus a living room.

Don’t trust the average too much: it mixes tenants who’ve been in the same apartment for ten years with brand-new leases. You’ll be looking for a vacant unit, rented at market rates. In Montreal, the Communauté métropolitaine (the regional planning body) puts the asking rent for a vacant two-bedroom at around C$1,920 in 2025Source: observatoire.cmm.qc.ca, well above the C$1,346 tenants pay on average. Other cities don’t publish that figure, but the gap runs the same way, so budget well above the CMHC average.

Quebec listings count rooms their own way: a “3½” has one bedroom and a “4½” has two, with the bathroom as the half room. Check whether the unit is “heated”, too. If it isn’t, electricity and heating come on top of the rent, and winter bills climb fast (see the electricity comparison). To see what these rents mean against your pay, run the numbers in the France–Canada salary calculator.

What does a Canadian landlord ask for?

The French-style rental file, with a guarantor, three payslips and your avis d’imposition (tax notice), doesn’t really exist here. The landlord has you fill out a rental application, then checks three things: that you pay your debts, that your former landlords were happy with you and that you have an income. For the debts part, they run a credit check through Equifax or TransUnion, Canada’s two credit bureaus.

That credit check is where newcomers get stuck: your Canadian credit history is empty, however good your banking record in France. Make up for it with what you do have: an employment contract, a bank statement showing your savings, a reference letter from your former French landlord (in English outside Quebec). Some landlords will then suggest you pay several months up front. Demanding it is illegal in Quebec. Anywhere else, never agree to it before you’ve seen the place and signed.

Don’t hand over your SINSocial Insurance NumberA nine-digit identifier for employment and taxes. If authorized to work, you can start by applying for a SIN within three days, then give the number to your employer within three days of receiving it. (Social Insurance Number), though. It’s for work, tax and banking, and a landlord doesn’t need it: a credit check only takes your name and date of birth.

What deposit can you be asked for in each province?

This is the biggest difference from France, where a security deposit is standard everywhere. In Canada, each province sets its own rule:

• Quebec: no security deposit, whatever it’s called. The landlord can only require the first month’s rent in advance, and cannot insist on post-dated cheques. A “voluntary” deposit paid under pressure can be challenged at the Tribunal administratif du logement (TALTribunal administratif du logement (Quebec housing tribunal)The Quebec tribunal that settles disputes between tenants and landlords, such as a rent increase.), Quebec’s housing tribunal.
• Ontario: a rent deposit of one month at most, which can only pay for the last monthSource: Ontario LTB, never for repairs. Each year, the landlord pays you interest at the rent increase guideline rate (2.1% in 2026). No damage deposit.
• British Columbia: a security deposit of half a month at mostSource: BC Gov, plus another half month if you have a pet. It must be returned within 15 days after the tenancy ends or you give your forwarding address in writing, whichever is later, or the landlord may have to pay you double.
• Alberta: one month’s rent at most, held in an interest-bearing trust accountSource: Alberta.ca. The landlord has 10 days after you move out to return it or justify any deductions.

Wherever you are, do a move-in inspection with dated photos. In British Columbia and Alberta, move-in and move-out inspections are mandatory, and they’re what gets your deposit back.

How leases work, and why everyone in Quebec moves on July 1

A Canadian lease almost always runs for one year, then renews year to year or month to month. In Quebec, the lease is a mandatory government form, and a large share of leases start on July 1: that day, thousands of households move at once and you can’t find a moving truck anywhere. For a July 1 lease, start looking in the spring. Arrive in September and you’ll often be taking over someone else’s lease partway through (a lease assignment, or cession de bail).

Two Quebec rules catch people off guard. First, section G of the lease shows the lowest rent paid in the past 12 months: if yours is higher, you have 10 days after signing to ask the TAL to set itSource: educaloi.qc.ca. Second, you can’t just give notice and leave partway through a lease, as you would in France: you have to assign it or sublet. If you don’t want to renew a one-year lease, give notice 3 to 6 months before it ends.

Once you’ve moved in, your rent can go up every year, and again the limit depends on the province:

• Ontario: increases are capped at 2.1% in 2026 for units first occupied before November 15, 2018, and most leases must use the province’s Standard Lease.
• British Columbia: the cap is 2.3% in 2026Source: BC Gov.
• Alberta: no cap, but only one increase per 12-month period.
• Quebec: no cap either, but you can refuse an increase and let the TALTribunal administratif du logement (Quebec housing tribunal)The Quebec tribunal that settles disputes between tenants and landlords, such as a rent increase. set the rent.

If your landlord breaks these rules, each province has its own housing tribunal, free or close to it, and you don’t need a lawyer: the TAL in Quebec, the Landlord and Tenant Board in Ontario, the Residential Tenancy Branch in British Columbia and Alberta’s Residential Tenancy Dispute Resolution Service (RTDRS).

How to search and sign without getting scammed

If you’re moving with children, look at schools before you sign: your child’s school depends on your address, as the guide to schools and daycare explains. Then slot housing into the Canada moving checklist, which puts every step in order.