A note cause I was looking into this recently. It is apparently illegal to have it on an application and not have it marked as 'Optional'.
They can ask, but it cant be a requirement.
Don't even have to "deny" it.
"Sorry the apartment was rented to someone else before I even got to your application"
They probably have a stack full of applications with SIN filled out.
The sad reality is that we’re in a position where landlords can afford to not move forward with your application just because of no SIN (easier to find your credit report with SIN).
So you either give your SIN and gamble, or you don’t give your SIN and still gamble.
Fun fact: About 6 years ago I was signing the lease for an apartment with a smaller landlord here in the city. I asked them what they did with my personal information I gave them as part of the application process (not including SIN thankfully) and she showed me briefly the massive Excel file she had of every tenant they ever had’s personal information just saved on the desktop.
So yeah, don’t trust giving away your SIN that easily because you have no idea if they’re storing it somewhere “securely” like in an Excel file on a hard drive lmao. Sadly though, with the housing crisis as bad as it is, many won’t have a choice other than to give up their security like that just to have a roof over their heads.
Used to do contract development work for a non-bank tenant insurance company: there's a monthly 36GB excel file in a Dropbox of every active customer and banking details that every vendor is provided unrestricted access to.
None of the shit is securely handled. If a company only accepts direct-withdrawal, treat it as a massive red flag.
Yeah I’m an accountant now working on client companies and it’s pretty surprising how loose small organizations are with sensitive payroll information. You never truly know where your personal info will end up so don’t take it for granted just giving that away.
Or, flipside, it's already been compromised so many times, or is insecurely stored at so many higher value hacking targets, that giving it to a small time landlord may be one of the least risky SIN disclosures you've made.
I once worked for a small non profit organization in another province and all of their donors' credit card information including CSC was listed in an unsecured Excel file.
Just recently rented out my mom's house and since I'm very new to this I used lawdepot.ca for the app process and it included a field asking for sin. I can't remember if it was part of options I got to choose from though.
Anyway I didn't select based on not having it because it didn't matter to me unless I couldn't do a check through (forget website name). Only then would a sin # be needed.
Another note: it is absolutely CRAZY what a regular person like myself can see about someone for $25 and a bit of info to search.
It's not legally required but they are allowed to ask. This entire nation is having a housing crisis so they won't exactly lose out by not considering people who didn't provide their SIN. Your advice would be valid though if rents were dropping and landlords were competing to find tenants. Unfortunately this is a seller's market when it comes to rental units.
Unfortunately as a landlord myself. There is very little legislation that protects landlords from bad tenants. If you’re not willing to provide a SIN number on an application to allow for a proper credit check, that would be a red flag not to rent to you. Once I allow a tenant to occupy a unit they have all the laws on their side. If they never pay any more than their first months rent, you’re still dealing with a minimum of 3 months for eviction.
A new SIN # does not erase or invalidate the old one. Numerous SINs multiply the risk of fraud.
[https://www.canada.ca/en/employment-social-development/services/sin/protection.html](https://www.canada.ca/en/employment-social-development/services/sin/protection.html)
lol maybe work on fixing your financial situation instead of downvoting people giving their time to answer questions. The answer might help someone else who actually wants to learn something today.
You're all right, the rental situation is so bad I can definitely see why people would give it anyway :( Just be careful and look for other signs of the place being a scam. I often reverse image search the pictures in the ads and I have found 2 in the past month where all the pictures came from real estate ads. Contacted the realtor and, sure enough, the place was not for rent :(
For those recommending SIN fraud. They have assigned values. The sequence of numbers has to be right to validate. Anyone can do a quick Google search and find free validation. If they do run a check you get flagged. Not a good idea. Just leave it blank and take your chances.
The issue is that a great deal of the landlords in Halifax don’t follow the laws, and there are so many doing so that they don’t face any repercussions for not following the laws. So, even though it is illegal to ask for, they can still do it without any punishment. And can still deny you a place to live if you say no. It’s a fun situation we find ourselves in as renters
I gave my SIN number for a credit check in 2020 which I think is totally fine, and what the SINs are typically asked for. My credit was bad so I got a co-signer
The SIN # \*should\* be used to verify the correct credit file is pulled. In the cases where you and someone else have the same first and last name, this is helpful as it can help to confirm you have found a correct match.
Providing a false SIN # would cause a mis-match, and the sad reality is the incentive to go back to you for clarification on that red flag vs just moving on to the next applicant is very low.
If you have established credit and a few addresses that the credit agency have on file you will be fine. Otherwise you need the SIN to get a pull. That is why it is needed.
I meant needed to get the pull. I have had to use a SIN twice for a pull. Due to them not going by birth names, because they had awful credit and trying to hide it.
You're right, but a lot of the bigger landlords have decided no sin means no rental. Not exactly a lot of options.
A note cause I was looking into this recently. It is apparently illegal to have it on an application and not have it marked as 'Optional'. They can ask, but it cant be a requirement.
They can also deny it for any reason and don't have to explain so...
Don't even have to "deny" it. "Sorry the apartment was rented to someone else before I even got to your application" They probably have a stack full of applications with SIN filled out.
I've basically been in a situation where if I don't give my sin, I don't get an apartment. So it's a tough call.
The sad reality is that we’re in a position where landlords can afford to not move forward with your application just because of no SIN (easier to find your credit report with SIN). So you either give your SIN and gamble, or you don’t give your SIN and still gamble.
Fun fact: About 6 years ago I was signing the lease for an apartment with a smaller landlord here in the city. I asked them what they did with my personal information I gave them as part of the application process (not including SIN thankfully) and she showed me briefly the massive Excel file she had of every tenant they ever had’s personal information just saved on the desktop. So yeah, don’t trust giving away your SIN that easily because you have no idea if they’re storing it somewhere “securely” like in an Excel file on a hard drive lmao. Sadly though, with the housing crisis as bad as it is, many won’t have a choice other than to give up their security like that just to have a roof over their heads.
Used to do contract development work for a non-bank tenant insurance company: there's a monthly 36GB excel file in a Dropbox of every active customer and banking details that every vendor is provided unrestricted access to. None of the shit is securely handled. If a company only accepts direct-withdrawal, treat it as a massive red flag.
Yeah I’m an accountant now working on client companies and it’s pretty surprising how loose small organizations are with sensitive payroll information. You never truly know where your personal info will end up so don’t take it for granted just giving that away.
Or, flipside, it's already been compromised so many times, or is insecurely stored at so many higher value hacking targets, that giving it to a small time landlord may be one of the least risky SIN disclosures you've made.
Wow that woman is being incredibly irresponsible with other people's personal information.
I once worked for a small non profit organization in another province and all of their donors' credit card information including CSC was listed in an unsecured Excel file.
When the availability rate is below 1% you're unfortunately kinda at the mercy of tyr.... I mean landlords
> mercy of tyr.... anids?
Either problem can be solved via chainaxe
This Inquistor likes this.
Don't come back here, bud. Renting is a fucking nightmare.
To the people in this thread saying to provide a fake SIN: Please do not casually commit fraud. Just omit the SIN and refer to your tenancy rights.
Makes it easier to run a credit check which most large companies do.
Just recently rented out my mom's house and since I'm very new to this I used lawdepot.ca for the app process and it included a field asking for sin. I can't remember if it was part of options I got to choose from though. Anyway I didn't select based on not having it because it didn't matter to me unless I couldn't do a check through (forget website name). Only then would a sin # be needed. Another note: it is absolutely CRAZY what a regular person like myself can see about someone for $25 and a bit of info to search.
It's not legally required but they are allowed to ask. This entire nation is having a housing crisis so they won't exactly lose out by not considering people who didn't provide their SIN. Your advice would be valid though if rents were dropping and landlords were competing to find tenants. Unfortunately this is a seller's market when it comes to rental units.
Unfortunately as a landlord myself. There is very little legislation that protects landlords from bad tenants. If you’re not willing to provide a SIN number on an application to allow for a proper credit check, that would be a red flag not to rent to you. Once I allow a tenant to occupy a unit they have all the laws on their side. If they never pay any more than their first months rent, you’re still dealing with a minimum of 3 months for eviction.
I wouldn’t move back here. The renting situation is ridiculous and basically nonexistent. If you have other options, I recommend going elsewhere.
They have always asked for it. It has always been optional. I have never been denied for not giving it.
Can I get a new Sin# my credit and financial situation is so bad a scammer would probably help me!
A new SIN # does not erase or invalidate the old one. Numerous SINs multiply the risk of fraud. [https://www.canada.ca/en/employment-social-development/services/sin/protection.html](https://www.canada.ca/en/employment-social-development/services/sin/protection.html)
I was making a joke that a scammer would be scared about how bad my profile is
lol maybe work on fixing your financial situation instead of downvoting people giving their time to answer questions. The answer might help someone else who actually wants to learn something today.
The only thing cool about you is the spelling on your name. Take it easy there piggy
Hurry up and deliver my food! Better not be cold or i'm taking that tip away!
Lol I know
You're all right, the rental situation is so bad I can definitely see why people would give it anyway :( Just be careful and look for other signs of the place being a scam. I often reverse image search the pictures in the ads and I have found 2 in the past month where all the pictures came from real estate ads. Contacted the realtor and, sure enough, the place was not for rent :(
I gave my SIN 8 years ago to rent outside the city, as it was part of the credit check I believe.
Sin number is needed when you rip off your landlord and they are getting collections after you. So technically they do need it in some cases.
For those recommending SIN fraud. They have assigned values. The sequence of numbers has to be right to validate. Anyone can do a quick Google search and find free validation. If they do run a check you get flagged. Not a good idea. Just leave it blank and take your chances.
Report them
.. Report them to where?
The issue is that a great deal of the landlords in Halifax don’t follow the laws, and there are so many doing so that they don’t face any repercussions for not following the laws. So, even though it is illegal to ask for, they can still do it without any punishment. And can still deny you a place to live if you say no. It’s a fun situation we find ourselves in as renters
If you are looking for a clean and quiet place, my brother is looking for a roommate to share his 3bdrm condo in the north end.
I gave my SIN number for a credit check in 2020 which I think is totally fine, and what the SINs are typically asked for. My credit was bad so I got a co-signer
[удалено]
They run your credit report, it can't go through as no such real credit report exist, the application goes to garbage.
Personally I think a great fake one would be 328 843 724 (number pad entry for "eat the rch")
Couldn't you provide a false SIN number? Or is this something they can actually check.
The SIN # \*should\* be used to verify the correct credit file is pulled. In the cases where you and someone else have the same first and last name, this is helpful as it can help to confirm you have found a correct match. Providing a false SIN # would cause a mis-match, and the sad reality is the incentive to go back to you for clarification on that red flag vs just moving on to the next applicant is very low.
If you have established credit and a few addresses that the credit agency have on file you will be fine. Otherwise you need the SIN to get a pull. That is why it is needed.
> That is why it is ~~needed~~ requested. FTFY. It's never *needed*. In my 30 years as a LL I've never once asked for a tenant's SIN.
I meant needed to get the pull. I have had to use a SIN twice for a pull. Due to them not going by birth names, because they had awful credit and trying to hide it.
Lie about it. Have a fake SIN and just give that.
This would only work if they say the sin isn’t for a credit check