Photograph the meters at every move-in
Take a clear photo of each electricity, gas and water meter, with the reading legible, on the day keys change hands. It settles who owes what on the first and last utility bills.
Landlords
Small habits that save big headaches.
48 quick tips from people who run rental property, sorted by who they're for.
Records
Keep records for six years
CRA generally expects rental records to be kept for six years from the end of the tax year they relate to. Store receipts somewhere you'll still be able to find them, not only in an inbox.
Landlords
Take the wide shot before the close-up
A close-up proves a scratch exists; a wide shot proves which room and wall it's on. Take both, from the same spots at move-in and move-out.
Property managers
Put a records clause in your management agreement
State that records belong to the owner and will be handed over in usable formats (CSV, PDF, original photos) if the agreement ends. It's much easier to agree on before anyone is leaving.
Landlords
Send your handover list on day one
When you take over a building, send the owner a written list of what you need: rent roll, ledgers, deposits with filing references, keys, open jobs and vendor contacts. Note anything missing in writing.
Property managers
Keep every notice you receive
Write the date you received it on each notice from your landlord, and keep it with your lease. If there's ever a disagreement, the dates matter.
Tenants
Email your move-in photos the same day
Take your own photos before you unpack, then email them to your landlord or manager. The email gives you both a dated copy of the unit's condition.
Tenants
Rent & money
Record the effective date, not the letter date
Subsidy change letters often arrive weeks after the change takes effect. Record the new split from its effective date and adjust the months already billed, rather than editing the old charges.
Property managers
Write down where each deposit is held
For every deposit, record the amount, the date received, and where it is: your trust account, or the provincial holder with its filing reference. You'll need it at move-out, possibly years later.
Landlords
Ask for a receipt when you pay cash
Pay rent by a method that leaves a record where you can. If you pay cash, ask for a receipt each time and keep them together.
Tenants
Ontario: your rent deposit earns interest
In Ontario, a landlord who holds a last month's rent deposit must pay interest on it every year, at the rent increase guideline rate. The deposit can only be used for the last month's rent.
Tenants
Agree on who gets the extra penny
When a bill doesn't divide evenly between co-owners, round every share down, then give the leftover cents to the largest fractions. The shares always add up to the bill, and nobody has to decide.
Landlords
Attach the quote to every capital call
A capital call should say what the money is for, show each owner's share by stake, give a due date, and include the quote or invoice. Partners pay faster when they can see why.
Landlords
Reconcile the rent roll to the bank every month
Compare rent charged on the rent roll with deposits in the bank account at each month-end. A lender will do the same comparison at refinance, so it's better to find gaps first.
Property managers
Start mortgage renewal prep four months out
Federally regulated lenders must send a renewal statement at least 21 days before the term ends, which leaves little time to shop. Pull your balance, rent roll and statements about four months ahead.
Landlords
Don't divide the rate by 12
Canadian fixed-rate mortgages compound semi-annually. The monthly rate is (1 + annual rate ÷ 2) to the power of 1/6, minus 1; using rate ÷ 12 slightly overstates interest and the payment.
Accountants
Call before you send a formal notice
A missed payment from a long-standing tenant is often a forgotten date or a bank change. A short phone call first is kinder, and usually faster.
Property managers
Repairs
Ask for the site-visit record before paying
Before you approve payment on a repair invoice, ask your manager for the visit record (who was there, when and for how long) and the before and after photos. Hours billed should match time on site.
Landlords
Report problems in writing
Even if you call, follow up with a text, email or app report. A dated written record shows when the problem was reported, which protects you if it gets worse.
Tenants
Count repairs by component, not by invoice
Three tub repairs in five months look like three small invoices until you sort by component. Review each unit's history before approving work on something that's been fixed before.
Landlords
Quote with options
For anything that's failed before, send the owner two quotes: one to repair, one to replace. Owners decide faster when they can compare costs and scope side by side.
Property managers
Set your approval threshold in writing
Agree on a spending limit with your manager, and on how emergencies are handled above it. Then nobody has to guess whether a $700 job needed your yes.
Landlords
Say exactly where the problem is
"Leak under the kitchen sink, left side, since Sunday" gets the right person with the right parts. Add a photo if you can.
Tenants
Ask who's coming and why
Before a visit, it's reasonable to ask what the visit is for, the time window and who will attend. Your province sets the notice your landlord must give for entry.
Tenants
Give time windows, not just dates
"Tuesday between 10 and noon" lets a tenant plan their day; "Tuesday" doesn't. Fewer missed appointments mean fewer repeat trips.
Property managers
Ask contractors to itemize
When one job mixes repairs and upgrades, ask for separate invoice lines. Your accountant can then deduct the repair and treat the upgrade as capital without guessing.
Property managers
Tax season
Get the lender's annual mortgage statement
Only mortgage interest is deductible, not principal. Use the interest figure from each lender's annual statement rather than a spreadsheet estimate.
Accountants
Land transfer tax isn't an expense
Land transfer tax and legal fees paid to buy a rental can't be deducted from rental income. They're part of the property's cost.
Landlords
Confirm how the property is held first
Co-ownership, partnership and corporation are reported differently. CRA says co-owning a rental as an investment doesn't by itself make a partnership, so ask before you prepare anything.
Accountants
Spread prepaid insurance
Under the accrual method, a multi-year insurance premium is claimed in the years it covers, not all in the year it was paid. Check the policy period on every insurance receipt.
Accountants
Landscaping goes in the year paid
CRA allows landscaping costs to be deducted only in the year they were paid, even for landlords on the accrual method. Check which side of December 31 the payment fell.
Accountants
Check the motor vehicle conditions
With only one rental property, vehicle expenses are deductible only in narrow cases, such as carrying tools and materials for repairs you do yourself nearby. Ask before claiming trips to collect rent.
Landlords
Ask for a list of capital purchases
Request a separate list of appliances, renovations and other capital items with dates, costs and invoices. It's the fastest route to an accurate CCA schedule.
Accountants
Tenants
Know who holds your deposit
In New Brunswick, security deposits are held by the province (the Tenant and Landlord Relations Office (formerly the Residential Tenancies Tribunal)), not the landlord. Elsewhere, ask your landlord where the deposit is kept and get a receipt.
Tenants
Call ahead even when notice is enough
Written notice sets the legal minimum for entry. A phone call the day before is courtesy, and for older tenants it often makes the visit go far more smoothly.
Landlords
Choose your family helper
If you'd like a son, daughter or friend to help with your tenancy, tell your landlord in writing who and what they can see. You can withdraw that permission at any time.
Tenants
Confirm consent before talking to family
Don't discuss a tenant's rent, balance or repairs with relatives unless the tenant has agreed. Keep the consent in writing on the tenant's file.
Property managers
Ask how each tenant wants to be contacted
At move-in, ask whether the tenant prefers calls, texts, email or paper, and record it. Notices that reach people are better than notices that are merely sent.
Landlords
Do the move-out inspection together
Ask to walk through the unit with your landlord at move-out, and take your own photos from the same spots as at move-in. In some provinces, skipping the inspection can affect deposit rights for either side.
Tenants
Short-term rentals
Keep one master calendar
Import every channel into one calendar and export that calendar to every channel. Chaining Airbnb to Vrbo to Booking.com stacks delays and makes errors hard to trace.
Landlords
Sync before confirming a direct booking
Calendar sync is polled, not instant; Airbnb, for example, refreshes imported calendars about every three hours. Refresh your calendars before you say yes to a phone or repeat-guest booking.
Property managers
Use a buffer night on busy listings
One blocked night between stays absorbs sync delays and gives cleaners breathing room. It's cheaper than a double booking.
Landlords
Report short-term rents on their own line
The current T776 has a separate line (8140) for gross rents from short-term rentals. Expenses tied to non-compliant short-term rentals, such as unlicensed ones where a licence is required, aren't deductible.
Accountants
Using Propvara
Pull the rent roll as of any date
Propvara's rent roll can be viewed as of a past month-end, not just today, and exported to CSV. Use the month-end your lender asked for.
Landlords
Photograph a bill and let Propvara file it
Snap a utility bill, tax notice or agency letter. Propvara reads the vendor, account, period and amount, suggests the property and T776 category, and a person confirms before it's recorded.
Property managers
Ask your client for a read-only login
Owners on Propvara can invite their accountant with read-only access to statements, rent rolls, expenses and the receipts behind them. Accountant seats are free.
Accountants
Invite a family viewer from your tenant home
In Propvara, you can invite a family member to see your repair requests, notices and balance. You stay in control and can remove them at any time.
Tenants
Check in on site from your phone
Tap check-in when you arrive and check-out when you leave. Propvara records the time and distance from the property, and the visit appears beside the invoice for the owner.
Property managers
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