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Rental safety guide

Staying safe when renting

RentSelect's team checks new listings and removes those that break the rules, but no marketplace catches everything, and a check is not an inspection. This guide walks through what to check at each stage — from the first message to the day you pay — and explains exactly what our checks do and do not cover.

Before you contact a landlord

Most scams can be spotted from the listing itself.

  • Compare the rent with similar listings in the same community. A price far below everything else nearby is the single most common scam signal.
  • Search a distinctive sentence from the description, and reverse-image-search a photo. Copied listings reuse text and photos from other sites.
  • Check that the photos match each other and the stated property type — a "basement suite" with penthouse views, or six photos of six different kitchens, is a warning sign.
  • On RentSelect, look for the badges: "Listing verified" means our team confirmed the details of that listing; "Identity verified" means the manager completed identity verification. Neither is a guarantee, and our team's checks of new listings are not an inspection.
  • Keep the conversation on RentSelect messaging until you have viewed the property. It keeps your phone number and email private and gives you a record.

Before the viewing

  • Ask for an in-person viewing. If the landlord says they are out of the country, can't show the unit, or will mail the keys after a deposit — stop.
  • A video call walkthrough is a reasonable substitute only if the caller is inside the unit, live, and can show you the address and unit number on request.
  • Confirm the address exists and matches the photos using a map street view.
  • Never pay anything — deposit, "holding fee", application fee, credit-check fee — before you have seen the property and know who you are dealing with.

During the viewing

  • Bring someone with you, and tell a friend where you are going and when.
  • Check that the unit number, layout, appliances and included features match the listing. Take your own photos.
  • Ask who owns the property and who you would be paying. A manager should be able to say which owner or company they represent.
  • For a basement or secondary suite, ask whether it is a legal suite. Many cities keep a registry — in Calgary, the City's rules and registry are at calgary.ca (linked below).
  • Test what matters to you: water pressure, heating, phone signal, laundry, parking access, entry locks.

Before you sign

  • Get the lease in writing and read all of it — the term, the rent, what is included, the deposit amount, the pet and smoking rules, and who pays which utilities.
  • Make sure the person signing as landlord is the owner or has authority to act for the owner. Each province keeps a land-title registry where ownership can be checked (Alberta Land Titles is linked below).
  • Photograph the unit's condition and complete a move-in inspection report with the landlord. Your province's tenancy rules cover inspections and deposits — read its official page (linked below) rather than relying on a listing's summary.
  • Never sign a lease sight-unseen, and never sign anything that is blank or that you are told "we'll fill in later".

Before you pay

  • Pay by a method that leaves a record — e-transfer to a named recipient, certified cheque, or bank draft. Never cash, gift cards, cryptocurrency, wire services or money-transfer apps to strangers.
  • Get a written receipt for every payment that states what it was for.
  • Only pay once you have a signed lease and keys are being handed over in person. A request to pay first "to secure it" and view later is a scam.
  • If you are asked to pay someone other than the landlord or manager named on the lease, stop and ask why.

Red flags — stop if you see any of these

  • Rent well below comparable listings in the same community
  • Landlord is "overseas", "deployed", "on a mission" or otherwise unable to meet
  • Pressure to pay a deposit before a viewing, or to "hold" the unit
  • Payment requested by wire transfer, gift card, cryptocurrency or a money-transfer app
  • Photos or description copied from another listing
  • Contact details that change between messages, or an insistence on moving to text or WhatsApp immediately
  • A credit application, ID scan or SIN requested before any conversation about the property
  • Keys to be mailed after payment
  • Refusal to provide a written lease, or a lease with blank spaces

How RentSelect checks listings

  • Every new listing is reviewed by our team before it appears in search, and every landlord needs a confirmed email address. A listing that later breaks the rules is removed.
  • Automatic checks flag external links, contact details in the text, common scam wording, missing photos, rent far outside the current median for its community or size, size that doesn't fit the property type, and descriptions that contradict the listing's fields. Flags are shown to our team when they check a listing.
  • Duplicate detection compares addresses, landlords, sizes and photos across listings.
  • "Listing verified" and "Identity verified" are separate badges with separate meanings (see above). A check is not an inspection and not a guarantee that a property is legitimate or available.
  • Messaging keeps renters' phone numbers and email addresses private until they choose to share them.
  • Any listing or conversation can be reported in one tap. Reports go to the moderation queue and are read by a person.

Official provincial resources

We link to the source rather than summarising the law — rules change, and the official page is always current. Laws, standard leases and guides for every province are on tenant and landlord rights by province.

Report a listing or a conversation

Use the Report button on any listing page or in any conversation — it goes straight to the moderation queue. You can also email support@rentselect.ca with the listing URL and what you noticed. If you have already sent money to someone you now believe was a scammer, contact your bank first, then report it to your local police.

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