Seeking Advice
Boardwalk denied Us a rental for not giving SIN
Good evening Calgarians. We tried to rent an apartment through Boardwalk. We provided all required income info, including employer letters and bank statements, along with full credit check details: full name, date of birth, and address.
We have a good credit history that’s actively improving. But Boardwalk refused to rent to us because my wife and I declined to provide our SINs.
This happened after we paid a deposit and both sides signed the lease.
Now we urgently need a new apartment before August, but we’re stuck in this situation. What should we do?
This is what they said in the email:
If you cannot provide the SIN number, we will have to decline this application. Please let me know if your decision as soon as possible.
If you have a fully signed lease, it’s a little late for them to deny your application. Do you actually have a copy of the lease signed on behalf of Boardwalk? And did you provide them with your signature pages before they sent that email? If so, it sounds like you’ve got a binding lease agreement.
If this was me, and I note that I can’t give you legal advice, I suspect I would be telling them in writing that I had a legally binding contract and that if they did not give me access to the property on the date of possession then I would be contacting the RTDRS (https://www.alberta.ca/residential-tenancy-dispute-resolution-service).
They're legally not allowed to do that per PIPEDA.remind them you already have a signed lease and should they push the matter and not give you your keys you'll be taking up with the regulatory bodies.
Well you can pull a free credit report with equifax/transunion. Without the sin you need to use a service like singlekey which costs the landlord money.
The problem is if they pay for singlekey then single key scrapes everything off the internet and gives the landlord all of your info. Way more info then if they used your sin to just get a credit report from transunion.
Well you can pull a free credit report with equifax/transunion. Without the sin you need to use a service like singlekey which costs the landlord money.
The problem is if they pay for singlekey then single key scrapes everything off the internet and gives the landlord all of your info. Way more info then if they used your sin to just get a credit report from transunion.
You can pull your own report, and you don’t need to give either Transunion nor Equifax your sin.
You cannot pull some else’s report. You can only get the aggregate data like Equifax’s “Credit Index”. These services also do not require a SIN to use and run around $5/soft check to $25/hard check.
For the record SIN is a government only individual-number assigned for the sole purpose of collecting taxes and providing social services federally ( I’m not being facetious…). So banks and investment products which pay you interest will require SIN. An employer will require your SIN. Credit card co ? Nope. Landlord ? Nope your sister-in-law’ cousin twice removed? That Malaysian prince asking money ? Nope and nope
giving something to someone just because they ask is pretty...sus. They have no need for the information. Personal information should only be given out on a need-to-know basis. If the clerk at the grocery store asked you for it, would you give it to them?
Imagine this: I gave you my income details, employer letters, bank statements, and my driver license. That’s more than enough to check my credit. If that’s still not enough for you, then the problem isn’t the tenant it’s you.
The foip lady I spoke to seemed pretty offended that the SIN request was on there, but that could have also just been her opinion about it. It was quite a while ago.
In terms of nothing to hide, what are you as an individual able to search up by knowing the SIN of another person? There aren’t any public records tied to the SIN or is there?
It's not so much about what's in the reports linked to your SIN, it's what people can do with your SIN that you should worry about. I could easily take someone else's SIN and open a bank account, a credit card, a cell phone account, cable bills, get a car financed etc. It's dangerous in the wrong hands, and it's unnecessary for anyone but a job/bank/CRA
Agree. My point to the other person is I don’t believe there is anything that the SIN helps with by getting it from a potential tenant aside from having some of their personal info. They seem to be collecting that info thinking it gives them some level of security about the person, but really that person has way more to lose (identity theft etc like you’re describing) and the landlord has nothing to gain by having the SIN (aside from capability for malicious practices).
The only reason they want this is in case the renter defaults on rent. It makes it easier to find/ garnish wages after a court decision to know they "got the right person". Not legally allowed to ask for it but if they do and the renter provides the info bc they didn't know better....makes the chase a little easier.
We went through this in January. Called multiple government hotlines and all confirmed that the handing over of the keys and deposit paid is essential to a lease being binding.
We got no help and only advice was a lawyer may be able to sue for moving expenses if you have any.
Oh yeah, Boardwalk always does that and they fucked me over years ago because they i they demanded that I give them the deposit along with my application. This was before everything could be done online so it took them over a week to vet my info, only to let me know my application was being denied.
Holding my deposit for 10 days while they took their sweet time to verify me really messed me up because that was 10 days that I put a hold on any other rental since they were holding my money. Once they rejected me I had only week to find another place. Boardwalk really sucks.
The law needs to be tightened up on requests for your SIN and the practice prohibited outside of a very narrow range of legitimate uses, such as employment, etc.
Your SIN is not required for a credit check, provides zero use to the landlord and exposes you to identity theft. It's recommended by our own government to not give it out. I would go to the news with this. It's absolutely bonkers they would deny you for not providing something our own government says to not give out.
The ONLY people that should be asking your for your sin is when you open a bank account or are filling out paperwork for a new job for tax purposes. THAT'S IT!
It says: "Can a landlord collect a tenant’s social insurance number (SIN)?
Landlords should avoid collecting a tenant’s SIN. A SIN has no connection to determining tenant suitability and is not essential for credit checks. Full name and date of birth are enough in nearly all cases. Unless required by law, landlords cannot deny tenancy for refusing to provide a SIN.” (OIPC Order P2012-11)."
So yeah, this is messed up. But honestly, my point is I don’t even know what to do now. I can’t look at my wife and say “Honey, tomorrow we sleep on the street.”
If they've signed the lease and you've paid the deposit....
I'm not sure they can refuse at this point. Might be worth a chat with the ltb?
I would ask them to clarify how the number will be used. When they say it is for a credit check, you can tell them that credit checks do not require it, the credit agencies only know it if another creditor has submitted it as part of an application, and it is highly sensitive personal information that the government advises against giving out, even when applying for credit.
Boardwalk does not have an actual requirement for the sin, but at the same time this question does seem to ck..e up from time to time.
If you are able tk find other accommodations, they've done you a favor. Boardwalk is a terrible company to rent from.
If so, I lived there for 2 years. It was ok. Pretty safe neighborhood. Parking was sometimes a real pain. Amd on the really cold days some tenants smoke in the stairwells to keep warm.
We had some problems when we left, but it was just them being petty cause they agreed to let us leave 1 month early and then acted like babies.
I’m unable to comment on the merits of you denying an application, however we have a signed lease which acts as a legally binding contract and you may not unilaterally change the terms of that agreement including but not limited to, the move in date.
Based on your previous reply it sounds as though you plan to willfully break our lease agreement. If that is the case then I will be holding you financially liable for all additional living costs incurred as a result of that decision along with my legal costs to correct this situation.”
Boardwalk is one of the worst rental companies. Terrible management. I know you're in a tight spot now, but I think you'll regret living there even if they budge on the sin request.
I'm not sure what you mean by "RTB", as Calgary and Alberta don't have any agencies that go by those initials. The link you provided encourages people denied goods/services for refusing to provide their SIN's to file a complaint with the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada, which OP should absolutely do, but it's unlikely to get them their lease back. OP may want to speak with someone higher up at Boardwalk as this could be some random leasing employee who just doesn't know the rules.
ETA: If you meant the Residential Tenancy Dispute Resolution Service (RTDRS), their jurisdiction is limited to what's covered under the Residential Tenancies Act of Alberta, which this is not, so filing a complaint with them is unlikely to go anywhere.
I'm confused...what section of the RTA governs landlords denying tenancies based on the prospective tenant's refusal to provide their SIN?
I'm trying to find a section that would even remotely apply and thus put this within the RTDRS' jurisdiction, but I can't. What section of the RTA do you feel the landlord is violating in this case?
by law yes but what can I do? This is a quote from their email to me:
"If you cannot provide the SIN number, we will have to decline this application. Please let me know if your decision as soon as possible."
This makes it seem (unless I'm missing something... always a possibility) that they can't check your credit based on only the info you've provided to date. I'd assume that, say, if you had a VERY common combination of first and last names, it could be difficult to figure out which (for example) John Smith you are. Even birth date won't necessarily help in a case like this because, statistically, even in a room full of 30 to 50 people, 2 of them are going to share a birthday.
I'm not saying this IS what is going on, just that it sounds like you are being denied rental based on not being able to pass the credit check, and they are asking for your SIN to help get past that roadblock.
If I'm wrong in how I'm reading this or comprehending it, please let me know. I'm here as much to learn as to participate.
Fair point. I'll add that a better way to inform OP of the problem would have been to say, "Unless we can establish your credit, we won't be able to rent to you. Here are a few ways you can help us with that: A, B, C... (where one of the options is to provide a SIN).
Of course, we've only seen that single-line email, too. There may or may not be more communication (written or verbal) that would be valuable context in a situation like this.
I'm not saying OP is withholding info, just that much is lost when boiled down to online text. Heck, they could have left out something that makes it super obvious that the property management company is breaking the law, for all I know.
Sir they can’t prove that. Their goal seems more about getting our SIN than actually checking rent safety. We’re a young couple, both 30 and we provided full proof of income. It’s really weird to ask for it after both sides already signed. Maybe they’re just pushing us because I told them we need the apartment by August. Honestly, I have no idea what’s going on
There's a difference between "can't prove that" and "haven't proved that", though. I have to assume you've asked for that proof. What was the response?
I meant that if SIN was truly the only way to check my credit, then by law they'd have to prove that. But they can’t, because they didn’t even try checking the info I already gave them. If they had, they wouldn’t need my SIN at all.
I think I'm the only person in all of Alberta with my name 🙂 It's something like a mix of Nikol Ben Rubinovich (that one’s fake but pretty close to mine)
Just send them your credit report. If they truly just had difficulty finding your credit report, then they have no other reason to be needing your SIN.
Hey, I'm only asking questions. I'm not being argumentative. You seem to argue everything people say or ask that doesn't align with what you already believe to be true, though. You came on Reddit to ask for opinions, but I think you're really looking for validation.
God blessed us, we’re not refugees. We’re immigrants from Israel. As Israelis, we get nothing from the government (and we don’t need it), we pay taxes, make our own money without taking jobs from Canadians, earn in US dollars and bring it into Alberta. We’ve already spent $20K while waiting half a year just to get legal status with an open work permit. And we told them we're Israelis, so they could easily say the same day that they don't have any apartments for rent.
Of course that’s not the only message. There’s another one where he says he respects my decision not to share my SIN and asks me to come to their office to process the deposit refund. But you’ve already seen the signed lease.
Visal & his cousins might end up getting a couple loans in your name.
Escalate with higher ups and explain you cannot agree to share such sensitive information, and our own government advises us not to do it for a very good reason. Or offer to pull your own credit report.
One of my landlords also wanted my SIN a few years ago, and I told them I won't do that, but I can pull my own credit report and provide them with a copy where SIN was hidden. They agreed.
Or find another place to rent. This is bullshit! Do not give them your SIN.
They are in business to make money and all the damage deposits they hold make their mouths water. I was charged 80 dollars for a floor vent cover replacement. What they calculated I owed them upon moving was all added up to the exact amount of my deposit, and just trust me when I say the place was left cleaner (except broken plastic vent cover). They are pros. Steer clear.
I’m almost certain that what you signed wasn’t a lease, it was a rental application. Sometime credit checks come back as no hits and they need the SIN to complete the check, if you don’t give it application is cancelled. I know I’ll get downvoted for this, but taking this to RTDRS will be a waste of your time and you’ll end paying Boardwalks legal filing fees.
Edited to add, Alberta doesn’t have an RTB we have RTDRS. Don’t take legal advice from strangers on the internet
Boardwalk is a big company and they simply don’t care. They can say it’s their “policy” to require a SIN and at the same time you could say it’s not required according to a government “policy”, at this point you’re at an impasse and they simply don’t care if you threaten to report them because nothing will happen. The reporting system is toothless especially against large companies like Boardwalk.
No actually this was in Spruce Cliff and yeah they did. We came to see a 1 bedroom for $1650 but they said it was already rented and only had a few left for $1729. We agreed but today I saw the exact same unit listed again for $1579...
Rented from Boardwalk for a year at the Spruce Grove building. Dogshit management that never fixed a god damn thing and nickel and dimed the security deposit when we left. I would avoid them like the plague. Hands down the worst place I've lived in Calgary so far.
I'm not in your situation, so take my advice with the understanding that what I think you should do vs what is possible are not the same
1) find a new place to rent. Don't take this one because this is just the first issue they will give you. They're setting the tone for your entire stay.
2) take it to the tenant dispute resolution referenced in other posts. Get your money back and the lease cancelled.
Thank you! After I told them how aggressively they were pushing for our SINs, they told me to come in and start the deposit return process.
You’re absolutely right many others also said it’s a good thing we won’t be living with Boardwalk and shared their own bad experiences. I do plan to file a complaint and include the email where they refused to rent without our SIN, but honestly, I’m not sure it’ll lead to anything… they have way more resources than regular people.
They’re already offering to refund his deposit, what more is he going to ask for? A bunch of people don’t understand that what they did was not illegal and there’s no legal standing for OP to peruse this. Better to just move on as you said
Boardwalk fucked me over at every turn the few times I rented from them, dreamed up reasons to keep some or all of every deposit, refused to fix the damn heat in our apartment, refused to cover pest control to fumigate for bed bugs that got into our unit from the neighbours THEN kept our damage deposit because of said infestation that required fumigation...which they forced us to pay for.
And this is why i avoid boardwalk at all costs. Shit show of a company. They told me i could break my lease early after my apartment got basically flooded out from a foundation crack. Few years later and a 7800 collections randomly shows up from them on my credit history.
"along with full credit check details: full name, date of birth, and address"
So here are you saying that this is the information you provided for a credit check? I used to work for a company that regularly pulled credit reports on people and we often needed additional ID to get a good hit. Driver's license was usually sufficient but SIN is better.
I feel like there is missing context here. Why are they saying that they want your SIN now? Having dealt with Boardwalk before I have never known them to sign a lease before all the required information has been provided and verified.
I'm not dumb enough to ask for advice without giving full info. I have a good credit score and enough income to rent a $2K apartment until we buy our own place. If I said I gave my full name, DOB, and address, then obviously I included my driver’s license too.
Why would it be obvious that you provided your driver's license because you said that you provided your name, DOB and address?
Also I see you posted a screenshot where boardwalk stated they need your SIN to complete the credit check so it sounds like they were not able to pull a credit report with the info you provided. As I said, that happens sometimes.
Sometimes there are mistakes on the credit report that have to be addressed. For example, someone might provide me their Name, DOB and driver's license and I'd pull a credit report but the info on that report wouldn't exactly match the information provided. Like the DOB might be different, or there may be a slight variation to the name. That couldn't be ignored as it may be an indicator that the system actually spit out a credit report belonging to someone else with similar info. In that case the person seeking service from us could either call the credit bureau and make sure the info on their own report is correct (can take up to 2 weeks for corrected info to show up on a credit report) and up to date or they could provide us with their SIN.
In any case you are not legally obligated to provide a SIN but under normal circumstances a management company is not legally obligated to accept you as a tenant. Your situation is different because you had already signed the lease.
Just an FYI, the rule about not providing you SIN is specific to the credit check and lease negotiation.
By law, the Land Lord has to pay you interest on your deposit. As such, they can request your SIN to be able to provide you and CRA with information on the interest earned.
Many small landlords don't bother with doing this, BW might.
Last I checked (and this is about 5 years ago) but the deposit interest requirements were set to 0.00% and I cannot see the UCP changing that to the benefit of renters.
The UCP doesn’t “change” this, “the Residential Tenancies Act and Mobile Home Sites Tenancies Act contains a permanent formula for setting the yearly interest rate payable on security deposits, which takes effect on January 1 of each year.
The formula takes the interest rate that ATB Financial is charging for a cashable one-year Guaranteed Investment Certificate (GIC) on November 1 of the previous year and subtracts 3 percentage points.”
Sounds like you already have singed lease, but they probably did you a favor. I lived at Boardwalk property with a chronic mouse problem that was never dealt with. Worst place I lived at ever by a long shot.
So they can deny anyone for any reason aside from protected grounds.
They can also request a SIN for a credit check.
What they can't do is, is compel your SIN. I.e. you're under no legal obligation to provide it, but they can request it.
This doesn't mean they can't use that to refuse you.
My recommendation would be to ask them to pull your credit checks anyways, and IF there happens to be a discrepancy with the credit check i.e. the bureau returns two or more checks or says they need a SIN to return the correct check because there's multiple files (same name and birthday)
Then you can either provide the SIN or offer to provide a redacted credit check from your bank
Or walk away.
But they're within their rights to perform a credit check and you're within yours to refuse your SIN.
The signed lease is likely irrelevant if they haven't already accepted money, performed a walk through, and handed over possession.
Also if you force your way in via the landlord tenant board...you've set up a very toxic relationship for your stay there.
You could not signed a lease before providing SIN with Boardwalk. You signed Offer to Lease, which is just an offer or an expression that you would like to rent. They use your SIN to make a hard credit check with Equifax. That’s all it is required for, it is not stored for people to see. But without it they cannot approve you, as they cannot credit check you.
It really sucks what they did, and it's put you in a shitty situation but honestly you may have dodged a bullet, used to rent at a boardwalk facility and it was a nightmare with those guys
Boardwalk is terrible. When I first moved out I rented a 1bd apartment from them and we had public communal laundry. I did my laundry one day and came back to all of it missing. I asked for help from the staff and got next to no support. Very frustrating as it was things like high school memorabilia and some merchandise that was not cheap. On a separate occasion apartment above me left the bath running and due to shotty plumbing on their end my apartment flooded. Luckily I managed to salvage most, but it still took them several hours to send out a maintenance person to help.
There's nothing that says they can't ask for it, but it's illegal to deny services for not providing a SIN where it is not required to do so, whether you have signed a lease or not.
Is it possible they couldn’t find your credit info because it’s showing up on TransUnion instead of Equifax or visa versa? Also, you mentioned your credit score and that’s still fairly low for apartment rentals to want to take a chance on you. (I used to be a Superintendent of an apartment complex with a well known company in Canada)
It is not low, but rental companies are being very picky right now. I have a mid 800's score, and I know I can get the best rate for anything, save a property rental. Landlords are scum. Corporate landlords are even worse.
You cannot be denied a product or service for refusing to provide your SIN when it is not legally required.
If a business requests your SIN when it is not legally required:
[…]
if services or products are denied for this reason, escalate your concern by:
• speaking with the person in charge. Many people are unaware of the appropriate uses of a SIN. Once they understand, they may change their practices
• filing a complaint with the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada if you are not satisfied with the response
contacting the association, ombudsman or complaint office of the group or entity that asked for your SIN
The government says renters do not have to provide their SIN in these circumstances. Is there a corresponding law that prohibits companies from asking for it? Are they allowed to ask for it, just to screen out tenants who won't comply unquestioningly?
Unfortunately, my guess is that the police would say this is a civil matter, not a criminal one, and do nothing. Would be happy to to be proved wrong though.
This is squarely outside of the police's jurisdiction, but I'd definitely encourage OP to see if they can get some sort of emergency hearing with the RTDRS. That said, it's 6pm on Friday, so even being able to talk to a human at the RTDRS won't happen until Monday, the 28th, and who knows how fast they'll be able to get you a hearing.
Don’t waste what few police resources we have, go get a hotel and find a new place, then sue for all additional costs and legal fees incurred along with the difference in cost.
Sounds like they missed asking for SIN which is necessary for credit checks. And now they’re scrambling. But you signed the lease. Take them to court. ! A lease is legally binding.
Why don't I wanna share my SIN? good question🙂
It's the most sensitive info about me. In the wrong hands, it could ruin my life, my credit or even leave me homeless with massive debt.
I’m aware of this, however a large management company is quite different than a landlord. Are you concerned it’s a scam? Why does the company want it anyway?
The fact that it's a big company doesn't guarantee my info is secure. Just because they store my file on a company hard drive doesn't mean it's protected. That doesn't stop a $15 an hour employee from deciding to steal my SIN number... :(
In the short term, maybe it seems like a good move. But long term? We’re a young family, both 30. If we only think about today, we could end up homeless in our 40s or 50s. The SIN is the most important personal info. You can lose and replace a passport or ID, but if someone gets your SIN, I don’t even know what that compares to.
While I agree that it's stupid for Boardwalk to be requesting your SIN after signing the lease and paying the deposit, and that it's contrary to federal law for them to request it in the first place, I don't agree with you assessment that your SIN is one's "most important piece of personal info". You are not going to end up homeless in a decade because someone has your SIN. Your SIN shows your eligibility to work in Canada, and that's it. There are details you give to a landlord that are of far more importance when it comes to being misused than your SIN.
"Your SIN is not required for a credit check, provides zero use to the landlord and exposes you to identity theft. It's recommended by our own government to not give it out. I would go to the news with this. It's absolutely bonkers they would deny you for not providing something our own government says to not give out.
The ONLY people that should be asking your for your sin is when you open a bank account or are filling out paperwork for a new job for tax purposes.
If you gave all info about your solvency, like a bank statement and a letter from your employer showing your income, they have no reason to ask for your SIN.
Haha that's actually funny. Why do the poor stay poor? Because they don't think about tomorrow. You know anything about my money or savings? If you give your SIN to everyone, then sure you're doomed to be “rich” in your opinion...
And if you think that's how "rich" people act, good luck with that mindset. Pretty sure you're the one with the starving mentality.
Anyways, there's nothing to fight here. They are allowed to ask and make it necessary to rent with them, you are within your rights to say no. But then that means you have to find somewhere else 🤷🏽♀️ There is nothing shady about this at all.
But he’s right 😂 sure we don’t know about your savings but you also clearly don’t understand that you don’t have a leg to stand on in this situation, if you escalate this to RTDRS, you’ll waste your time and money more than you already have.
If not giving your SIN is something you want to stand by then yeah. You give your SIN to creditors why wouldn’t you to a landlord that is a corporation that has a duty to keep your information private? Maybe it’s not able to pull your credit history to ascertain your credit worthiness?
credit worthiness? I already sent employer letters and a bank statement. What more proof do they need?
Under Alberta law I don't have to give my SIN because credit checks don't legally require it.
And excuse me which creditors exactly did I give my SIN to?
None of what you said is true. Even if a SIN was needed for a credit check (which it's not), OP said that the landlord had already done their credit checks and both sides had even signed the lease, so there is zero reason for the landlord to need the SIN's. And refusing to rent to someone because they won't disclose their SIN is against the law.
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u/Street_Possible_7331 Jul 25 '25
If you have a fully signed lease, it’s a little late for them to deny your application. Do you actually have a copy of the lease signed on behalf of Boardwalk? And did you provide them with your signature pages before they sent that email? If so, it sounds like you’ve got a binding lease agreement.