Compare the fee and what you get: ads, showings, application checks, the lease and move-in records. Ask when you pay, what costs extra and what you handle after move-in.
Our leasing-only fee is half of one month’s rent plus HST, with no ongoing management contract required. Other providers charge differently, so compare written services and total costs.
Compare the same fees and services
Write the fee before tax, applicable HST, total payable and the exact event that triggers payment. Then list every possible additional charge for advertising, photography, showings, screening reports, lease preparation, re-leasing or cancellation. Do not assume a service is included because another provider includes it.
Our leasing-only fee is half of one month’s rent plus HST. At $2,400 monthly rent, the fee is $1,200 plus $156 HST, or $1,356 total. A full-month fee on the same rent would be $2,712 with HST. The difference is $1,356. Compare included services as well as fees.
- Fee formula or fixed amount before HST
- HST and total amount payable
- Deposit, invoicing and payment milestone
- Optional, conditional and third-party charges
- Cancellation, pause and re-leasing terms
- Ongoing management commitment, if any
Check preparation, ads and showings
Ask who gathers property details, identifies repairs, recommends rent and confirms utilities, parking, availability and restrictions before advertising. Accurate details help the team answer questions and prepare the lease.
Request a sample listing and ask where the service publishes it, who owns the photographs and copy, who approves the final advertisement and how changes are made. Do not award points for channels or production work that are not promised in the proposal. A clear, accurate campaign is more useful than a long list of vague exposure claims.
- Property fact and inclusion checklist
- Advice on getting the rental ready
- Listing copy and image responsibilities
- Owner approval before launch
- Advertising channels actually included
- Listing updates, pause and removal process
Ask how questions and showings are handled
Ask who responds to inquiries, what property questions they can answer and how a prospective renter books a showing. Confirm who attends, how current-tenant access is coordinated where relevant and how no-shows or rescheduling are handled. The owner should know how feedback reaches them without receiving every routine message.
Ask who answers questions, when they respond and what feedback you receive. Check how they use that feedback to improve the ad or discuss rent with you.
- Inquiry contact and response ownership
- Showing availability and attendance
- Property-question escalation
- Access and rescheduling process
- Owner feedback format and frequency
Ask how applications and consent are checked
Ask the provider to explain its written screening criteria and the records it may request, how consent is collected, who verifies information and how an owner receives a decision-ready summary. The process should be relevant to the tenancy, consistent between applicants and designed to protect personal information.
Ontario human rights requirements apply to rental advertising and applicant assessment. A provider should not market discriminatory preferences or replace documented criteria with instinct. Screening can organize and verify relevant information, but it cannot guarantee how a tenancy will perform.
- Written, consistently applied criteria
- Consent before authorized checks
- Identity, reference and information-verification steps
- Secure document collection and limited access
- Owner approval role and decision record
- Clear deletion or retention practices for applicant records
Confirm the lease, deposit and move-in handoff
The proposal should say who prepares the lease, which lawful property-specific terms are supplied by the owner, who coordinates signatures and which move-in records the landlord receives. Ask whether the service coordinates permitted deposit instructions, keys, condition documentation, utility information and the first point of contact after move-in.
Standalone leasing must end at a defined point. Homes for Rent Ottawa does not require an ongoing property management contract for its leasing-only service. The landlord should understand the handoff date, all records being transferred and which tenant questions and updatess become the owner's responsibility after that point.
- Lease preparation and owner approval
- Signature and deposit coordination
- Move-in date, keys and condition records
- Applicant and tenancy records delivered to the owner
- First rent and account responsibility
- Exact handoff to self-management or ongoing management
Read payment, cancellation and re-leasing terms
A fee comparison is incomplete without the contract trigger. Ask whether the charge is earned at a signed lease, possession, first payment or another milestone. Review what happens if the owner pauses the listing, accepts a tenant from another source, withdraws the property or changes important terms after marketing begins.
Ask about any replacement or re-leasing policy, but do not treat it as a guarantee until you understand its conditions, exclusions and duration. Confirm what happens to advertisements, photographs, applicant records, deposits and completed screening if the engagement ends before a lease is signed.
Compare providers with one checklist
Score each proposal from the written agreement and a process walkthrough. Give more weight to facts that affect the actual engagement: total cost, work included, who makes decisions, records, communication and handoff. Leave a row blank when the provider has not answered it rather than assuming the most favourable interpretation.
Check how much work you still handle at each price. Does the provider answer questions, run showings and arrange the lease? Compare the services and responsibilities as well as the fee.
- Total fee with HST and all likely add-ons
- Preparation, ads and showings included
- Documented screening and owner approval
- Lease, move-in records and handoff
- Response contacts and progress reporting
- Contract trigger, cancellation and record-transfer terms
Choose leasing only if you will manage after move-in
Choose leasing only if you want help with ads, showings, application checks and the lease, then plan to handle rent, repairs and tenant questions yourself. If you need ongoing help, compare full management too.
Tell us the property details, condition, timing and any known restrictions. We will explain our half-month leasing fee and HST before we start.
