Privacy
Can a landlord ask for my SIN on a rental application?
A landlord can ask, but you are not required to provide your Social Insurance Number. A credit check only needs your name, date of birth, and current address — not your SIN — so you can decline and offer that instead.
By the LeasePlain Editorial Team · Checked against Ontario's Residential Tenancies Act per our editorial standards·Last reviewed August 2026
Privacy regulators across Canada discourage collecting the SIN because it's a target for identity theft. A credit check will run fine without it.
If a landlord insists on the SIN as a condition of applying, that's a red flag worth questioning.