What websites should I look for a rental on?
In today's post, I will share some advice on what websites you should be looking at to find your rental!
Rentals can essentially be broken down into 3 categories:
- Purpose-built rentals (PBRs)
- Privately listed rentals
- MLS listed rentals
Purpose-Built Rentals (PBRs):
Access to purpose-built rentals is almost always directly through the building's property management or leasing company. Realtors like myself do not get access to these units, as PBRs prefer to handle leasing in-house. Your best bet to getting yourself a unit in one of these is to drop by the building in person or reach out through their website directly. Purpose-Built Rentals can be a great option, and I encourage you to check online for reviews of the building you're interested in or try to talk to other residents in the building for feedback.
Privately Listed Rentals
These are units that are in condos and houses that have been listed directly by the landlord. Some decent websites you can search for private rentals include:
- Facebook Marketplace
- Various Facebook Groups (Toronto Home Zone, Palz Home Zone, etc.)
- Kijiji
- Craigslist
- Padmapper/Zumper (same company)
All of these sites have their pros and cons, and you'll often find the same listings cross-posted. Some things that I've generally noted about these sites:
Properties that have been leased often take a very long time to be taken down.
Please be vigilant - rental scams are rampant. E.g. you should never be asked to pay a fee or deposit just to submit an application (I could make a whole post on things you should do to avoid getting scammed and probably will at some point).
Please do not let this dissuade you from trying to find a rental privately, just always be cautious. I may seem biased as a Realtor, but I have 100% respect for any landlord that wants to lease their property without an agent.
MLS Listed Rentals
These are the rentals that I (and every other Realtor) have access to for booking showings and representing you as a tenant. MLS rentals are listed on a central system that Realtors use, and then get fed to a number of different websites. These properties are privately owned and listed by an Realtor on behalf of the landlord.
Which website you use mostly comes down to your user interface preference, though keep in mind some websites will ask you to sign up in order to access listings. Generally speaking, listings will be taken off these websites in a timely manner, as once the property is marked as leased on MLS, it will be removed the next time these websites sync.
The 'official' website for MLS listings is Realtor.ca (operated by the Canadian Real Estate Association). As mentioned above, any Realtor can book you a showing for an MLS listing. The agent you see listed on the Realtor.ca listing is the landlord's agent. You can certainly work with them directly, but if you'd rather have your own representation (which I encourage as there is no charge to work with a Realtor as a tenant), then you should reach out to a Realtor recommended by a friend or family member.
Some other sites that pull from MLS whose interfaces I like:
- Condos.ca (this is actually a brokerage, but they've developed a great site for looking at listings. Keep in mind the agents you see associated with the listings are not actually the Landlord's agent, but rather condos.ca agents)
- Zolo.ca (brokerage as well)
- Housesigma.com (brokerage as well)
FYI: You'll likely find MLS listings on the websites I listed for private rentals, as those sites are often used for further marketing. In these cases, it may be listed by the landlord's agent or another agent who is looking for tenant leads.
I hope this post was helpful to you! If you have any ideas for future posts you'd like to see, I'm all ears.
