Apartment search tips in Canada

Moving to a new country is a pretty big deal and so you need to plan on having initial accommodation in Canada. If you have relatives or friends in the area, consider requesting them for a few days. This is because getting a permanent apartment means that you have to sign a lease. Leasing an apartment means that you are bound to that place for a fixed period of time (typically a year) and you need to provide a bank check as security deposit. So, you have to choose wisely the apartment, which would work for your family.

What will you do if you don't have a friend/relative in the area?

When you arrive in Canada, you may not have an apartment. For the initial few weeks, consider renting an Airbnb. With Airbnb you get the flexibility of not being locked into a lease. You get more options in terms of size and reasonable prices. If you are moving permanently, you may have multiple suitcases. With Airbnb, we were able to get a place big enough for our family. The place we got via Airbnb also had a microwave and fridge. So we were able to do some basic cooking. Given that we were staying there for just about 2 weeks, it was a fine arrangement. Eating outside at all times would be expensive and so you can save a lot on food and rent with Airbnb. Different factors while choosing an AirBnB.

1. Choose an area which is closer to public transport i.e. bus terminal or train station initially.
2. Renting a car is expensive when you don't have credit history or own car yet.
3. If you land in the month of good weather then you can consider walking to the terminal for commuting.
4. Usually Airbnb rooms are popular because they are cost-effective. Consider booking it for 2 weeks so that you don't have to shift multiple times. 

Renting a permanent apartment

Having moved several times, we always recommend renting an apartment in a new area before buying a house there.  

1. Couple of things to note, while choosing your apartment -
• Apart from the rent, note what you are also paying for utilities like heat and water. You might have to pay additional for these. This is an expense you have to incur every month.
• Snow should be a consideration when you rent. Underground parking is a plus if you can afford it. You would have a slightly better winter.
• Public transport in the vicinity is a great option for winter. In winter, even if you have a car, if you can take public transport for commuting it is a luxury.
• Note that there isn't Uber in many provinces. In Halifax, we have good bus transportation. 
• Apartments have gymnasiums too. It is great during winter time.
• Watch out for reviews for the apartment complex, especially around security and infestation by bugs.
• Kitchen - You typically get microwave, cooking range, dishwasher and oven with the apartment.  You have to buy other appliances. 
• Washer and dryer - Not all apartments offer this facility. Sometimes these appliances are not in the complex and other times in the building itself. Consider winter for this decision. It is painful to go thru this errand when these appliances are out of your apartment. 
• Closets - These are very handy to keep your luggage. Ask the apartment manager about storage space so that you have options to store your non- daily use items or seasonal items. For example, your winter jackets and boots are useful only in winter and occupy space. So having storage space is useful.
2. Kijiji is usually the site that has a lot of ads on available apartments. The drawback of the site is that it takes 24 hrs for the updates to reflect. So if apartment status has updated to be unavailable you may not see it until 24 hrs. This was annoying.
3. The good thing though was that the apartment managers directed us to other constructions, those weren't listed on kijiji. 
4. You can get a range of the rent prices on kijiji. Very important because if you like the apartment and the rent price, you can sign it rightaway. Apartments go away very fast especially during June, September. 
5. With a temporary address and your CoPR, you can open up a bank account.  This is important because you need to give a bank check as a deposit. Credit cards don't work.
6. You will need to have a source of funds like job offer letter for your rent application to be approved.

Will I be able to rent an apartment without a credit history?

The answer is YES. So far, our experience has been great. Canada is a place which is very immigrant-friendly and they acknowledge the fact that immigrants are very hard-working. So they are typically welcoming. You can get it if you provide the security deposit i.e. a bank check and your source of income. Some leasing offices might have their own rules as well. They may ask you to pay an additional month of rent and ask for references, with whom they can do a background verification. You can put down a friend or your boss in Canada, who can vouch for you. Typically with a PR, you should have less resistance but be prepared to provide references. You can also keep reference letters handy that you may have procured as part of your express entry application.

There are month-to-month leases, which are easier to get. You can try for getting this type of lease. Hopefully by then you would get a job and that should be good enough for you to move into an annual lease!

Hope this helps you with getting an apartment.

Next steps -

• Furnishing your apartment 

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