Questions Your Landlord Should Not Ask You

• Published date: 13 May 2020
• Author: Mr Robert Adourian and Afras Khattak
• Law Firm: Devry Smith Frank LLP

As a tenant you have rights including the right to privacy and the right to notice upon a landlord's entry into your premise. As a renter, you should be aware that there are questions that a landlord simply cannot ask you, be it once you have occupied the property or in the stages of completing a rental application.

• Nationality - A landlord cannot discriminate against you based on your nationality, citizenship or anything related to your ethnic background. This question should never be asked.
• Sexual Orientation - A landlord cannot ask you if you are straight, gay, lesbian, queer bisexual, etc and they cannot deny you a rental unit based on your gender identity or orientation.
• Religion - A landlord cannot ask you about your religious affiliation or if you are religious in general.
• Public Assistance - While a landlord has the right to know if you are employed, they do not have the right to know where all of your money comes from. If you are employed but on public assistance for example...