A recent survey found that 34% of Canadians don’t believe criminal record checks are important when it comes to tenancy and property rentals, even though one in 10 Canadians have a criminal record. A thorough tenant screening would have revealed red flags for Luka Rocco Magnotta – who allegedly dismembered a human body in his Quebec apartment and sent a foot to the Federal Conservatives – and for Angus Mitchell, who allegedly shot his ex-landlord and two others in a disgruntled rampage in B.C. The survey also found that 86% of Canadians would not be discouraged from applying for a property rental if they had to get a background check.
“Unfortunately, getting paid the rent is only one aspect of finding a good tenant,” says Dave Dinesen, President & CEO of BackCheck, Canada’s largest provider of criminal record and employment reference checks. “A proper screening, which involves credit, criminal, employment and previous rentals, would have uncovered red flags.”
