Frequently Asked Questions

All member landlords and property managers are required to contribute (where consent language permits) information on their current and past tenants - including critical information that is not available from credit bureaus or other sources.

In turn, you can access information on the track record of any tenant who has been entered into the database at any time or in any location across Canada. Accessing tenant records is as simple as visiting our report request web page or picking up the phone and keying in a tenant identification code. The data is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

TenChek offers you an invaluable service - and one that's not available from any other source.

Pricing for landlords with fewer than 25 units can be found on our pricing schedule Larger property management companies should contact us at 1-877-823-0220 for a quote.

Information provided by landlords to TenChek is recorded with codes that indicate concrete facts, not subjective comments, about tenant's track records. Included is key information such as whether a tenant pays rent on time, has received noise warnings or has departed with a balance owing to the landlord.

All tenant information must be verifiable by a third party or in writing by the landlord, so you know it is accurate. Only authorized members can make entries and updates to tenants' records, and only TenChek administrative staff can make changes to records once they have been entered.

GateMaster Inc. is legally required to provide free access to all consumers' TenChek files. Two pieces of government-issued ID (including at least one piece of photo ID) are required for identification purposes. GateMaster will deal with any dispute concerning the file's content in accordance with the law.

If you are looking to get a copy of your own TenChek report, have photos or scanned copies of your two pieces of identification ready, and request your report online.

Your TenChek file will only consist of any data stored in the TenChek database. It does not include any data that might be kept by Equifax, TransUnion, or other national credit bureaus.

TenChek is available in all major centres across Canada.

At this time, TenChek is only able to obtain credit information for citizens of Canada and the United States.

GateMaster Inc. is a licensed Consumer Reporting Agency and is required to adhere to legislation that requires information of this type to be kept in tight security. There is no possibility of anyone perusing the database to look for good tenants to contact. Data files are accessed on an individual basis only.

Yes, but only if the proper authorization and consent language is used on your rental application form and duly signed by the applicant.

A rental application with proper consent language should obtain consent for requesting/reviewing credit information, as well as for disclosing tenancy information to a third party for the purpose of building a rental history database.

Not yet. There is no way to get their consent at present. GateMaster will advise you if and when there is a change to this status.

Even if you are not a current TenChek member, it would be wise to switch to a rental application that contains consent language allowing you to disclose rental history details to a credit bureau, as it could useful in the future!

Conditional. The landlord must send a letter to each of their current tenants that have not signed a proper consent, seeking their consent to do so. Consent can be either express or implied.

Even if you are not a current TenChek member, it would be wise to switch to a rental application that contains consent language allowing you to disclose rental history details to a credit bureau, as it could useful in the future!

Very risky! Firstly, its hard to know whom you are talking to. Is it a friend of your current or past tenant or is it really another landlord? Secondly, it's difficult to know if they have consent to collect information on the applicant. They may not even have an application form! You can, however, be sure that if it is a TenChek landlord, they will be using an application form with proper consent to collect and disclose tenant information.

Conditional. The consent language that was used in the past must meet at least the basic requirements. For instance, the language must address consent to obtaining information for processing the application and consent to disclosure information to any credit reporting agency etc. The new language requirements as of January 1, 2004 is embellishing on those basic points

Only a TenChek member who has been authorized by the applicant/tenant can access a tenant's file.

When there is a change of ownership, all the tenants from the properties in question will marked to identify a Change in Management or Ownership.

If properly advised, the majority of tenants should be delighted! Having a positive track record that is recognized in the apartment industry will make it very easy to be approved for leasing when they choose to move. Never before has there been a data system that has the ability to bestow upon a person a credit worthiness record when there is no information available from conventional credit reports or lending institutions.

If you have 100 units with an annual turnover of 30 units per year, that means about 3 units per month. Once you are up and running, only the new arrivals and departures need be entered. In this case it would take about five minutes per month to do the data entry.

TenChek has developed interfaces for many popular property management software packages that can automate the tenant rental history data submission process.

If a TenChek cannot find any credit information on a given consumer, the cost of the inquiry will be discounted by 50%.

Ask the representative about the Conditional Membership Agreement which gives you the opportunity to choose three competitors that you would like to see join TenChek if you join first. If the three you have chosen don't join, your support fees are refunded in full.

Yes! GateMaster Inc. is a Consumer Reporting Agency licensed to operate TenChek all across Canada. Our lawyers have determined with certainty that TenChek operates well within the new PIPEDA privacy legislation.

GateMaster Inc. was incorporated in 1996 and has been successful in the market place since.