About This Page

This page is a deep dive into the Identify pillar — the first of five steps in the IDEAL Framework for building trust in Canadian rentals.

New to IDEAL? Start with the framework overview.
Want the full structure? See how all 5 pillars connect.
Exploring by generation? View generational identity behaviours.

The 5 pillars of IDEAL:
Identify — verify who both parties really are (you are here)
Data — transparent information sharing
Engage — clear communication
Assess — fair evaluation
Lease — compliant, long-term management

01 · Why Identity Comes Before Keys

Think about boarding a plane. You would never accept a pilot who has not shown proper credentials. The same standard should apply to housing.

Before anyone gets keys to your property — or before you hand over first and last month’s rent — both sides should prove who they really are.

IDENTIFY is the first pillar of the IDEAL Framework. It replaces hope and “gut feeling” with evidence. The goal is simple:

Only real, verified people should ever enter into a lease — on either side.

This protects:

Landlords from fraud and financial loss
Tenants from scams and illegal operators
Neighbours and communities from criminal activity
Properties worth hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars

“IDENTIFY is the security gate of the rental system. If the wrong person gets through here, every other pillar — data, engagement, assessment, and leasing — is already compromised.”

02 · What IDENTIFY Covers

IDENTIFY is more than looking at a plastic card. A modern, safe workflow layers multiple checks.

The 4-Layer Identity Verification System

From basic ID to full risk screening

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│  Layer 1: Government ID                         │
│  → Passport, driver's licence, provincial ID    │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│  Layer 2: Biometric Match                       │
│  → Live selfie compared to ID photo             │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│  Layer 3: Database Checks                       │
│  → Credit bureau, address history, sanctions    │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│  Layer 4: Digital Behaviour Signals             │
│  → Device fingerprint, IP location, patterns    │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

In practice, landlords and property managers can choose simpler or more advanced versions of this system, depending on property type and risk level.

In Canada, real estate brokerages already verify identity under anti–money laundering rules when handling purchases and large transactions. This follows FINTRAC (Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada) guidance on client identification.

Many professional property managers now apply the same standard to rentals — even when not legally required — because the risk of fraud and organized crime using rentals is rising.

03 · How Big Is the Fraud Problem?

Fraud is no longer a rare “edge case.” The numbers are serious.

Share of Rental Applications with Fraud Indicators

Recent evidence from large portfolios

Toronto high-rise portfolio (Menkes, 2024)

≈51%

US multi-family sample (Snappt, 2024)

≈33%

These figures come from large, professionally managed portfolios. Smaller landlords see fewer applications, but a single fraudulent tenancy can still cause very large losses.

For a small BC landlord:
If you place 10 tenancies over a few years and even one of them is based on fake identity or income, you may face $20,000–$100,000 in unpaid rent, damage, legal costs, and vacancy. One bad file can wipe out a decade of cash flow.

04 · Safety, Legal Compliance, and Financial Protection

Aviation security is built on one simple idea: verify everyone properly before they enter a secure area. The same principle applies to housing.

What Identity Verification Protects Against

Financial crimes:

Money laundering through rental properties
Cash-based transactions hiding illegal income
Use of synthetic or stolen identities

Legal compliance:

Sanctions list screening (FINTRAC requirements)
Politically Exposed Persons (PEP) checks
Cross-border fraud prevention

Community safety:

Accurate emergency and contact information
Protection of vulnerable residents (seniors, children)
Reducing harm to victims of identity theft

Important Clarification

Verification does not label people as “good” or “bad.”

It simply ensures:

The person in front of you is the same person on the documents
Major legal red flags have been checked
Both landlord and tenant are protected from scams and disputes

In Canada, many property managers use FINTRAC-aligned tools such as Trulioo or Fintracker, combined with Equifax or TransUnion, to support this work.

05 · Bridging the Generational Digital Gap in IDENTIFY

Different generations are not only living with different housing costs. They also have different comfort levels around digital identity verification.

Internet Use in Canada by Age Group (2022)

Share who used the internet in the previous 3 months

Ages 15–64

98%

Ages 65–74

88%

Ages 75+

72%

Source: Statistics Canada, Internet use and online security (2022).

What this means in practice:

Older landlords and tenants (75+) may prefer paper IDs, office visits, and phone calls.
Middle cohorts (Gen X / Boomers) often use both paper and scanned IDs, and are comfortable with email.
Millennials and Gen Z expect to upload ID, take a selfie, and complete everything on a phone.

Designing an Inclusive IDENTIFY System

Offer digital verification (ID upload + selfie) for mobile-first users.
Offer a paper + in-person pathway for seniors or those without smartphones.
Apply the same security standard to both methods.
Provide human support by phone for anyone who needs guidance.

06 · From Manual Checking to Biometric Systems

Traditional screening in Canada often meant: photocopy the ID, run a credit check, and call an employer. This catches basic issues but misses skilled fraud, AI-generated documents, and synthetic identities.

Traditional vs. Modern Identity Verification

Check Type	Traditional Method	Modern Biometric System
ID Document	Visual inspection by human	Document forensics (fonts, holograms, barcodes)
Photo Match	Compare face to ID photo by eye	Biometric facial recognition + liveness detection
Address Validation	Phone call to prior landlord	Credit bureau + database cross-check
Employment	Call employer	Digital pay-stub and letter forensics
AML / Sanctions	Often not done	Automated FINTRAC-level screening
Fraud Detection Rate	~30–40% of obvious fakes	~90%+ of fakes detected
Time Required	2–4 hours per applicant	5–15 minutes per applicant

What modern tools check:

Document forensics — fonts, barcodes, holograms, security features.
Face-to-document match — live selfie versus ID photo.
Liveness detection — prevents photos, videos, or masks from passing.
Database validation — Equifax/TransUnion, address history, sanctions lists.

Vendors such as Trulioo, Onfido, Persona, and Property Copilot report much higher fraud detection rates when these checks are combined, compared with manual visual inspection alone.

07 · Building Safer Files Through Habit Formation

You do not need to become an IT expert to use IDENTIFY well. What matters is building small, repeatable habits that compound over time.

The IDEAL Identity Checklist (Every Application)

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│  STEP 1: COLLECT GOVERNMENT ID             │
│  ☐ Passport, driver’s licence, or BC ID    │
│  ☐ Check expiry date is valid              │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────┘
         ↓
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│  STEP 2: VERIFY FACE MATCH                 │
│  ☐ Live selfie OR in-person meeting        │
│  ☐ Compare photo to person carefully       │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────┘
         ↓
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│  STEP 3: RUN DATABASE CHECKS               │
│  ☐ Credit report (Equifax / TransUnion)    │
│  ☐ Address history validation              │
│  ☐ Basic sanctions / PEP screen (if req.)  │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────┘
         ↓
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│  STEP 4: DOCUMENT WHAT YOU CHECKED         │
│  ☐ Record date & method of verification    │
│  ☐ Save checklist in tenant file           │
│  ☐ Note any red flags or clarifications    │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────┘

The Psychology: Identity-Based Habits

Research on habit formation shows that the safest systems are built when actions become identity-based habits:

Not just “I need to check IDs this time”
But “I am a landlord who always verifies”

Not just “We should screen this applicant”
But “We are a brokerage that treats every file like a flight manifest”

Why small habits compound:

Year 1: 10 properly verified applications → 0 fraud cases vs. 1–2 expected.
Year 5: 50 verified files → track record attracts better tenants.
Year 10: Verification is automatic, prevents $50,000–$200,000 in losses.

The small habit of checking ID every time — without exception — creates very large long-term safety.

08 · How IDENTIFY Connects to the Other IDEAL Pillars

IDENTIFY is the first stop on the IDEAL “rail line.” Nothing else works properly without it.

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│  1. IDENTIFY                                            │
│  Verify who both parties really are                     │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
         ↓
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│  2. DATA                                                │
│  Share information transparently                        │
│  → You cannot share securely if you don't know          │
│    who you are sharing with                             │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
         ↓
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│  3. ENGAGE                                              │
│  Communicate clearly and consistently                   │
│  → You cannot engage effectively if contact details     │
│    are fake                                             │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
         ↓
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│  4. ASSESS                                              │
│  Evaluate fairly using standard criteria                │
│  → You cannot assess credit or references fairly if     │
│    the identity is wrong                                │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
         ↓
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│  5. LEASE                                               │
│  Manage agreements with compliance and transparency     │
│  → You cannot build credit history if the file          │
│    does not belong to the real person                   │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Example when IDENTIFY is skipped:

Pillar	What Goes Wrong
Data	Fake employment letter → income cannot be trusted.
Engage	Phone number or email is false → cannot reach tenant.
Assess	Credit report belongs to someone else → wrong risk profile.
Lease	Tenant disappears → cannot enforce terms or report correctly.

For BC and Canadian landlords — whether you manage one unit or a full portfolio — IDENTIFY is no longer optional. It is the safety gate that protects your building, investors, staff, honest tenants, and neighbourhood.

References & Further Reading

Toronto Real Estate Board. (2024). Rental Market Fraud Report 2023–2024.
Menkes Developments. (2024). Internal Screening Audit Report: Six-Month Analysis.
Snappt. (2024). Fraud Detection in Multi-Family Housing, Q4 2024.
Statistics Canada. (2022). Internet Use and Online Security.
FINTRAC. (2025). Methods to Identify Persons and Confirm the Existence of Entities.
Trulioo, Onfido, Persona. (2023–2024). Biometric Identity Verification Fraud Detection Rates.

Ready to Implement Verified Identity Screening?

For landlords and property managers:

Use digital verification for most applicants (fast, secure).
Offer in-person verification for seniors or those who prefer it.
Apply the same standard of safety to every file.

Try Property Copilot (Digital) Book In-Person at 3PM ← Back to IDEAL Overview Continue to Data Pillar →

Identity: The First Pillar of the IDEAL Framework