Navigating the Halifax rental market isn’t always easy – for landlords as well as renters. Thankfully, there are plenty of online property rental platforms available in the city to help simplify your rental journey and make finding or posting apartments for rent in Halifax a breeze. Not all rental platforms are built equally, however. To help you find the best option for your unique needs, liv.rent has compiled this guide to the top websites available in Nova Scotia, breaking down key features, safety measures, and more.
What renters should look for in a rental website
When choosing where to look for a place to rent, renters should take into account the following factors:
- Verified landlords & listings – Rental scams are a common sight in the current market, and it’s important for renters to be able to distinguish real listings from fake ones meant to swindle them out of their hard-earned money. The safest way to go about this is to choose a rental platform with multi-layered, manual verification protocols that can reliably spot and block suspicious listings and user profiles.
- A variety of customizable search filters – Looking for listings can be a lot of work without the right tools. To save you time in your search, opt for a rental website with lots of options for searching, such as number of bedrooms & bathrooms, pet policy, contract duration, and included amenities to streamline your quest for the perfect place.
- Security features – Renters are required to submit a variety of personal and financial information throughout the rental process, and it’s important that you’re sure where this information is going and how it’s being used. Ideally, choose a rental platform with a clear privacy policy that won’t sell your data.
What landlords should look for in a rental website
- Tenant screening features – Protecting your property investment should be a priority for every landlord. The wrong tenants can cost you thousands of dollars in damages and missed rent payments, so it’s important to utilize a tenant screening tool like the Trust Score that goes beyond a credit check, giving you a complete picture of tenants’ reliability.
- All-in-one tools – Today’s landlords live busy lives, and deserve a rental platform that can keep up, helping them save time at every stage of the rental process. While listing sites are great for sharing your listing to in order to expand its reach, landlords can make their leaves easier with a platform that supports listing, leasing, and signing contracts & receiving rent payments in one place.
- Flexible pricing plans – Some Canadian rental platforms charge a listing fee or a percentage charge for ongoing use of their services. Especially if you’re just getting started as a landlord, you’ll want to keep as much of your profits as possible with free listings and optional pay-per-use features to give you greater flexibility.
How to find apartments for rent in Halifax
The general process for finding an apartment for rent doesn’t vary much across Canada, and Halifax is no exception. While it’s still possible to find a place by walking through a neighbourhood on foot, most Canadian renters today will conduct their housing search online. Likewise, modern landlords are aware that renters primarily search online and so know that renters are increasingly searching online, so you’ll find nearly every available property in your area listed online for you to submit inquiries and arrange viewings.
The main challenge facing renters is deciding which rental website will be the most beneficial in helping them find apartments for rent in Halifax. Which rental platform you choose can influence not just how much time and money you spend on the rental process, but also how safe & secure you are during your search.
To help simplify your decision, we’ve broken down some of the most popular websites for finding apartments for rent in Halifax to give you a better sense of where you should begin your search for the perfect place.
1. liv.rent
liv.rent is a Vancouver-based all-in-one rental platform available across Canada that allows landlords and tenants to rent safely and securely thanks to an extensive verification process and tools like the Trust Score tenant screening tools, available on a pay-per-use basis for Essentials users and included in the platform’s Growth and Business plans. As you can see, liv.rent unsurprisingly ticks all of our boxes, and has a variety of features for every stage of the rental process, for both landlords & renters.
Renters
On liv.rent, tenants can easily search for rentals using a variety of filters and even a map view, then quickly message landlords for more information using built-in instant chat. From there, they can submit applications, book viewings and when it comes time, sign lease agreements and pay rent and security deposits through a variety of methods including credit card, UnionPay and even Bitcoin.
>> Recommended Reading: The Ultimate Renter’s Guide To Using liv.rent
Landlords
For landlords, liv.rent provides pre-filled listing templates to help you create attractive, effective listing pages, including a newly added Smart Description feature which uses AI To write an engaging listing description for you, plus tools to allow for sharing to other platforms like Craigslist and Kijiji. Simply put, liv.rent is the best website to post a rental property for landlords.
For quick and effective tenant screening, liv.rent has refined and added to their innovative Trust Score feature, which gives landlords a comprehensive picture of a tenant’s suitability including a credit summary, a detailed risk assessment, income & employment verification, and more. All in all, this complete platform is the best way to advertise and manage your apartments for rent in Halifax with a full range of listing, marketing, and tenant screening features.
For landlords looking to find the perfect tenants fast, liv.rent’s new Growth plan is here to make renting even easier. The Growth plan is effectively an all-in-one property management software package, with all the tools you’ll need to digitize and streamline your rental process from start to finish. For just $48/month, this comprehensive plan includes:
- Unlimited lease protection addendums
- 2 Trust Score reports with credit check per month
- Automated rental advertising (2 per month)
- Shared management tools for up to 3 users
…plus everything in our Essentials plan.
>> Recommended Reading: The Ultimate Renter’s Guide To Using liv.rent
2. Zumper
Like liv.rent, Zumper is an all-in-one rental platform that’s popular among renters and landlords across Canada. On top of a user-friendly layout, Zumper has features to help landlords and tenants streamline every stage of the rental process, including tenant screening and rent payment & collection.
Renters
For renters, Zumper is a convenient way to browse and apply for listings thanks to its visually-appealing layout. With that being said, the site does lack the comprehensive security and verification features of other platforms like liv.rent, though it does allow for the entire rental process to be completed within the site and there are some measures in place to prevent against fake landlords and listings.
Landlords
Zumper also has a full 12/12 features, including digital contracts and rent payment and a variety of tools to help you create and share listings. The only area where the site falters is in its security protocols, which aren’t as in-depth as other platforms. As well, though it’s free to start, Zumper charges a fee for landlords or property managers who have more than 10 listings, which makes it a costly option for businesses. Still, this platform’s wide range of features put it in contention for the best rental websites in Vancouver.
3. Kijiji
Kijiji is a marketplace site that doubles as a popular place for landlords and renters to post and find rental listings. The platform offers a basic suite of listing features including plenty of fields and filters for filling out specific details and room for lots of photos.
Renters
Kijiji is a good basic option for browsing and applying for listings, though it lacks many features that renters may look for. The site does allow for messaging within the platform which makes for much easier communication. Unfortunately, Kijiji doesn’t have much in the way of security features and provides little protection against scams.
Landlords
For landlords, Kijiji is a perfectly suitable place to post your listings due to the site’s broad audience and high traffic, though that’s about all it offers. Unlike Craigslist, Kijiji does have a chat feature for easy communication, as well as a centralized inbox for easy lead management.
>> Recommended Reading: 9 Essential Components Of An Attractive Rental Ad
4. Rentals.ca
Rentals.ca is another popular place to find and rent apartments, houses and condos, and offers a user-friendly layout as well as excellent search capabilities and an interactive map.
Renters
Rentals.ca is a great option for renters primarily because of the number of listings available. Since it’s such a popular platform, there are plenty of rentals to choose from and the site makes it easy to navigate them thanks to a split-screen map/photo view and lots of different search filters.
Landlords
Rentals.ca allows landlords to post for free, and the site offers lots of ways to customize your listing and make it stand out, including a photo gallery and neighbourhood score. Because it’s a listing site, Rentals.ca doesn’t provide features for navigating the rental process beyond inquiries.
5. PadMapper
PadMapper is another popular option in Halifax due to its easy-to-use map view for easy browsing, as well as a variety of built-in search features. The site is fairly bare-bones in terms of appearance and features, but works quite well and is simple to use for what it does.
Renters
PadMapper lets renters browse with ease thanks to an interactive map and various filters. As far as communications, PadMapper allows tenants to send messages with their phone number and email address to get in touch with landlords. The platform doesn’t mention any specific security or verification processes, though it does require a precise address in order to post a listing.
Landlords
PadMapper is a simple, effective way for landlords to get their listings posted quickly, though the site doesn’t offer support for much beyond inquiries. The site’s map view is extremely easy to navigate though, a feature which tenants still gravitate towards.
6. Facebook Marketplace/Groups
Facebook Marketplace is a great way to find apartments and houses for rent in Halifax. Though renters and landlords should exercise caution when using the platform due to the potential for fraudulent posts and users, there are plenty of local, moderated groups that allow for easy browsing and the ability to get in touch over Facebook Messenger.
Renters
Facebook is an extremely popular place for renters to browse apartments thanks to the volume of posts, though this is also its greatest downfall. Because Facebook has never claimed to be a rental platform, the site has few checks in place for screening out scams, although there are many moderated groups that provide a safer alternative.
Landlords
Landlords looking to reach a broad audience would do well to post their listing to Facebook due to the large number of renters browsing the platform. Though it doesn’t provide much in the way of additional features, it’s easy to get your listing posted and communicate through the built-in Messenger app.
7. Craigslist
If you’ve rented in Canada before, you’re likely already familiar with Craigslist. The marketplace site has long been the go-to place to post and find rental listings, as well as a variety of other goods & services, due to its pared-down appeal and ease of use. Though it may come out on top in terms of the number of listings available, the site lacks many of the security features renters and landlords should look for in a rental platform.
Renters
Renters can easily browse the site using a good selection of filters. For applications, Craigslist lists landlords’ email addresses and/or phone numbers for renters to get in touch. Do use caution when applying to rentals on Craigslist though – since there’s little in the way of verification, it’s not uncommon to come across rental scams on the site.
Landlords
Craigslist does provide a basic listing template including room for plenty of photos. The site also allows for a map view of each property and provides ample room for a description, as well as pre-set options for details about the unit. Renters can easily browse for rentals using a good selection of filters. For applications, Craigslist lists landlords’ email addresses and/or phone numbers for renters to get in touch.
8. 4rent
4rent is a rental listing website that’s popular across Canada and offers both attractive listing pages and organizational tools for landlords. However, it does fall short in other categories, notably, it does not have an app or a chat feature, which can allow for instant communication between landlords and tenants.
Renters
4rent has lots of listings in Halifax and is easy for renters to navigate thanks to convenient drop-down filters and a map view for navigating listings. There’s even a ‘create alert’ option for hands-off browsing and you can submit inquiries directly using a built-in form.
Landlords
Posting listings is straightforward with 4rent, however you’ll likely need to go elsewhere for things like leasing and rent payments since this minimal platform keeps things simple. Still, listings look good and reach a wide variety of renters and some of the organizational tools built into the platform can be useful.
Renters: what is the best website to find apartments for rent in Halifax?
Given the rapid rise in rental scams in recent years, renters looking for apartments for rent in Halifax should put their safety & security first when it comes to choosing a rental website. Particularly for first-time renters, students, or those renting from abroad, using a rental website that safeguards you from the stress and financial burden of scams is vitally important. In the absence of face-to-face communications, there are plenty of opportunities for dishonest or deceitful behaviour on either end of the rental process. Our goal at liv.rent is to reduce the risk of potential scams by helping connect verified landlords & tenants to build a trusted rental community.
Not only is liv.rent safe, it’s also incredibly easy for renters to use thanks to time-saving features like listing alerts, tons of customizable search filters, and video tours to allow you to browse listings with ease. To make your applications even easier, you’ll only need to fill out your profile once and can then apply to multiple listings with just a few quick clicks.
Watch the video below for a step-by-step tutorial on getting started searching for listings on liv.rent.
Landlords: where to post apartments for rent in Halifax
As a landlord, your main focus should be creating a profitable rental business while also ensuring your property is protected from troublesome tenants who can lead to damage, complaints, missed payments, and other costly issues. While most landlords will already be familiar with popular websites like Craigslist and Kijiji, the rental scene has evolved with new, all-in-one options creating a far easier and safer way to rent in Canada.
For these reasons, landlords unsure of where to post their listing for rent should be sure to check out liv.rent. The Vancouver-based platform’s broad range of tenant screening, marketing and management features make it the best-in-class, while flexible pricing plans let both landlords and property managers find an option that works for them. As well, liv.rent has a detailed verification process for tenants including the revamped Trust Score, where you can view employment/income verification, credit checks, a detailed risk assessment, and more in an easy-to-understand format. Best of all? It’s completely free to post unlimited listings, as well as access many liv.rent features like rent collection and standard digital contracts.
If you’re searching for an easier way to list and manage your rentals, be sure to sign up for liv.rent today.
>> Recommended Reading: 5 Reasons Landlords Should Leverage the Trust Score
FAQ: The best websites to post & find apartments for rent in Halifax
What is the vacancy rate in Halifax?
Halifax currently has a 1.0% vacancy rate according to the latest data from CMHC. Generally speaking, a 3% vacancy rate is considered ‘healthy’, with the Canada-wide vacancy rate currently at 1.5%.
How much is rent in Halifax, Nova Scotia?
According to data from Zumper, the average monthly rent price for a one-bedroom unit in Halifax is $1,995.
Is Halifax expensive to live in?
The cost of living in Halifax, Nova Scotia, can vary depending on factors like rent, transportation, food, and entertainment. Generally, compared to some larger Canadian cities like Toronto or Vancouver, Halifax tends to be more affordable. However, like any urban center, certain neighbourhoods or amenities within Halifax may come with a higher price tag.
We recommend browsing listings in Halifax to see if it’s within your budget as everyone’s budget is different.
Why is Halifax rent so expensive?
Like many Canadian cities, Halifax has seen a significant rise in demand for rental housing while supply has increased relatively slowly.
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