When it comes to renting out a unit in Montreal, many owners frame two options: 'post on Kijiji' or 'go through an agency'. But these are two different things — not two versions of the same service. Understanding this distinction changes the decision.
What a listing platform does
A platform — Kijiji, Marketplace, Centris, Logis-Québec, etc. — essentially offers one thing: visibility. You post your listing, it's exposed to a large audience, and interested candidates contact you.
What the platform does for you
- Wide-scale distribution (millions of Canadian users for Kijiji)
- Listing hosting (text, photos)
- Messaging for first contacts
- Search filters for candidates (rent, area, type)
What the platform doesn't do for you
- Pre-screening — you receive ALL inquiries, serious or not
- File verification — no candidate validation
- Visit coordination — you manage schedules yourself
- Credit verification — you must initiate it yourself
- Legal framework — you alone are responsible for CDPDJ and TAL compliance
- Lease preparation and coordination — you handle it
What a placement service does
A tenant placement service handles the entire selection process — from listing to lease signing. The platform is a distribution channel; the service is a complete process.
What's typically included
- Market and fair-rent evaluation for your unit
- Professional listing prep (copy, photos, marketing)
- Distribution on the right platforms
- Rigorous candidate pre-screening (qualifying questions, filtering)
- Coordination of every visit
- Complete file verification (credit, references, employment, TAL)
- Best-candidate recommendation — owner keeps the final say
- TAL lease preparation and signing coordinated by a real-estate broker
Real costs of each option
| Item | Platform alone | Placement service |
|---|---|---|
| Basic listing | Free or ~$30 | Included |
| Professional photos | $150–$400 (if outsourced) | Included |
| Credit verifications | $20–$40 per candidate | Included |
| Personal time invested | 20–40 h | 2–4 h |
| TAL lease preparation | You handle it | Included |
| Signing coordination | You manage it | Coordinated by a broker |
| Visible direct cost | $100–$500 | ≈ 1 month of rent |
| Estimated total cost | $800–$2,000 (with time valued) | Varies by mandate |
The gross cost of a platform looks unbeatable, but the total cost — including personal time and verifications — often gets close to that of a service when you do the math honestly. And the service's added value (selection quality, legal framework, OACIQ broker) isn't measured in direct dollars, but in risk avoided.
When using a platform alone is enough
Platform alone is a good option in several concrete cases:
- You have time and rigour to do the selection yourself
- You already have a ready-made template (consent form, evaluation grid)
- You have access to a credit-verification account (Equifax, TransUnion)
- You master the CDPDJ framework and the TAL lease
- The unit is in a very high-demand neighbourhood (filtering is easier)
When to go with a placement service
The placement service becomes relevant in the opposite cases:
- You want to save time on visits and filtering
- You don't have the tools or processes for complete verifications
- You want to minimize bad-tenant risk
- You want an OACIQ broker for the lease signing
- You have multiple units and want to systematize
- You've had a failed placement and don't want a repeat
The hybrid approach that works well
Many owners combine both: they post the listing on platforms themselves (to keep marketing control), then hand only file verification and lease signing to the specialized service. It's an in-between option that secures the critical step without delegating everything.