Anna and her mom live in a basement suite in Bonnie Doon.
When they received a new rental agreement to sign, they had some questions. As newcomers to Edmonton—they moved from Ukraine in 2022—they weren’t familiar with some of the legal terms and their rights as tenants.
Anna called the City of Edmonton’s Tenant Support team for advice.
“I was impressed by the support,” she says. “It’s free, it’s very friendly and they’re so curious about your situation and how they can support you. You feel respected. You feel valued.”
“More rights than they realized”
Carol Wilson, a Tenant Support Consultant, took the call. She also told Anna about the City’s free Rent Ready Basic Course. It’s a three-hour session that teaches renters about their rights and responsibilities under the provincial government’s Residential Tenancies Act. The course covers everything from apartment hunting to move-in inspections to terminating rental agreements to move-out inspections.
“A lot of participants are surprised that they actually have more rights than they realized,” says Wilson, who is also one of the course’s instructors.
Rent Ready, a partnership with Bissell Centre, C5 Hub and Edmonton Public Library, is available at library branches throughout the city.
“Whether we’re newcomers to Canada, whether we’re students, whether we’re old or young—if we’re renting, it’s important to know this information so that we’re making sure we’re getting what we’re paying for,” says Wilson. “Getting a safe, secure home with a roof over our heads.”
“I know my rights”
Course participants also learn about housing scams, financial literacy, household safety tips and information about resources such as the Edmonton Food Bank and the Leisure Access Program.
Anna took the Rent Ready Basic Course shortly after calling Tenant Support. She says the information and the instructors were empowering.
“The course was straightforward and any difficult terminology was explained in a simple way,” she says. “If you don’t understand a term, they’ll provide examples. They asked us: ‘Do you have any questions?’ You feel that they want to support you. It was amazing.
“The most important thing is the confidence that this course gives you. I know my rights and when people see that, their perception changes and their attitude changes.”
Getting help with references
The City also offers a more in-depth Rent Ready Certificate Course. It consists of four sessions—each is 2.5 hours—and at the end, participants receive a certificate that they can use as a reference when making future rental applications. The certificate is recognized by the Alberta Residential Landlord Association.
“If somebody is new to Canada or maybe they were homeless and they don’t have any rental reference, they can use the certificate towards that,” says Zula Romero, a Homelessness Prevention Coordinator in the City’s Community Services department.
“This certificate is telling the landlord that they have taken the time to come and see us for a whole month, once a week, that they were on time, that we gave them the tools they needed to hopefully have a successful tenancy.”
Rent Ready is part of the City’s homelessness prevention efforts, which includes funding community programs to help people reduce poverty and prevent homelessness. The City also has a Housing Relocation Team, which rehomes individuals and families living in problem properties that are no longer habitable due to health and safety violations.
“People want to be better informed”
More and more people are looking for these tools. Since 2023, over 1000 people have taken the Basic and Certificate courses. So far this year, the courses have experienced a 54 per cent increase in participation. In 2024, a total of 385 people completed the courses compared to 548 during the first six months of 2025.
Romero says the course’s growing popularity is in part due to the rising cost of living.
“People are having more issues trying to keep up with their bills, pay their rent and things like that, which increases the amount of disputes and evictions that people might be facing,” she says. “So, of course, people want to be better informed.”
More opportunities to help
The course’s increasing attendance is also a testament to the Tenant Support team’s success in finding new opportunities to reach more people. The City recently partnered with two women’s shelters, Elizabeth Fry Society of Alberta and WIN House, to teach the Rent Ready course to people accessing the shelters. The City also teamed up with Edmonton’s various post-secondary institutions to help new students.
“We had a virtual session for people all across the globe who were coming to Edmonton to attend the University of Alberta, NAIT, NorQuest College and places like that,” says Romero.
“We are teaching them and giving them the tools even before they get to Edmonton. So when they come and start their housing process, at least they know what to expect. They’re ready.”
For more information or to register for a Rent Ready Basic or Certificate Course, visit edmonton.ca/RentReady.
Editor’s note: the pic at the top of the post shows Anna in Constable Ezio Faraone Park on September 25, 2025.