We’re proud to announce our partnership with Nova Credit, a credit infrastructure and analytics company serving as Canada’s first cross-border credit bureau, to break housing barriers for new-to-country individuals by offering exclusive access to their international credit history.
In today’s competitive rental market, new Canadians encounter substantial hurdles when seeking affordable housing. These challenges stem from their limited or nonexistent credit history in the new country and the steep rise in rental costs. The primary obstacle lies in securing approval for a lease without a local credit history—a requirement that most housing providers insist upon during the rental application process.
To circumvent this challenge, a recent survey found that an overwhelming 58% of newcomers have had to pay several months’ rent upfront—representing a significant financial burden and unaffordable for most at today’s rent prices.
Canada continues to break immigration records, with international migration playing a pivotal role in driving the highest population growth rate since 1957. The immigration rate is poised to rise further, with plans to welcome nearly 1.5 million permanent residents over the next three years.
The Nova Credit and SingleKey partnership is a first-of-its-kind initiative designed to assist new-to-country Canadians access their foreign credit history and get approved for their new homes faster. This International Credit Check initiative is powered by Nova Credit Credit Passport® solution, which unlocks credit history data from over 1.5 billion credit profiles worldwide.
“This partnership couldn’t have come at a more crucial time,” said Viler Lika, Founder and CEO of SingleKey. “With a low vacancy rental market and immigration rates soaring, newcomers face unprecedented hurdles in securing affordable housing. Our partnership with Nova Credit addresses these obstacles by allowing lenders and financial service providers in Canada to access ‘lost’ credit histories worldwide. This allows housing providers to screen and approve international applicants confidently, which increases accessibility to housing for all.”
In a recent survey, 43 percent of new Canadians cited increasing rental prices as their biggest challenge when applying for housing. In comparison, lack of credit history was the second biggest challenge for 30 percent of respondents. Additionally, nearly 40 percent of Canadian housing providers reported a surge in interest from newcomers, with more than 20 percent of rental applications coming from new-to-country individuals.
“Every year, hundreds of thousands of creditworthy individuals immigrate to Canada, leaving years of credit history behind them in their home country,” said Collin Galster, Chief Operations Officer of Nova Credit. “As a result, newcomers struggle to access fairly priced credit-based products – and access to affordable housing is a fundamental aspect of successful integration for new Canadians. By providing immigrants with access to their international credit history, we’re helping them take the first step towards building their new lives in Canada.”
For more information about the partnership and the International Credit Check, visit
www.singlekey.com/en-ca/screen-international-tenants
Press release: Cision
