You’ve got the visa approved, the flights booked, and a folder full of attested documents. Then the landlord’s agent in Toronto or Auckland asks for a deposit, a reference letter, and a credit check — and suddenly the easy part is over. We hear this from clients almost every week: after months of focusing on the visa itself, the first thing that trips people up on arrival is renting a home in a system that works nothing like Dubai’s.
At a glance
- Deposit and bond rules are set by the province or state, not the national government — Ontario, British Columbia, Victoria and Queensland each work differently.
- Ontario landlords can only ask for last month’s rent plus a refundable key deposit — no separate damage or pet deposit is allowed.
- Queensland and New Zealand both cap a rental bond at 4 weeks’ rent; England caps a deposit at 5 or 6 weeks’ rent depending on the annual rent.
- You will likely have no local credit history when you arrive, and in provinces where credit checks are used, that thin file can work against you unless you plan ahead.
- UK landlords must place your deposit in a government-backed protection scheme within 30 days — always ask for the certificate.
Why renting abroad feels harder than it should
In the UAE, most of us are used to paying a year’s rent upfront by cheque and dealing directly with the landlord or a broker. Move to Canada, Australia, New Zealand or the UK, and the rules flip: rent is usually paid monthly, deposits are capped by law, and in several countries a government body — not the landlord — holds your money until you move out. None of this is designed to trip up newcomers, but it does mean the questions you ask a letting agent on day one are different from the ones you’d ask in Dubai Marina.
Canada: it depends which province you land in
Canada does not have one national renting law. Each province sets its own rules, so what applies in Ontario will not apply in British Columbia. Ontario’s official standard lease guide states that a landlord can only collect a rent deposit equal to the last month’s rent, plus a refundable key deposit — no other deposit type, such as a damage or pet deposit, can be required. If a tenant is asked to pay more, they can apply to the Landlord and Tenant Board.
In British Columbia, the rule is different again: a landlord can charge a security deposit of no more than half of one month’s rent, collected at the start of the tenancy and held until the end. Once you pay it, the tenancy is considered established and the unit can’t be rented to someone else — and the landlord can’t simply keep the deposit without permission from BC’s Residential Tenancy Branch.
The other issue we flag constantly for clients heading to Canada is credit history. Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation confirms that in some provinces and territories, landlords can run a credit check on a prospective tenant to assess their creditworthiness before agreeing to rent to them. If you’ve spent years in the UAE, you almost certainly have no Canadian credit file at all — not a bad one, just a blank one. CMHC’s own guidance recommends checking your credit file before viewing properties, since a thin or blank file can be misread as a risk if you don’t get ahead of it with references, proof of income and savings.
Australia: state rules, and a wave of recent change
Australia works the same way — each state runs its own tenancy system. In Queensland, a rental bond is capped at a maximum of 4 weeks’ rent, a rule that has applied since 30 September 2024. The Residential Tenancies Authority holds the bond directly rather than the landlord, and taking a bond isn’t even compulsory under Queensland law, though most agents ask for one.
Victoria is worth watching closely if you’re moving to Melbourne: Consumer Affairs Victoria, the state’s tenancy regulator, confirms that significant changes to Victorian rental laws took effect from 25 November 2025. If your move date is after that, don’t rely on older guides you find online — check Consumer Affairs Victoria’s current Renters Guide directly before you sign anything.
New Zealand: one national system, one government-held bond
New Zealand is simpler in one respect: renting is governed nationally rather than region by region. Tenancy Services, part of New Zealand’s Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment, states that a bond can be up to 4 weeks’ rent, that you must be given a receipt for it, and that the landlord must lodge it digitally with Tenancy Services within 23 working days. Unlike in Dubai or several Canadian provinces, the landlord in New Zealand never holds your bond themselves — Tenancy Services holds it for the length of the tenancy and refunds it once everything is settled.
United Kingdom: a capped deposit and a mandatory protection scheme
In England and Wales, the Tenant Fees Act 2019 has, since 1 June 2019, capped a tenancy deposit for a new assured shorthold tenancy at 5 weeks’ rent where the total annual rent is under £50,000, or 6 weeks’ rent where the annual rent is £50,000 or more. The same law bans most other letting fees being charged to tenants.
Just as important: GOV.UK confirms that any landlord letting on an assured shorthold tenancy that started after 6 April 2007 must place your deposit into one of the government-backed tenancy deposit protection schemes within 30 days of receiving it. The named schemes for England and Wales are the Deposit Protection Service, MyDeposits and the Tenancy Deposit Scheme — always ask which one your deposit went into and get the paperwork. Scotland and Northern Ireland run their own separate schemes, so don’t assume the England and Wales rules travel with you across the border. GOV.UK also notes that private renting rules in England are changing from 1 May 2026, so if your move falls near that date, check the current guidance again closer to the time.
| Country / region | Deposit or bond cap | Who holds it |
|---|---|---|
| Ontario, Canada | Last month’s rent + refundable key deposit only | Landlord |
| British Columbia, Canada | Up to half of one month’s rent | Landlord |
| Queensland, Australia | Up to 4 weeks’ rent | Residential Tenancies Authority |
| New Zealand | Up to 4 weeks’ rent | Tenancy Services |
| England, UK | 5 weeks’ rent (6 weeks if annual rent is £50,000+) | Landlord, via a government-backed protection scheme |
From the UAE: what this means for you
Most of the paperwork you need for a rental application abroad is the same paperwork you already gathered for your visa: attested employment letters, bank statements, and sometimes a reference from your current employer or previous landlord in the UAE. Start collecting these before you leave, while your UAE employer and bank are easy to reach — it’s far harder to request an attested letter once you’ve resigned and left the country.
Because you’re unlikely to have any local credit history in Canada, Australia, New Zealand or the UK, expect a letting agent to ask for extra reassurance in its place: proof of stable income, a UAE bank statement showing savings, or an offer to pay a larger amount of rent upfront where the law allows it. None of the deposit caps above stop you from having these documents ready — they simply set the ceiling on what a landlord can ask you to pay as a deposit or bond itself.
If your move involves a Canada skilled migration pathway, an Australia skilled visa, or a UK Skilled Worker visa, your visa timeline and your housing search will usually need to run in parallel in the final weeks before departure — most renters can’t secure a lease until they have a confirmed arrival date, so build that overlap into your planning rather than leaving it for after you land.
Frequently asked questions
Can a landlord abroad ask for a bigger deposit because I’m moving from overseas?
No. The caps described above — such as Queensland’s and New Zealand’s 4-week bond limit, or England’s 5- or 6-week deposit cap — apply to every tenant under that jurisdiction’s law, regardless of where they’re moving from.
Will having no credit history abroad stop me from renting?
Not automatically, but it can work against you where a credit check is part of the process. CMHC recommends knowing your credit position in advance and being ready to offer alternative proof, such as income and savings evidence, in provinces where landlords check credit.
Who actually holds my deposit — the landlord or the government?
It depends on the country. In Ontario and British Columbia, the landlord holds it. In New Zealand, Tenancy Services holds it. In Queensland, the Residential Tenancies Authority holds it. In England, the landlord holds it but must place it in one of the named government-backed protection schemes within 30 days.
What to do next
Renting in a new country is one small piece of a much bigger move, and getting the visa pathway right is what makes the rest of the planning possible. We offer a free eligibility assessment to help you understand which route fits your situation, whether that’s Canada’s points-based system, Australia’s points test, or another pathway. Call us on 04 357 7796, book a 20-minute review, or visit our contact page to get started. We don’t promise a particular outcome on any visa or rental application — what we do is walk you through the real requirements so you can plan with your eyes open. You can also browse our full library of guides at cosmosimmigration.com/blog/all-guides.
Sources
- Guide to Ontario’s standard lease — sections 8-9, rent deposit and key deposit (Government of Ontario) — accessed 13 Sep 2026
- Tenancy deposits and fees (Government of British Columbia) — accessed 13 Sep 2026
- Credit checks and bad credit (CMHC) — accessed 13 Sep 2026
- Renting (Consumer Affairs Victoria) — accessed 13 Sep 2026
- Rental bonds fact sheet (Residential Tenancies Authority, Queensland) — accessed 13 Sep 2026
- Information for new tenants (Tenancy Services, New Zealand) — accessed 13 Sep 2026
- Tenant Fees Act guidance collection (GOV.UK) — accessed 13 Sep 2026
- Deposit protection schemes and landlords: Overview (GOV.UK) — accessed 13 Sep 2026
Not sure which route fits you? Book a free eligibility assessment with our Dubai or Abu Dhabi team. No obligation.
Call +971 4 357 7796WhatsApp us
