The Question Every Ontario Landlord Is Asking Right Now
Virtual showings went from novelty to necessity during the pandemic, and now in 2025 they occupy an awkward middle ground. Some landlords swear by them. Others tried them once, got burned by a tenant who looked great on video and turned out to be a nightmare in person, and never looked back. So where does that leave you as an Ontario landlord trying to fill a vacancy in Belleville, Trenton, Cobourg, or anywhere else in Central Ontario?
The honest answer is: it depends on what you are trying to accomplish. Virtual showings are not a universal upgrade or a universal mistake. They are a tool, and like any tool, their value comes down to how and when you use them. This article focuses specifically on the decision itself: should you offer virtual showings at all, and what factors should drive that choice for Ontario landlords in 2025?
If you are already sold on the idea and want a deeper look at whether the return on investment justifies the effort, our related article on whether virtual showings are worth it for Ontario landlords in 2025 covers that ground in detail. Here, we are focused on the foundational question: should you even go down this road?
What Has Actually Changed in the Ontario Rental Market
The Ontario rental market in 2025 looks meaningfully different from even two years ago. Vacancy rates in smaller cities like Belleville and Trenton have shifted as affordability pressures push renters out of the GTA. More applicants are relocating from Toronto, Hamilton, or even out of province, and those renters often cannot physically visit a property before committing. That is a real change in the applicant pool, and it matters when you are thinking about showings.
At the same time, the 2026 rent increase guideline sits at 2.1%, and landlords are feeling pressure to keep quality tenants in place and minimize vacancy days. Every week a unit sits empty is money that cannot be recovered. If offering a virtual showing option means you attract a serious out-of-town applicant two weeks earlier than you otherwise would, that has real dollar value attached to it.
At Blue Anchor, we manage properties across Quinte West, Belleville, Cobourg, Oshawa, and Picton, and we have watched the applicant pool shift. Relocating professionals, remote workers, and students moving to smaller Ontario cities are increasingly comfortable making rental decisions based on video tours combined with strong documentation. Ignoring that segment of the market means leaving qualified applicants on the table.
The Case For Offering Virtual Showings
The strongest argument for offering virtual showings is access. When you limit showings to in-person only, you are drawing from a local pool. When you add a virtual option, you open the door to anyone in Ontario, or anywhere in Canada, who is planning a move. For a well-maintained property in Belleville or Cobourg, that expanded reach can meaningfully shorten your vacancy period.
There is also a filtering benefit that gets overlooked. A prospective tenant who takes the time to book a virtual showing, show up on time, ask thoughtful questions, and follow up with a completed application is demonstrating exactly the kind of organized, communicative behaviour you want in a long-term tenant. The format itself acts as a soft filter. Someone who cannot manage a 20-minute video call is unlikely to be a model tenant when it comes to reporting maintenance issues or responding to lease renewal notices.
Virtual showings also protect your time. At Blue Anchor, we have seen landlords spend entire Saturdays driving between properties for back-to-back showings, only to have half the applicants not show up. A virtual showing eliminates travel time entirely and makes it easier to schedule multiple appointments in a single afternoon without leaving your desk.
From a practical standpoint, virtual showings pair well with a thorough tenant screening process. We walk through our full screening approach in our article on how Blue Anchor screens tenants, but the short version is that a virtual showing is never a substitute for proper credit checks, income verification, and reference calls. It is one step in a larger process, not the whole process.
The Case Against Virtual Showings (Or At Least Against Making Them Your Default)
Virtual showings have real limitations that Ontario landlords need to take seriously. The most significant is that video does not capture everything. A prospective tenant cannot smell a musty basement, feel whether the windows are drafty, or notice that the upstairs neighbour is loud on a Tuesday afternoon. Those are things that matter to tenants, and when they move in and discover them for the first time, you are starting the tenancy on a sour note.
There is also a verification problem. You cannot confirm who is actually on the other end of a video call. A well-presented applicant on screen could be presenting a very different living situation than what they are describing. This is not a reason to refuse virtual showings entirely, but it is a reason to treat them as a preliminary step rather than a final one. Any serious applicant who passes a virtual showing and a screening check should still be expected to visit the property in person before signing a lease, if at all possible.
For landlords managing properties in smaller communities like Picton or Trenton, the local applicant pool is still large enough that in-person showings remain the norm. Offering virtual showings as an add-on makes sense. Replacing in-person showings entirely with virtual ones in a local market can actually signal to nearby applicants that you are not particularly invested in showing the property properly.
It is also worth noting that virtual showings require some setup. You need decent lighting, a stable internet connection, a phone or camera that captures the space well, and the ability to walk someone through a property while answering questions in real time. If your property is occupied by an existing tenant, coordinating a virtual showing adds another layer of complexity, and under the Residential Tenancies Act, you are still required to give proper written notice before entering an occupied unit, even for a showing.
What Ontario Landlords Should Consider Before Deciding
Rather than treating this as a yes or no question, think about it in terms of your specific situation. A few factors that should drive your decision:
Who is your likely applicant? If you are renting a two-bedroom apartment near a college in Belleville, your applicants are probably local or at least nearby. In-person showings are easy to arrange and expected. If you are renting a three-bedroom home in Cobourg and your listing is attracting interest from people in Mississauga or Ottawa who are looking to relocate, virtual showings become much more valuable.
Is the unit vacant or occupied? Vacant units are far easier to show virtually. You control the schedule, the lighting, and the presentation. Occupied units introduce tenant cooperation as a variable, and under the RTA, you cannot compel a tenant to accommodate a showing at a time that is inconvenient for them. A virtual showing of an occupied unit often ends up being a logistical headache that does not serve anyone well.
What is your vacancy tolerance? If you can afford to wait for the right in-person applicant, there is no urgency to add virtual showings. If every week of vacancy is putting real pressure on your cash flow, expanding your reach through virtual options is a reasonable response. Our article on the true cost of vacancy breaks down exactly how much those empty weeks actually cost you.
Do you have the right setup? A poorly executed virtual showing does more damage than no virtual showing at all. If your phone camera is poor, your internet connection drops, or you fumble through the tour without being able to answer basic questions, you are presenting your property badly to someone who cannot see it any other way. Be honest about whether you can pull this off well before committing to it.
How Blue Anchor Approaches Showings
At Blue Anchor, we have landed on a hybrid approach that works well for the Central Ontario market. We offer virtual showings as an option for out-of-area applicants, particularly those relocating from larger cities, but we do not position them as equivalent to an in-person visit. Our standard process involves a virtual tour as a first step for remote applicants, followed by an in-person visit before any lease is signed.
We have also found that self-showings, where pre-screened applicants visit a vacant property independently using a secure access code, solve a lot of the scheduling problems that make in-person showings feel burdensome. If you are curious about how that works and whether it might be a better fit than virtual showings for your situation, our article on why self-showings are safer is worth reading.
At Blue Anchor, we also make sure that whatever showing format we use, it feeds into a consistent and thorough screening process. A great virtual tour that leads to a poorly screened tenant is not a win. The showing is the beginning of the funnel, not the end of it.
For landlords managing their own properties in Belleville, Trenton, or anywhere else in our service area, our advice is simple: offer virtual showings as an option, not as a replacement. Keep your in-person process strong, and use virtual showings to expand your reach without compromising your standards.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I have to give notice before doing a virtual showing of an occupied unit in Ontario?
Yes. Under the Residential Tenancies Act, you are required to give at least 24 hours written notice before entering an occupied rental unit, and the entry must occur between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. This applies regardless of whether the showing is in person or virtual. If you are filming a unit with a tenant present, you also need their cooperation, which you cannot legally compel. For this reason, virtual showings work best with vacant units.
Can a tenant refuse to allow showings of their unit in Ontario?
A tenant cannot unreasonably refuse access for showings when proper notice has been given. However, the RTA does require that notice be provided in writing and that the timing be reasonable. If a tenant is consistently blocking access for showings, that is a matter that can be brought to the Landlord and Tenant Board, though that process takes time. Vacant units sidestep this issue entirely.
Should I require an in-person visit before signing a lease even if I offered a virtual showing?
In most cases, yes. A virtual showing is a useful first step, but it does not give a tenant the full picture of what they are committing to. A tenant who signs a lease without ever visiting the property in person is more likely to raise complaints after move-in about things they claim were not disclosed. Requiring an in-person visit, even a brief one, protects both parties and sets a more grounded expectation going into the tenancy.
What platform should I use for virtual showings?
Most Ontario landlords use Zoom, FaceTime, or Google Meet for live virtual showings. These are free, widely understood, and reliable on most internet connections. For pre-recorded tours, a simple smartphone video uploaded to YouTube as an unlisted link works well. You do not need specialized software for a basic virtual showing, though property management platforms like Rentvine can help you organize the broader leasing process.
Does offering virtual showings attract lower-quality applicants?
Not inherently, but it does require a stronger screening process to compensate for reduced in-person interaction. At Blue Anchor, we find that the applicants who come through virtual showings are often highly motivated and organized, particularly those relocating from larger cities. The key is not to let the convenience of a virtual showing lead you to skip steps in your screening process. The showing format does not change what you need to verify before handing over keys.
The Bottom Line
Virtual showings are worth offering in 2025, but they work best as one option within a broader showing strategy, not as a complete replacement for in-person visits. For Ontario landlords in Central Ontario markets like Belleville, Cobourg, Oshawa, and Picton, the applicant pool increasingly includes people who cannot easily visit in person before making a decision. Meeting those applicants where they are is good business, as long as your screening process remains thorough and your in-person follow-up stays in place.
At Blue Anchor, we are happy to talk through showing strategies and tenant placement as part of our full-service property management offering. If you are managing properties in Belleville, Trenton, Cobourg, or Oshawa and want a team that handles showings, screening, and leasing end to end, reach out and we can walk you through how we work.
Disclaimer: This article is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Ontario landlord-tenant law is governed by the Residential Tenancies Act, 2006. For guidance specific to your situation, consult a licensed paralegal or lawyer familiar with Ontario tenancy law, or visit Tribunals Ontario for official LTB resources.
