In the US, you can’t discriminate based on marital status.
In the US, however, some ll’s will require “previous rental history” to show that people will have some degree of stability. Some ll’s in the US take it even further to require, say, roommates to have x years of rental history living together, so that they don’t end up with, say, two best friends who think it would be the most awesome thing ever to get an apartment together— and then realize they make better friends than roommates four months into the experiment.
However, Canada has a whole lot of headaches. Some people on one of my ll forums are from places like Ontario, and it’s amazing the amount of government intrusion into the biz. Blah.
All that being said, you really do need to treat it like a business, or else it will get expensive, very quickly. It can be a fine line, trying to be “merciful” or “understanding”, and “making someone else’s problem my problem.” If you work for someone else, that’s one thing-- you have to follow their policies-- but when you have the ability to be flexible, it can be difficult sometimes to not want to bend the rules for so-and-so’s situation.
Real estate in general is a long-term game. You’re not going to get rich quick. You’re going to have long months of hard work and large expenditures. And while people are perfectly fine from the outside— passing them in the street, saying hello, asking after their children— it’s a whole different ballgame when how they manage their money, their housekeeping, and their priorities directly affects you. It’s not for everyone. But it’s good if you have the stamina for it, and the people skills for it and a good nose for being lied to, and the ability to put your foot down to protect your own investment. We’re in it because it’s our retirement, and our children’s college fund. But it’s definitely not for everyone.
