A rental inquiry is a lead with a short shelf life. The renter who called about your 2-bedroom has probably contacted three other listings on Kijiji, Rentals.ca or Zumper the same evening, and the first landlord who offers a showing time usually gets the visit.
How fast should you respond to a rental inquiry?
As fast as you can, and the same evening at the latest. The clearest published numbers come from the US: RentEngine found that 53% of its US leads in the first quarter of 2026 arrived after business hours, and 48% of showings were scheduled after hours (RentEngine, Q1 2026). A reply the next morning often reaches someone who has already booked elsewhere.
Calls are the most fragile channel. In a US study of 170,825 calls to apartment properties, 60.8% went unanswered (Digible). A text or email can wait an hour; a missed call often does not come back.
What should you say first?
Answer the question the renter asked, then move toward a showing. Most first messages ask one of three things: is it still available, how much is it, and can I see it. Lead with those facts in one or two sentences.
A good first reply includes:
- Whether the unit is available, and from what date
- The monthly rent and what it includes (heat, hydro, parking)
- One clear next step: a showing time
Which questions should you ask every renter?
Ask a short, fixed set of questions, in the same order, of everyone. Consistency keeps you fair and keeps your notes comparable. Stick to questions about the rental itself:
- When do you want to move in?
- What monthly rent are you looking for?
- Do you have pets?
- Do you need parking?
- When are you free to see the unit?
Leave out anything about who the renter is. Provincial human rights laws apply to housing, and the protected grounds vary by province. Ontario’s code, for example, covers race, colour, ethnic background, religion, ancestry, place of origin, citizenship, sex, family status, marital status, disability, sexual orientation, age and receipt of public assistance (OHRC).
Quebec’s human rights commission says a landlord cannot require the number of people who will live in the unit, the age or sex of their children, or employment and salary details (CDPDJ). Questions like “Do you have kids?” or “Where are you from?” do not belong in a leasing conversation. Describe the unit, never the ideal tenant.
Phone script
“Hi, thanks for calling Maple Street Properties. Yes, the 2-bedroom on Oak Avenue is available from November 1. It’s $1,850 a month with heat and one parking spot included. When are you hoping to move? … Great. I can show it Thursday at 6:00 p.m. or Saturday at 10:30 a.m. Which works better? … You’re booked for Thursday at 6:00. I’ll text you the address and a reminder.”
Text reply
“Hi, it’s Maple Street Properties. The 2-bed at 118 Oak Ave is available Nov 1, $1,850/month, heat and parking included. Want to see it? I have Thu 6:00 p.m. or Sat 10:30 a.m. Reply 1 or 2 and I’ll confirm.”
Keep texts under 300 characters, include the price, and end with an easy reply.
Email reply
Subject: 118 Oak Ave, 2-bedroom: showing times
Hi Jordan,
Thanks for your interest. The 2-bedroom at 118 Oak Avenue is available November 1 at $1,850 a month, with heat and one parking spot included.
You can see it Thursday at 6:00 p.m. or Saturday at 10:30 a.m. Reply with the time that suits you and I’ll send a confirmation with directions.
A few quick questions so the visit is useful: your target move-in date, your monthly budget, and whether you have pets.
Maple Street Properties
Voicemail greeting for after hours
If calls go to voicemail at night, the greeting should still move the renter forward:
“You’ve reached Maple Street Properties. We’re away right now. To see a listing, text this number with the address and we’ll reply with showing times. Or leave your name, number and the unit you’re calling about, and we’ll call you back first thing.”
A greeting that points to texting catches renters who will not leave a message. If you rent in a bilingual market, record it in English and French.
How do you turn a reply into a booked showing?
Offer two specific times instead of asking when they are free, then confirm right away in writing. Every extra back-and-forth is a chance for the renter to book another place first.
Shorter delays also help turnout. In RentEngine’s US data, the median time from inquiry to a scheduled self-guided showing was 15.2 hours, against 60.7 hours for accompanied showings, and self-guided showings were completed by 28% of new leads against 14% for accompanied ones (RentEngine). Whatever format you use, fewer hours between inquiry and visit means more people show up.
What should you log after each inquiry?
Log the channel (phone, text, Kijiji, Rentals.ca, Zumper), the listing, the answers to your standard questions and the outcome. Over a month, that tells you which listing sites send renters who actually book, and how many inquiries it takes to fill a unit. RentEngine’s US median was 22 leads per signed lease in the first quarter of 2026 (RentEngine), so a single vacancy can mean dozens of conversations worth tracking.