Vendor Compliance and Contractor Management for Canadian Landlords

Vendor compliance means making sure every contractor who works on your properties has the proper documentation in place: liability insurance, WSIB coverage, trade licenses, safety certifications, and anything else required by law or your own policies. Without it, you could be on the hook if a contractor gets hurt on your property or causes damage without adequate insurance. Tenant Buddy helps you define what you need, track what vendors have submitted, and flag anything that is missing or expired.

At minimum, you should collect proof of general liability insurance, WSIB (or provincial equivalent) clearance certificates, and any trade-specific licenses required in your province. Depending on the work, you may also want safety training certificates, bonding documentation, or professional certifications. Tenant Buddy lets you define exactly which documents are required for each type of contractor, so nothing gets overlooked.

When a vendor uploads a document, you set the expiration date during the review process. Tenant Buddy monitors those dates and sends automatic reminders before anything expires. Both you and the vendor receive notifications, giving them time to renew and resubmit. If a document expires without renewal, the system flags the vendor as non-compliant so you know not to assign them work until their paperwork is current.

Yes. Each vendor gets access to a secure self-service portal through a magic link, no password required. They can see exactly which documents are needed, upload files directly, and check the status of their submissions. This saves you from being the middleman for every certificate and insurance renewal. Vendors handle their own paperwork on their own schedule.

Tenant Buddy sends reminders before expiration to give vendors time to renew. Once a document passes its expiration date without a new submission, the vendor is flagged as non-compliant. You will see the status change on your dashboard so you can avoid assigning work to vendors with lapsed coverage. The vendor also receives a notification prompting them to upload updated documentation.

While there is no single federal law mandating vendor compliance tracking for landlords, provincial workplace safety legislation (like Ontario's OHSA) makes property owners partially responsible for ensuring contractors working on their properties carry proper insurance and certifications. If an uninsured contractor is injured on your property, you could face significant liability. Beyond legal requirements, maintaining proper vendor documentation is simply good business practice that protects your investment and demonstrates due diligence.

Yes. Tenant Buddy lets you assign compliance requirements at two levels: all vendors or by vendor category (electricians, plumbers, landscapers, etc.). An electrician category might need an ESA license on top of standard insurance, while a landscaper category might only need basic liability coverage. You define what makes sense for each trade, and each vendor sees only the requirements that apply to their category.

Vendors receive a secure magic link via email that gives them instant access to their compliance portal. No account creation or password needed. From the portal, they can view all outstanding requirements, upload documents for each requirement, and see the status of previous submissions (pending review, approved, or rejected with notes). It is designed to be simple enough that any contractor can use it without training or support.