. . 1. Learning Objectives.  To develop a safe learning environment. 

Scene 1

 To develop a safe learning environment

 To engage participants in the RentSmart education, and their role as learners and graduates

 To develop an understanding of home needs and wants

 To introduce relationship, rights and responsibilities in relation to housing

Introductions and Housekeeping
20–30 minutes
Suggested

Safe Learning Environment
5–10 minutes
Suggested

RentSmart and Graduation
5 minutes
Suggested

Can I Borrow Your Car?
20 minutes
Suggested

Landlord Guest Speaker
20 minutes
Optional

What Landlords Need and Want
5 minutes
Suggested

Relationships, Rights and Responsibilities
10 minutes
Suggested (2 options)

Federal, Provincial and City/Municipal 
Law

Housing Priorities game
20–30 minutes
Suggested

Review and Conclusion 
10 minutes
Suggested

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. . 2. Module 1 is about introducing RentSmart, developing a safe learning environment, and examining the meaning and importance of home. Module 1 also introduces rights, responsibilities and relationship and helps participants empathize with landlords.. 

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Module 1 is about introducing RentSmart, developing a safe learning 
environment, and examining the meaning and importance of home.  
Module 1 also introduces rights, responsibilities and relationship and 
helps participants empathize with landlords.

RentSmart supports participants to have a positive relationship with landlords and work 
on their housing goals. Module 1 supports this by:

 Introducing RentSmart, the course, the certificate and available supports

 Working on what a safe, secure home means to participants

 Introducing landlord empathy so that tenants can start to work on relationship

 Introducing rights, responsibilities and relationship to help participants have healthy tenancies

 This is the first time people have met. Creating a safe, healthy environment where everyone feels happy to 
share is the goal.

 Some people may have had a negative relationship of education; this is the chance for them to have a 
positive one.

 Module 1 is fun. We want people to feel really happy to come, participate and learn from one another.

 Work on comfort, fun and making people feel welcome. Make sure they know their input is valuable and 
important.

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. . 3. ACTIVITY NAME Introductions and Housekeeping. 

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ACTIVITY NAME 
Introductions and Housekeeping

 PowerPoint
  RentSmart Certificate Manual: 1.0

ACTIVITY DESCRIPTION
Introduce yourself and your background–why are you teaching RentSmart?

 Snacks (provided or participants bring their own)

Ask Participants: to get into groups of 2, open manual to 1.0 and answer 
the following questions:

 What is the best place you have lived?

 What did you like most about that place?

 What do you like most about where you are living now?

Once everyone has had the opportunity to meet someone new in the room, 
bring the group back together. Ask each participant to introduce the person 
they just met to the group.

Identify themes from their answers. For example, do they talk about how 
many bedrooms they have, how big the house was, etc.? Typically what they 
like about a place is more about the location and being close to family.

. . 4. ACTIVITY NAME Safe Learning Environment. Length of Time
5–10 minutes. 

Scene 6

 To develop an agreed upon set of classroom “rules” that participants 
agree to abide upon

 To set the “tone” for learning together

Ask Participants: to brainstorm rules or guidelines that the group will follow.  
These questions can help guide the conversation. What do people think 
about class times and breaks? You can state that if we start on time, we can 
all finish on time. What about cell phones? What kinds of things annoy you 
in class or groups generally? What rules could we have to deal with this?  
Things like interrupting, talking over people or people monopolizing the 
conversation might come up.

Record their ideas on a flip chart, and create a list from them that the group 
agrees upon as the “class rules.”

Here are some examples of what they may come up with:

 Be respectful of each other—what do people  
mean by “respectful”?

 Take cell phone calls outside of the class

 Vegas Rule—what is said in the room stays in the room (confidentiality)  
OR ‘what’s said here stays here, what’s learned here, leaves here’

Post the class rules each time you are together.

Remind your guest speakers about the class rules.

. . 5. ACTIVITY NAME RentSmart and Graduation. Length of Time 5 minutes. 

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 To outline the importance of attending all sessions

 To develop a feeling of being part of a larger community

 To outline how RentSmart will help them

ACTIVITY DESCRIPTION
Share the background of RentSmart.

 thousands of people have taken the RentSmart training

 RentSmart training began in Alberta, Manitoba and Ontario in 2017

 our goal is to provide you with the tools to help find and keep good housing

 the course will cover modules on housing, the law, budgeting, communication, finding 
and looking after your home— at the end, you will receive a RentSmart certificate

 how to graduate: attend all classes and be present and participate

 the value of the certificate is that it demonstrates to landlords that you are an educated 
tenant.

 as RentSmart graduates, you become RentSmart ambassador— your successful 
tenancy opens the doors to future RentSmart grads

. . 6. ACTIVITY NAME The Meaning of Home. Length of Time 10 minutes. 

Scene 8

 To have participants identify their housing needs and wants

 RentSmart Certificate Manual: 1.0
  PowerPoint

ACTIVITY DESCRIPTION
Turn to Module 1 in the manual.

Going back to the introductory activity, have participants reflect on their answers: What is the best place 
you have ever lived? What did you like most about it? What do you like most about where you live now?  
Is there anything you’d like to add?

Ask Participants: What are the four most important elements to you in a home? Take a moment and draw 
or list them in the four boxes in the manual, under The Meaning of Home.

. . 7. ACTIVITY NAME Can I Borrow Your Car?. Length of Time 20 minutes. 

Scene 9

 To build relationship and empathy/understanding for landlords

 To understand the importance of the various aspects of RentSmart

ACTIVITY DESCRIPTION
Ask Participants: to imagine they have a car. It can be whatever they want it to be. It can be a grand car 
that costs hundreds of thousands of dollars, bright red leather seats, automatic everything, or it can be their 
$500 lifeline car that gets them and their family to and from work, school and social activities. Any vision is 
fine; it’s whatever car they want to own.

Now ask, “can I borrow your car?” Wait for someone to say “NO!” then write that at the top of the board. 
Then say that you are trying to convince them to say “YES!”  What would they need from you or want to know 
in order to lend their car?

Ask the group to brainstorm their answers, and write the responses on a flip chart or whiteboard

After you are satisfied you have exhausted all the questions or requirements they have before they will loan 
you their car, ask the group: “Why are we talking about borrowing a car when we are in a housing 
education program?”

Someone will normally say, “It’s the same thing”. Draw the connection between borrowing a car and 
renting a home. Then go through the list and show people, in a different colour, what the point

. . 8. Licence, driver references Have you ever been in an accident?. 

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Licence, driver references 
Have you ever been in an accident?

This all relates to what kind of renter you are. References, 
credit checks and so on.

Who is driving?
Tenancy agreements, subletting and assigning tenancies.

When will you be back? Where are you 
going?

On a fixed term tenancy, you will have an end date.

Will you put gas in it? Bring it back the same
Your condition inspection will cover giving back the place 
in the same condition.

Do you have pets?
Pets can be restricted; service animals cannot.

Do you smoke?
Smoking can be restricted in your unit, the whole 
building, sometimes the property.

No drinking and driving 
Nothing illegal in the car 
No speeding

You are not allowed to conduct illegal activities  
in your rental.

Get everything in writing
Your Tenancy Agreement.

Do you have a deposit?
Your security deposit.

Will anyone be eating in it?
Your place is your home and your landlord can’t 
unreasonably restrict your use once you move in.  
Preventing you from eating would be illegal!

 A car is a major asset and sometimes will be the biggest asset that a person purchases, and they want 
to take care of it. This is similar to how a landlord views the property being rented.

 Landlords are looking to protect their assets and therefore set rigid guidelines around who they will let 
use their asset.

 A landlord will invest in purchasing the rental property, and loaning it out can be risky.

 Contracts are important so that both parties understand what has been agreed to, and they provide a 
written document for reference in the future, should anything be disputed.

 It is the landlord’s house but your home. An important asset to the landlord and your place to live. Both 
are very important.

Ask Participants: to fill in ‘What Landlords Need and Want’- section 1.1 in the participant manual.

. . 9. ACTIVITY NAME Landlord Guest Speaker. Length of Time 20 minutes. 

Scene 11

 To build empathy for landlords and to better understand their perspective

 To equalize the relationship between landlord and tenant by putting a human face to landlords

This is an optional exercise. You want to have a landlord that provides an engaging and non-threatening 
perspective, and can keep their presentation within the time frame allocated. Ensure that the landlord is 
friendly, warm and open to questions from the group.

Invite a landlord to the class to provide their perspective and answer questions. Prepare them for 
the class, letting them know in advance what you would like them to cover: the cost of repairs, the impact 
of damages and neighbour disputes, what landlords are looking for in a tenant, stories of what made 
a good tenant to them, importance of communication around repairs and pests, how to increase their 
chance of getting a place they want.

After the landlord has left, Ask Participants: to add anything new to their list in Manual 1.1, ‘What 
Landlords Need and Want’.

. . 10. ACTIVITY NAME What Landlords Need and Want. 

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ACTIVITY NAME 
What Landlords Need and Want

 For particiants to reflect and record the discussion for later review

ACTIVITY DESCRIPTION
Emphasize that landlords want 3 things: pay rent on time and in full, take care of the property and be 
respectful neighbours.

Ask Participants: to add to ‘what landlords need and want from tenants’ in the participants 
manual.  The application process is so that landlords can find a tenant that will do this. The goal is a 
successful tenancy. Ask Participants: What makes a successful tenancy?

Have an open discussion on what makes a successful tenancy.

. . 11. ACTIVITY NAME Relationship, Rights and Responsibilities (Option 1). 

Scene 13

ACTIVITY NAME 
Relationship, Rights and Responsibilities (Option 1)

 To understand the importance of relationship, rights and responsibilities

 To clarify that landlord tenant relationship is a relationship, but one guided by law that outlines the 
rights and responsibilities

 To provide an overview of the laws that guide these

 PowerPoint
  RentSmart Certificate Manual: 1.2

ACTIVITY DESCRIPTION
Ask Participants: to refer to their manual 1.2 and look at the relationship, rights and responsibilities 
page. The ideal scenario depends on everyone understanding the importance of rights, relationship and 
responsibilities.

 What part of the tenant/landlord relationship is an informal relationship? (saying hi, being friendly, etc)

 Who has rights in the tenant/landlord relationship? Tenants have rights, landlords have expectations

 Who has responsibilities? Both tenants and landlords have responsibilities

 Says who? The Residential Tenancies Act, Personal Information Protection Act and Alberta Human 
Rights Act (manual overview of each of these)

Show PowerPoint overview of relationship, rights and responsibilties, and the corresponding laws. 
Explain that these laws are there to protect BOTH tenants and landlords, and to make the relationship 
more equal.

. . 12. ACTIVITY NAME Relationship, Rights and Responsibilities (Option 2). 

Scene 14

ACTIVITY NAME 
Relationship, Rights and Responsibilities (Option 2)

 To give participants a visual representation of relationship, rights and responsibilities

 PowerPoint
  White board or flipchart and pens

This can be done with pictures, PowerPoint or discussion. Show the pictures supplied in the 
PowerPoint, draw the pictures, or just discuss. If you are drawing, draw the wheels with labels; ‘rights’ 
for the unicycle’s wheel,  ‘responsibilites’ for the bike wheel and ‘relationship’ for the tricycle.

 As you show or draw the picture of the unicycle say “using only one tool, like rights in a tenancy is like 
using only one wheel when you ride.  Using just rights means you expect things to be a certain way 
and  are focused on what you are entitled to receive. You can make that choice but you have to be 
very skilled, everything has to go right and you have to have lots of practice. When things are bumpy 
or difficult, having just one wheel is harder and more likey to fail.”

 As you show or draw the picture of the bicycle, “using a bicycle is much easier. Rights and 
responsibilites is more balanced, easier and more likely to succeed. Adding responsibilities means you 
understand what you are required to do to meet the expectations of your landlord.

 As you show or draw the picture of the tricycle say, “now we’re talking. We’ve added relationship. A 
good relationship with your landlord makes everything smoother, easier, and work better. If you know 
about your rights and responsibilities and ALSO work on having a great relationship, things are way 
more likely to go well. Even when things get complicated or there is a rough patch a tricycle can carry 
on where a unicycle would fail and a bike would struggle.”

Make sure everyone understands (see manual) what rights, responsibilties and relationship are by 
referring to the table in Manual 1.2. Let them know that we will go into more detail about rights and 
responsibilities in Module 3 and communication (relationship) in Module 5.

Show PowerPoint overview of relationships, rights and responsibilities

. . 13. ACTIVITY NAME Federal, Provincial and City/Municipal Law. 

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ACTIVITY NAME 
Federal, Provincial and City/Municipal Law

 To understand the difference in the levels of government

 To explain that a landlord can be in conflict with one law, while adhering to others

 PowerPoint
  RentSmart Certificate Manual 1.3

For example, a tenant may say... 
  
“I understand that the suite is illegal but I would still like a Tenancy Agreement so we both know

“I know it can be difficult with secondary suites but I really need rent receipts for cash rent”

Review the table in 1.3, under Tenancy Laws.

Show the slide with the levels of law and use Example 1: Illegal Suite

 Explain how a suite can be illegal under City Law if bylaws prevent secondary suites.

 Then explain that even if a suite is illegal, the landlord can comply with Federal law (and pay his/her 
taxes) and Provincial law (by following the Residential Tenancies Act) and even some of the other City 
bylaws (being “to code”)

Use example 2: Noise. Your municipality may have “quiet hours” but the RTA says that you can’t 
unreasonably disturb others at any time.

 The issue is that if there is an illegal suite, some landlords will be worried about putting things in writing. 
Even if the suite is illegal under City law, the Residential Tenancies Act law still applies, and tenants still 
need to protect themselves.

. . 14. ACTIVITY NAME Housing To Do List. Length of Time 10 minutes. 

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 Participants develop their housing to do list

Turn to the Housing To-Do List at the beginning of the manual. Say, “this is a list to keep track of 
what you need to do to find and keep good rental accommodation. If you know that there are tasks 
you need to do, write them down”.  Use the example of filling in an application or checking listings 
regularly.

Ask Participants: to fill in any ‘to do’s’ that have come up so far. Let participants know they will have 
opportunities to both fill in the list and tick off their ‘to do’s’ throughout the course.

. . 15. ACTIVITY NAME Housing Priorities - Needs and Wants. 

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ACTIVITY NAME 
Housing Priorities - Needs and Wants

 To identify needs and wants related to housing

 To end the first session with a fun and engaging session

 Small bags of baking M&Ms, boxes of raisins or dried beans

This is a very useful exercise but not easy to explain to a group quickly. Take 
time to explain it well. If you are using food items explain how you prepped 
them so people know about the hygiene and allergies aspect and decide for 
themselves if they want to eat them at the end.

Give each participant 25 beans or other counters (which represent their 
housing budget). They must “spend” at least one bean on each category 
on your housing Priority Game Card, and there are 15 categories. Explain: 
“Put one bean in column A if you can live with the unit as described, or two 
beans in column B if you can only make do with that description, or three 
beans in column C if you have to have your rental as it is described there. 
There needs to be at least one bean on every row, no exceptions. One 
bean on every row represents the basic accommodation.”

Go through the following example with them: Category is LOCATION.

 If it is okay for me to travel one hour each way to work, schools or 
stores, I would put one bean in column A, leaving columns B and C 
empty.

 If it is okay for me to travel a half-hour to work, schools or stores, then I 
would put two beans in column B, leaving columns A and C empty.

 If I must live in a place where I can walk or bike to work, schools or 
stores, then I will put three beans in column C and leave columns A and 
B empty.

 If people ask what the “best” way to start is, tell them that putting one 
bean in each row to start means they won’t run out by the end of the 
first page. They can then spend more beans when they know how many 
they have left.

. . 16. Housing Priority Challenge. A. Once the participants have completed this task, tell them that a life event has happened. 

Scene 18

A. Once the participants have completed this task, tell them that a life event has happened

– loss of hours, illness, had to move for work. As a result, their housing budget is reduced by 
three “beans.” Using the same rules as above, tell them to think about where they might be able 
to reduce their housing budget when looking for a new place to live within that budget. Sympathize 
with them that this might be hard.

B. Ask Participants to put their M&M’s back, and hand out an additional 3 M&M’s.

Ask Participants to imagine what has happened in their life that added 3 M&M’s and place them 
on their priorities.

 Is planning a budget and priorities for renting something that you have done in the past?

 What would you give up, and what could you not give up (that is, where do you still have three 
beans?

On a flip chart or whiteboard, make two columns headed Needs and Wants. Ask the group to 
share what their needs and wants were.

You can talk about the intersection of different needs; sometimes you can get a larger place out of 
town but that means more transport costs.

Keep bringing it back to the real world. “It’s hard because I have three kids”, “yes, finding affordable 
rentals is really hard when you need more space.”

Say to the group, “Imagine you are looking at ads or telling people that you are looking for a 
place. What will you tell them you need? Open the manual and write down needs (they might 
be number of bedrooms, laundry, close to schools, etc.) and a few wants (encourage them to dream – 
dishwasher, pool, spare room, large space, back yard, etc).

Ask them if their needs and wants may change in the future. For example, is their family 
increasing or decreasing (e.g. children moving out)?  Will they need to change locations for a job or 
school? If so, ask them to write down some things they will look for in the long term – again, identifying 
them as needs or wants.

Let them know they can eat the M&Ms or take them home.

. . 17. ACTIVITY NAME Review and Conclusion. Length of Time 10 minutes. 

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 To end on a good note and outline key action steps

Quickly review the module and what you will be covering in future sessions. Reinforce that you are happy 
that they have decided to participate and that the next session will focus on finding housing and being prepared 
so they are able to secure housing that meets their priorities.

Ask Participants: to write down on “My Housing To-Do List” at the front of the manual anything they 
will need to do to ensure they are ready to apply. This can be offered as ‘homework’ if it makes sense for 
participants to gather application information in advance.

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