Frequently
Asked
Questions Frequently Asked Questions

Sparrow is currently operating all across Canada, coast to coast. If you’d like to bring Sparrow to your neighbourhood, let us know at hello@sparrowshare.com

Our member’s safety and security are top priorities for us. We use physical, electronic, and administrative measures designed to secure member’s personal information from accidental loss and from unauthorized access, use, alteration, and disclosure. Please review our Privacy Policy for more information.

For Hosts:

Initiation Fee:

• Pay a one-time initiation fee equal to ½ month’s rent per bedroom, which covers the initial setup and match process.
• A $25 deposit is paid upfront to list your room, and the remaining balance of the initiation fee is deducted from the first month’s rent once a match is made.
• This initiation fee is only paid once per bedroom as long as your room stays listed. If you cancel your listing, the $25 deposit is non-refundable.

Monthly Fee:

• A 5% monthly fee is deducted from rent collected, covering:
• Rent collection and processing
• Rent reporting to Equifax
• “Always-On” Tenant Finding service for future tenants
• Customer support available 7 days a week
• Room pricing optimization
• No rent, no fee: If your room is vacant, there’s no monthly fee.

Membership Flexibility:

• Cancel anytime. If you unlist and later relist your room, the initiation fee will apply again.
• Keep your room listed to enjoy ongoing support and avoid additional fees.

At Sparrow, we value our members and strive to provide an exceptional experience for both hosts and housemates. To ensure a fair and transparent process, we have outlined our refund policy here.

While regulations may vary across provinces and territories, the nature of a homesharing arrangement constitutes a living accommodation in which a housemate shares a bathroom or kitchen facility with the host. For example, pursuant to the Residential Tenancy Act (Ontario), the residential tenancy laws and regulations of Ontario do not apply to the agreement as it would in a landlord and tenant relationship.

Sparrow is unwaveringly dedicated to cultivating an inclusive and respectful community for every member. Any discrimination, be it based on gender, sexual orientation, racial background, or religious belief, is in direct contradiction to our core principles.

We’ve been alerted to concerns regarding potential prejudice, and we treat these matters with the utmost seriousness. In response, we’ve laid out a clear, non-negotiable policy: Sparrow will not accept or tolerate any form of discrimination

While we might categorize housemates based on desired gender and identity for compatibility, this remains our sole categorization criterion. We staunchly believe that compatibility as roommates should always take precedence.

Should you encounter any instances of discrimination, we urge you to report them immediately. Our unwavering commitment is to ensure a secure and inclusive setting for every Sparrow member.

Thank you for being a cherished member of the Sparrow community.

It’s easy! Follow this link to register for an account. All you need is an email and password to create your Sparrow account.

The average room rental will vary depending on a number of factors such as location, utilities, amenities, and other features in your home. Once you create a listing, Sparrow will work with you to provide guidance on a fair room price in comparison to the market.

Task help entails the housemate providing a set number of hours per month of added household tasks around the home in exchange for discounted rent such as, Cooking & Meal Preparation or Pet Care. It is completely optional for the host to include this on a listing. The host is able to choose which households tasks they’d like help with upon creating a listing.

If you include task help on your listing, a general rule of thumb is to price task help hours at $10 per hour. It is recommended to reduce the monthly rent price by the task help allocation.

Example Calculation

• Initial rent price = $800 per month
• Housemate agrees to contribute 4 hours per week for task help
• 4 hours per week x 4 weeks per month = 16 hours per month
• 16 hours per month x $10 per hour = $160 per month for task help
• Final rent price = $800 – $160 = $640 per month

If you don’t have photos ready, you can skip that step until you are able to have them done. We strongly recommend adding images to your listing that best showcase the property and available room as this will help drive more interest in your listing and allow for a higher quality match.

If you need assistance with creating and uploading images to your listing, just reach out to our team, and we will be glad to help you.

Having a complete listing will make it more attractive to prospective housemates. Ensure that your listing includes a title, description, photographs and details about the common areas.

Don’t forget to include information about storage space, parking and included furniture. Last but not least, other factors like the rent price and property location will influence a prospective housemate’s interest in your listing.

A homesharing agreement governs the terms of the relationship between the host and housemate. A positive homesharing experience begins with clear, transparent, and honest communication upfront.

Sparrow provides a customizable homeshare agreement template as a service for you to tailor for your needs. This includes elements such as the term and termination, rent and deposit, bedroom and common living areas details, house rules and household chore support.

As a host, once you accept a housemate application, you will be prompted to fill out the homeshare agreement. After you fill and sign, it will then be sent to the housemate for their review and signature.

To ensure the safety of members in our community, all members must have their identity verified through our user verification process before they’re able to request tours or engage with other members on the platform. Before signing a homeshare agreement, through our integration with Certn, Sparrow will perform a Softcheck on housemates. A Softcheck is a search of thousands of international data sources for identification of potential illegal behavior, criminal activity, incidents of fraud, regulatory violations and negative media information. This service also includes searches of country sanction lists, exposed persons lists, sex offender registries, terrorist registries and most wanted lists from around the globe.

In addition to a Softcheck, Sparrow will also complete a credit check on housemates. If the housemate does not have credit history, Sparrow will either request additional documentation to help support with proof of financial reliability or request the housemate for a co-signer.

On average, it can take a few weeks to find the right match. There are many factors that influence how long it can take such as the price and location of your listing, as well as compatibility with potential housemates.

No, your room can be listed as furnished or unfurnished.

No, you do not need to provide meals to your housemate or include in the rent.

When you earn money by renting out a part or all of your property, including through homesharing platforms, you must report this income to the CRA using Form T776, Statement of Real Estate Rentals. You can also deduct certain expenses like utilities, insurance, and maintenance, but only the part that relates to the rented space and the period it was rented. If you make over $30,000 annually from rentals, you’ll need to handle GST/HST too.

It’s important to keep detailed records of all your rental transactions and expenses for accurate reporting. If you’ve missed reporting in the past, the Voluntary Disclosures Program may help you reduce penalties and interest. Remember, managing your tax obligations carefully ensures you benefit fully from your rental income while staying compliant. For detailed advice on your specific situation, consulting a tax professional is recommended.

You must be over the legal age of 18 to rent a spare bedroom.

We highly recommend meeting the host either via video conference or in-person prior to moving in.

Sparrow uses a proprietary match scoring system that factors in your interests, habits, and lifestyle to ensure we recommend high-quality matches.

A homesharing agreement governs the terms of the relationship between the host and housemate. A positive homesharing experience begins with clear, transparent, and honest communication upfront.

Sparrow provides a customizable homeshare agreement template as a service for you to tailor for your needs. This includes elements such as the term and termination, rent and deposit, bedroom and common living areas details, house rules and household chore support.

Tenant Coverage is insurance provided to Sparrow housemates covering property damage, injuries, and more. Tenant Coverage is designed to provide added protection and coverage to Sparrow housemates. Tenant Coverage provides up to $1 million in bodily injury liability per occurrence, up to $100,000 for property damage, and additional coverage for domestic pet damages and increased living expenses under specific conditions. For more information on the details of the coverage provided, please visit our help article here.

All housemates entering a Boarding Agreement or Rental Agreement through Sparrow on or after March 20th 2024, are automatically enrolled. Tenant Coverage remains in effect as long as housemates continue to make timely payments of their monthly boarding fee and platform fee through Sparrow.

Tenant Coverage is included as part of SparrowCare – our comprehensive homesharing service package. Housemates pay a monthly platform fee with tenant coverage included in this fee.

Property damage protection covers damage to your host’s property, while liability insurance protects you if someone gets hurt and you’re found responsible.

Claims are to be submitted by email to RentersCAN@msimga.com and CC (copy) claims-notify@gowalnut.com as well as help@sparrowliving.co on the email. An examiner from MSI will be respond within 48 hours of the claim receipt.