Guest guide

Renting a cottage directly from the owner

Booking without a platform saves the fees, but the checks are yours to do. Here is how to tell a real owner from a fake listing, what to ask, what to get in writing and how to pay.

General information, not legal advice. If you think you have been scammed, contact your bank or card issuer right away, then report it (see the last section).

Why rent directly, and what it changes

When you rent a cottage directly from its owner, there is no booking platform between you: no service fee on top of the price, and you talk to the person who knows the place, the road, the water and the lake. Many families have rented the same cottage from the same owner for years this way.

It also means no platform holds your money or checks the owner for you. The good news is that the checks take little time, and a real owner expects them and is happy to answer.

Warning signs of a fake listing

The Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre describes the usual rental fraud: an ad for a place in an ideal location at a below-average price, a quick reply with photos copied from a real listing, and pressure to pay fast to “secure” the dates (CAFC). The Competition Bureau adds other signs (Competition Bureau):

• the price is well below similar cottages in the same area, in the same season;
• you are asked for a deposit before there is any written agreement;
• you are asked to send money to someone in another country, or to a person other than the owner;
• a reply sends you to a website that asks for personal or banking information;
• the photos show only the outside, or do not match the address or the description;
• the “owner” cannot answer simple questions about the place, or the story keeps changing.

Check that the cottage and the owner are real

• Search the address or the cottage’s name online. The same photos under another name, another town or another contact person is a red flag. A reverse image search of one or two photos takes a minute.
• Ask for the road and the lake or town before you pay, and the full address in the agreement. Look at it on a satellite map: the dock, the shoreline and the buildings should match the photos.
• Ask for a short video call from the cottage, or a recent photo of something specific (the view from the deck, the woodshed). A real owner can do this easily; if the place is far from them, ask who looks after it locally.
• Compare the name on the agreement with the name of the account you are asked to pay. They should be the same person or the owner’s business.

In some provinces the ad itself must show a registration number. In Quebec, every short-term rental ad must show its CITQ number, and anyone can check it in the government’s directory of registered establishments (in French). British Columbia (short-term rental registry) and Nova Scotia (short-term rental registration) also require a provincial registration number in every ad. On our site, listings in these three provinces cannot be published without the number. A missing number in these provinces means a listing that is not allowed, whoever posted it.

Questions to ask the owner

A good owner answers these in one email. The answers also tell you whether this cottage fits your group.

• How many people may stay, and how are the beds set up in each bedroom? Are day visitors allowed?
• Are bedding and towels provided, or do we bring our own? What should we leave clean, and is there a cleaning fee?
• Where does the water come from? Is the tap water safe to drink? Any rules for the septic system?
• Is there Wi-Fi, and how is the cell signal?
• Are pets allowed? Are campfires allowed, and where?
• Which boats, canoes or kayaks may we use, and are there life jackets in every size?
• Check-in and check-out times, and how do we get the keys?
• In winter: is the road and driveway ploughed, is there heat in every bedroom and running water all season?
• Who do we call if something breaks during the stay?

Get it in writing

Ontario’s Residential Tenancies Act does not apply to vacation rentals, so in practice your protection is the agreement you sign with the owner. Before you pay anything, ask for a written agreement with both names, the cottage address, the dates and times, the number of guests, the total price with taxes, the deposit and the date the balance is due, the damage deposit and when it is returned, the cancellation terms, and the house rules.

If the owner has no agreement of their own, our free rental agreement template covers all of this: print it, fill it in with the owner and both sign.

Paying the deposit safely

• Pay only after you have the written agreement and the checks above are done. Urgency (“three other families want it, pay today”) is the classic pressure tactic.
• Pay the owner named in the agreement, never a “cousin”, an “agent” abroad or a different name.
• Be very careful with wire transfers, money orders, cryptocurrency or gift cards: once sent, the money is almost impossible to get back. An Interac e-Transfer also works like cash: use it only when you are sure who is receiving it.
• A credit card, or a payment link from a known payment service, gives you a way to dispute a charge if the cottage turns out not to exist. Ask the owner which methods they accept.
• Keep every email, the agreement and the payment receipt until the damage deposit is back.

On Cottage & Chalet Rentals you pay the owner, never us: we take no payments from guests and never ask you to pay a booking through our site. A message asking you to pay “Cottage & Chalet Rentals” for a stay is not from us.

If something goes wrong

If you think you have paid a fake listing, call your bank or card issuer at once: the sooner you call, the better the chance to stop or dispute the payment. Then report the fraud to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre and to your local police. If the listing was on our site, write to us at [email protected] so we can take it down and warn other guests.

Before you pay: checklist

• Price in line with similar cottages nearby
• Photos and address checked online and on a satellite map
• Registration number in the ad (Quebec, B.C., Nova Scotia)
• Owner answered your questions and a video call or recent photo
• Written agreement with names, address, dates, price, deposits and cancellation
• Payment to the owner named in the agreement, by a method you can trace
• Emails, agreement and receipts saved

Sources (official)

• Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre: merchandise and rental frauds
• Competition Bureau: rental scam warning signs
• Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre: report a fraud
• Government of Québec: directory of registered establishments (French)
• Government of B.C.: short-term rentals
• Nova Scotia: register your short-term accommodation
• Ontario: Residential Tenancies Act, 2006 (section 5)

Checked against official sources on 2026-10-23