After authorization is confirmed, not before. Admission is not guaranteed by an offer or an approval, and a tenancy agreed around an expected start date is difficult to unwind if the timing changes.
Keep the reversible decisions reversible
Listing the home, signing with tenants, or ending a Canadian lease are all commitments that outlast a change of plan. Wait until the work authorization position is settled and the start date is confirmed, then arrange the property. If the assignment's period is uncertain, favour arrangements that can be extended over ones that lock the household into a fixed term.
Separate the household decisions that are easy to reverse from the ones that are not, and sequence the harder ones last. A change of address, a storage rental, or a temporary sublet can usually be adjusted if the start date moves, while ending a long-term arrangement or enrolling a dependent in a new program is harder to undo once the term has begun. Ask an employer whether any relocation support is contingent on a confirmed start date, since assuming coverage before that point can leave a gap if timing shifts.
A landlord or program administrator's verbal willingness to stay flexible is not the same as a written option to delay or cancel. Put any flexibility the household is relying on into the agreement itself, and confirm it before relying on it. Where a family member's routine depends on the same schedule, plan their transition to begin after the applicant's own authorization question is resolved, not in parallel with it.