Blog
You Rented To One Person: Now You Have Four!
Posted on 4/27/2011 5:04:40 PM by Chris Sui
And you have no idea who the other three people are who are living in your suite.
This is a very common call to our office. There are some simple remedies for avoiding this situation initially or for quickly dealing with extra people immediately upon discovery.
Some situations are even worse—the original tenant has left and is no longer living in the rental suite.
Establish your building criteria
When interviewing prospective tenants, advise them of your criteria. For example, you have a one-bedroom suite for rent. Your criteria may be as follows:
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BCAOMA Tenancy Applications Recommended by Ozzy Jurock
Posted on 4/13/2011 12:20:08 PM by Chris Sui
BC's high profile real estate investor, Ozzie Jurock, noted in The Province newspaper the importance of landlords using BCAOMA Residential Tenancy Application forms in their tenant screening process. Read the article in The Province newspaper website, or click here for PDF version. Below is an excerpt from the article:
Do the legwork and be ready to seize the day
By Ozzie Jurock, The Province - April 10, 2011
... Q: I would like to know how can I screen my tenants more carefully and what questions I can ask?
A: Legally, you are allowed to ask for information on who their previous landlord was, who their employer is, where they bank and permission to obtain a credit check.
The B.C. Apartment Owners and Managers Association (www.bcaoma.com) has produced application forms, which ask all the above questions. Call (604) 733-9440.
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Does Your Tenant Have Mental Illness?
Posted on 3/30/2011 2:54:01 PM by Chris Sui
Three rental property owners spoke to BCAOMA member services reps recently about three different yet quite similar situations. Some of their comments were:
• "My tenant has recently been diagnosed with dementia. She left the water running in her bathtub causing a flood.”
• “My tenant told me that the large cigarette burns in the living room carpet were caused by her falling asleep on her couch while smoking. She claims that she suffers from mild narcolepsy, a sleep disorder.”
• “My tenant has problems with drinking and often passes out while the stove is still on, causing some small fires. Thank goodness the tenant across the hall smells smoke and contacts me very quickly.”
The similarity between these cases is that each of these tenants is dealing with some form of illness causing them to behave in a way that poses significant risk to your other tenants and to your property. These tenants may have been with you for many years, paid their rent on time, took care of the property and behaved reasonably. Over time, these same tenants developed diseases that could lead to major disasters within their rental suites and the property overall.
Conscience tells us that one would be rash, unsympathetic or down right mean to evict a good tenant for dangerous behavior caused by a disease or illness that the tenant could not help or control. Owners ask us at the BCAOMA, “Can I evict? Would I be heartless and inhumane to evict? Would this make me one of those bad rental property owners you hear on the news? What if my tenant burns down the building or other tenants get flooded out of their suites, or causes injuries or death because of my reluctance to do something? Would my building insurance be voided if the insurance company considered my inaction to be negligent?”
Before considering eviction we suggest some of the following approaches:
1. Write simple step by step instructions that explain how to use the appliances in large print. Keep them posted in common areas such as laundry rooms or provide each tenant a copy for their own use.
2. Ensure smoke alarms are placed in the appropriate areas within each suite and do regular monthly checks to ensure that the batteries have not been removed. Hold regularly scheduled fire drills.
3. In some cases, you may have to dismantle the working elements of the stove and encourage the tenant to use the microwave only. You would have to ask permission—this might involve contacting the family of the tenant to get their assistance. On an annual basis update emergency contact information for each tenant so you are able to reach the appropriate family contact when need be.
4. If available, talk to the tenant’s home care or community health service worker to develop a safety and injury prevention plan or to arrange more frequent in-home visits. If the tenant does not have a community health service worker and you have no family contacts, give your local community health services department a call and express your concerns (Vancouver Coastal Health or Fraser Health Authorities).
5. You can ask to have a tenant mentally assessed if the behaviour has become extreme—dangerous to themselves and/or other tenants through the Health Authorities. Explain that you are at the point of evicting your tenant.
6. A police officer or constable may apprehend and immediatelytake a person to a physician for examination if satisfied from personal observations, or information received, that the person
(a) is acting in a manner likely to endanger that person''s own safety or the safety of others, and
(b) is apparently a person with a mental disorder.
When all prevention and intervention strategies have been exhausted and the situation has not improved, rental property owners may consider eviction. Owners may end a tenancy if the tenant has seriously jeopardized the health or safety or lawful right or interest of the owner or another occupant, or put the owner’s property at significant risk (RTA Section 47). A written breach letter must be served on the tenant as a final warning giving a reasonable date to rectify. If the situation is not corrected within a reasonable time, One Month Notice To End Tenancy can duly be served. Ensure that you keep a journal of every incident to corroborate evidence should the tenancy lead to eviction.
Rental property owners have the duty to ensure for other tenants in the building their rights to safety and security. When faced with these types of problems act promptly, document, and ensure you do your due diligence to take care of your tenant’s needs, your property, and yourself.
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Accepting Rent from Non-Tenants
Posted on 3/30/2011 10:49:41 AM by Chris Sui
Has your tenant’s girlfriend, boyfriend, family member, or occupant who is not on the tenancy agreement tried paying you rent? By accepting rental payments from a person who is not your tenant that person may now claim to be a party to the tenancy agreement whether you realize this or not.
What is the rationale for such a dubious claim you ask? We have seen many cases go to Dispute Resolution where the landlord’s action to accept rent or a security deposit from someone who is not a tenant can constitute the establishment of a tenancy agreement even if no formal contract is signed. Do not accept rent from someone unless you are prepared to recognize them as a tenant. The great misunderstanding is that a landlord accepts rental payments from a non-tenant believing that the money is paid on behalf of the original tenant. Unless the understanding is made clear, accepting rent from the non-tenant remains open to interpretation.
The key to avoid creating a tenancy with someone who is not your tenant is to make it clear to both the tenant and the person delivering payment that the rent is being accepted in the name of the tenant only and no one else. How do we make it absolutely clear?
Put it in writing.
If you are caught in a situation where you are presented with the rent from someone who is not the tenant tell him/her that you will only accept the payment if it is on behalf of the original tenant only and that you will be confirming this with a letter in writing after the money is accepted. If you accept a personal cheque follow up immediately with a letter. If you accept cash write it immediately on the cash receipt. Don’t wait long to issue a clarification letter in writing, otherwise you may find the non-tenant moving in a few days after if they have not moved in already. If the non-tenant delivering the rent argues with you saying “it is from both of us (me and the tenant),” or “I’m paying the rent,” or is ambiguous saying “It’s for unit #203” you should refuse the payment from the non-tenant immediately and deal directly with the tenant with whom you have the signed agreement.
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Question about elevators?
Posted on 3/18/2011 4:07:18 PM by Allan Pasacreta
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RTB Roundtable
Posted on 8/12/2010 4:53:59 PM by Allan Pasacreta
BCAOMA will be meeting with the RTB for roundtable discussions on Friday August 27, 2010. If there are any issues you want us to bring up with them, please let us know.
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RTB Hearing Wait Times
Posted on 7/15/2010 2:29:31 PM by Allan Pasacreta
Hello BCAOMA Membership,
I have been getting quite a few calls about long wait times for hearings. Since this is an issue which could significantly affect your interest. Please make comments on this blog about your wait times for your hearings.
Thank you.
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BCAOMA STAFF
Posted on 7/13/2010 3:04:11 PM by Allan Pasacreta
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