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I recently have been awarded a decision in my favor from an arbitrator as a result of the landlord not returning by deposit. In fact the arbitrator awarded twice the deposit under the RTA. I will inev...
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Before you worked up and conclude that you're going to have difficulty getting detailed information the landlord won't likely provide, at least willingly, check with the authorities in small claims co...MORE...
I live in a 2nd floor apartment in an old heritige house that has been turned into a 8 suite apartment building. All suites on 2nd or higher floors have alternate exits due to fire bylaws. <...
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Check your tenancy agreement. If the area is written into your agreement and it is something that the landlord has included as part of the 'rental premises', an interpretation of the definitions in th...MORE...
I would like to end a one year tenancy agreement early and my tenancy agreement has a liquidated damage clause of one month's rent in it. If I pay this clause, am I stil liable for other damages incur...
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Liquidated damages are recognized as a genuine pre-estimate of damages at the time the contract is signed, should a breach of the agreement take place. If you agreed to pay this amount when you singed...MORE...
My tenant signed a tenancy agreement with me stating that she would be leasing my apartment from the 1st of June 2005. She has signed the agreement for a year. At the time of signing we made it very c...
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Your tenant signed a one year lease. How a lease may end is set out in the RTO Policy Guidleine. It says that leases can end by consent of the parties or for cause. That said, if your tenant decides t...MORE...
I just moved into a apartment and signed a six months lease. Since I have moved in I have had someone try to break in with me in the house with my kids. After this in the same month I have had someo...
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Theoretically, you are responsible for the rent for the entire period of the lease even if you choose to live somewhere else. While many landlords still include a penalty clause in their tenancy agree...MORE...
I have been renting for 2 years. The old owners have sold. Are the "new owners" allowed to raise the rent right away? If not, when can they raise the rent and how much notice do they have to give m...
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When a tenanted property is purchased, the new owner inherits the tenancy agreement. If yours is a month-to-month tenancy agreement then the rent can only be raised in accordance with the regulations ...MORE...
I had a lease which started in jan 05'. The manager of the building informed me it was a six month lease on may 1 05'. I gave my one months notice to move out on june 1 05'. After moving the manager o...
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The only way the landlord can keep any or all of a security deposit is if the landlord claims against it in accordance with the Act, if the tenant agrees in writing that he can, or if an Arbitrator or...MORE...
Hi, I recently rented out a suite. After 3 weeks of constant complaints from other tenants of disturbance, excessive noise, sanitary concerns, illegal activities and mental well-being. I had given...
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Given the reasons you identify in your information, the Act requires the landlord to issue the tenant a one month notice to end this tenancy. The tenant has the right to dispute the notice in the time...MORE...
I have a one year lease starting Feb.1 2005. I liked my apt. but found out from other tenants that someone has been looking in my windows at nite. When I found out I immediately left the apt. and mo...
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If you want out of your lease you will have to sublet the premises, fulfill the liquidated damages amount if you have such a clause in your agreement, or end the lease on terms negotiated with your la...MORE...
I had made an appointment with a landlord to view an apartment that was for rent. We had spoken for some time on the phone reviewing the pet policy, location, floor coverings and many other aspects o...
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Discrimination on a prohibited ground under the Canadian Charter or the Human Rights Act is illegal. If you think you have a provable case for discrimination on one or several of the grounds under the...MORE...
My bedroom window is over the driveway to the underground parking. I have talked to the managers of how disruptive this is at all hours with people parking, idling and honking their horns at all hour...
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It is difficult to stop drivers from idling cars, honking car horns, parking, etc. A sign could be helpful, so you might want to negotiate with the landlord on the costs, placement, wording, etc. Silv...MORE...
My husband and I rent an apartment in BC for the past year. As far as I know we have a "no pet" clause in our lease. However, several people own cats and dogs in the building & they have the same cl...
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Pets! One of my favorite subjects. Everybody thinks a pet is a cute little puppy, or a cuddly kitten. Others like snakes and reptiles. One lady had a tiger that she performed with in her job as a stri...MORE...
Subject
ID #- 315
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Tenant ignoring eviction notice: Dear Sir, I have served my tenants with an eviction notice for non payment of rent. They did not dispute the notice. I have been scrupulous in ma...
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You will likely choose to apply through the Residential Tenancy Branch for an Order of Possession for the rental premises, which should be issued without complications if your paperwork is in order an...MORE...
If a tenant refuses to move for non payment of rent what action can we take to get them out of the house?...
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Where the tenant fails to pay the rent on time or in full, the landlord can issue the tenant a Notice to End the Tenancy for non-payment of rent (section 46 of the Act, RTO Form 3). The tenant has 5 d...MORE...
I have rented a new apartment and me and my common-law spouse are on the RTA. The apartment has an extra bedroom that i want to let my good friend move into- i asked for permission from the manager a...
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As a tenant you have the right to entertain guests. You can have people come and stay with you for short periods of time, as long as it is reasonable. When you start moving people into the premises wi...MORE...
I gave proper notice, paid the rent and then vacated early. The LL rerented suite early. Do they have to pay me back my rent....
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You obviously knew you were responsible for paying the rent in full to the end of your tenancy. You fulfilled your obligation and gave up possession of the premises before you were required to. The la...MORE...
We've been renting an apartment in the same building for one year and 4 months so far. Yesterday, we received a letter from the property manager, terminating our contract and saying that we need to m...
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In a residential tenancy situation the landlord can only evict a tenant in accordance with the rules and regulations found in the Residential Tenancy Act of British Columbia. The landlord is required ...MORE...
Hello. My question, I have been living in this apartment building since 1991. June 2003 I moved out due to personal reasons as I went homeland. Since I liked this building I came back Dec 2003 an...
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Under section 49 of the Act the landlord can issue a 2 month notice to end the tenancy if the landlord or a member of his immediate family intends in good faith to occupy the rental unit and .... conv...MORE...
Can you please explain the difference between a roommate, and a sub-let? My tenancy agreement says that i am not allowed to sublet, but i'm not sure if a new roomate will fall into this category....
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The Residential Tenancy Policy Guideline found at http://www.rto.gov.bc.ca/documents/GL19.pdf sets out how assignment and subletting are handled by Arbitrators. In an assignment of a tenancy the right...MORE...
I just took over as property manager/ apartment manager and have found that there is one suite that houses a women who is known for doing and deeling in drugs. I have had over a dozen verbal complaint...
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If you believe you have 'cause'to evict the tenant you must issue her a notice to end the tenancy on RTO Form 3. You must cite one or several of the grounds found under section 47 of the Act and be pr...MORE...
The apartment building that I live in has two washers and two dryers for eight units. Because there are only two of each they get over used and break down often. Also one of the dryers was tampered wi...
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What you may be looking at is a reduction in services and facilities, which is a circumstance that can be arbitrated under the Residential Tenancy Act. If it went to arbitration the landlord would pro...MORE...
We had leased our apartment for 1 year and the lease expires on July 31, 2005. We had mentioned in our lease renewal clause: "Upon giving written notice no later than 60 days before the expiration of ...
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I'd like to look at your lease because you seem to have at least one oddball clause in it, which is 'the tenant may renew the lease on the same terms ....” You want to be careful with terms like these...MORE...
My roomate answered an ad for a house rental. The landlord insisted on a DAMAGE DEPOSIT TO HOLD THE property. The landlord stated he wanted us to sign a 1 year lease which was not in his advertising. ...
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A residential security deposit (damage deposit by another name) is simply an amount of money to be held in trust by the landlord. It serves as security should damages occur during the tenancy for whic...MORE...
We have a tenant who is moving out on Sept 30, 2005. We are trying to arrange for new tenants in the meantime. I would also like to mention that we are not having the best of relations with them right...
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Obviously, you now see how important it is to remain on good terms wherever possible with your tenants. The Act says that where the landlord wants access to the rental premises he must provide at leas...MORE...
I have a question about section 47 of the RTA which is fairly new and precedents have not been set for. My parents are renters in a building that they have lived in for 8 years. Over the years financi...
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It may well be that your folks have lost their window of opportunity to act. An Order of Possession is given in section 47 cases only after an Arbitrator has heard the case, and was satisfied that suf...MORE...
Hello, I recently moved out of an apartment in Enderby. I thoroughly cleaned the apartment before I left, except for shampooing the rug, as it was agreed it would be done by the landlord with expe...
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The legislation says that the landlord must claim against the security deposit in accordance with the Act within 15 days of the end of the tenancy and he can only withhold that amount the tenant has a...MORE...
Recently this spring, I helped a friend out from another province. I got him a job and I also said he could stay here under the conditions he does not bring people over, and he treats myself and the ...
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Section 4(c) says the Residential Tenancy Act of BC does not apply to 'living accommodation in which the tenant shares bathroom or kitchen facilities with the owner of that accommodation.” If this is ...MORE...
Can a tenant be evicted for getting angry and being disrespectful to a Landlord who is threatening them with the police because the tenant did not open the door when they knocked quite harshly on it. ...
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Tenants can be evicted for material breaches of the tenancy agreement. If, in the eyes of an Arbitrator, you do something that is serious enough to warrant eviction then out you go. RTO Form 3 identif...MORE...
I live in an apartment building and I revceived a letter under my door on July 13 telling me that I already had been served an eviction notice, which I had not been served. All the note stated was th...
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What is commonly called an 'eviction notice'is actually RTO Form 3 – a Notice to End a Tenancy. This form is detailed and requires dates, signatures, marking of boxes, explanations, etc. Where the ten...MORE...
After seven years of renting a strata unit from the owner, I moved out, with notice, at the end of last June (2004). I left a forwarding address with an executive member of the strata council as I had...
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Tenants and landlords are obliged to play by the rules of the Residential Tenancy Act of BC. Tenants have 2 years to claim back their security and pet deposits while landlords have 15 days from the en...MORE...
I signed a 1 year lease agreement in March. I've paid 5 months rent and have recently been broken into and have found an enormous amount of mold. I have given 30 day notice and moved out. I cannot ...
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Their chances are pretty good. You signed a one year lease. You broke it. The landlords are obviously going to claim debt and damages. Subject to the landlords'efforts to mitigate their losses they sh...MORE...
I understand that if I am evicted from an illegal suite because of a municipal order for the landlord to vacate the premises, I should be given 1 months notice. What are the landlords responsibilitie...
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While I appreciate that a tremendous amount of affordable housing is found in 'illegal suites', I'm not a fan. 'Illegal suites'(or 'secondary suites'as they are now euphemistically called) invite prob...MORE...
I am currently living (and have been for 2.5 years) in a 2brm suite in a family townhouse complex. I have been told by my lndlrd that when a 3 bdrm came available I was "top of the list". I have 3 ...
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The Residential Tenancy office publishes a fact sheet on discrimination found at http://www.rto.gov.bc.ca/documents/RTO-118.pdf If you think you have been the subject of discrimination on a prohibited...MORE...
We are currently renting a Vancouver apartment and the landlord has increased the rent 5.8%. As we would Expect an increase on the year anniversary, I also understand that it is limited for 2005 to 3....
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In a month to month tenancy the rent can be increased by consent and with written agreement of the parties. Otherwise, the rent can only be increased once per year and in an amount set by a formula th...MORE...
Hi Mr. Watson, I moved into a suite June 1 and started seeing beetles the first week. I found out they were carpet beetles and shortly after I started seeing crawling larvae! I was very upset and...
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You have already agreed to end the tenancy by consent effective July 31st. If you tried arbitration an Arbitrator might award you a rent reduction, but what would be the point of that if you aren't li...MORE...
We have been renting our basement suite for 5 months. The back room of the unit is mainly a storage area for us. We pass through this room to get to our laundry and back door. In the past few months, ...
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Apparently there are problems with how the house was built, which will account for the 'musty smell', problems with ventilation, etc. If there was a previous flood in the suite and the water problem w...MORE...
I have recently rented a basement suite to a new tenant and started having problems within the first two weeks. The tenant has violated 4 of the 9 addendums to the rental agreement that she signed....
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So, in the first 2 weeks of this tenancy someone has been smoking inside the rental premises, the tenant has a cat that you have now allowed, the tenant isn't keeping common areas clean enough for yo...MORE...
IM LIVING IN A HOUSE THAT HAS SOLD. I WAS GIVEN ONE MONTHS NOTICE TO MOVE OUT AND TOLD TO PAY MY RENT AND THAT HE WAS NOT REIMBURSING ME THE MONTHS RENT. HE ALSO CAME IN TO GIVE US OUR NOTICE WHEN WE ...
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If you are in a lease, your tenancy ends when the lease does. Selling the property isn't a deciding factor in your contract with the landlord, which often comes as a shock to many purchasers and landl...MORE...
