I’m An Alberta Landlord Too
Hi, I’m Bill Biko and I’ve been a landlord since 2003. Since I started I’ve personally had over 1,500 tenants, evicted dozens and dozens of my own tenants and helped thousands of people through the eviction process.
All that real life eviction experience has taught me a ton about the Residential Tenancy Act, evicting tenants and all the important steps to get through an eviction. Some of the lessons/mistakes I learned along the way cost me thousands of dollars and the information on this site and through my consultations, courses and guides all help you make sure you don’t learn the same expensive lessons.
If you look through some of the articles on the site, you’ll find information on everything from when you should and shouldn’t use eviction notices to changes in the Eviction process.
An Experienced Landlord!
Since I started with Real Estate over twenty years ago, I’ve gained a ton of experience being a landlord and managing my properties. At some point I think we have owned almost all types of rental properties with the exception of apartment buildings.
Our rentals over the years have included condos, suited properties, single family homes, duplexes and even a six unit townhouse complex. This variety of properties alone would provide plenty of experience, but one type of property really educated us on dealing with tenants.
In 2004, we bought our first rooming house and immediately learned to hate it.
I kicked my first tenant out of that property just a few weeks after we bought it and it became a continuous problem with less than stellar tenants popping up weekly. We quickly realized the weekly rentals traditionally catered to the least picky tenants and this was going to create havoc for us.
We should have given up on rooming houses at that point, but we knew there had to be a way to make it work. So we started tweaking what we had already learned and by creating systems and standards that worked for us, we managed to expand our rooming house business substantially.
No longer were we catering to the bottom of the barrel tenants, but instead we targeted a slightly better class of tenant. We brought in colour TV’s to all the rooms, added wireless internet to most of the properties and we saw our business grow and grow. Of course, this growth also brought with it some problems.
Eventually we reached a point where we were renting out over 50 rooms on a weekly basis. These units were all short term rentals, so they had turnover rates as high as 25% per week and during a year we would easily end up dealing with over 200 tenants and collecting rent over 2,500 times per year, just on our weekly rental properties!
Weekly Rentals Became Our Landlord School
While we have had a couple tenant evictions in our regular properties over the years, the rooming houses really educated us about deadbeat tenants. It’s this eduction that really educated us about what you could and could not do with tenants and it also educated us on what the tenants could do to stall evictions. The last part being an advanced course in frustration.
Early on when we first ran into problem tenants, we resorted to using professional eviction service companies. At the time I felt this would be the quickest and easiest way for me to become familiar with the process and it gave me even more of an education.
Then, as we became familiar with the eviction process, we learned about the landlord friendly Residential Tenancy Dispute Resolution Services. Or at least it became landlord friendly to me as I learned how their systems work and what was required to successfully evict tenants that couldn’t follow the rules laid out in our leases.
It was during one of these trips down to the local RTDRS that I eventually received my inspiration for my Eviction Guide for Landlords.
About Alberta Eviction And How It Started
After multiple trips to the RTDRS, the process of evicting tenants definitely becomes much easier, but how many landlords have the luxury of this type of education (hopefully not many!). During one of these trips I ended up sitting beside a couple of ladies who were obviously having some problems.
After they made multiple trips up to the counter asking questions and for clarification about the forms and the process I determined they were also landlords, but that this was their first time visiting the RTDRS. They looked flustered and confused, so I started to talk to them with the hope I could help them with the confusion. In the end I gave them my card and told one landlord to call if she had questions.
Within 24 hours I’d received the first call and ended up talking to her numerous times afterwards and helped guide her along the way. She had a particularly nasty tenant who knew all the ins and outs of the system and it dragged out longer than normal, but with a little guidance from me, she was finally able to get the tenant out. By helping this veyr nice person out, a seed had been planted.
Sure enough, next time I had to go to the RTDRS there was another confused landlord and I managed to give them a few pointers as well. Now the seed was starting to grow, but at that juncture, I had no time to help it grow.
Fast Forward to 2009
2009 was easily the worst year of my life as a landlord. With the slowdown of the economy our rooming properties were seeing huge vacancy numbers and turnover was out of control. Looking for new potential clients we contacted some of the local associations involved with transitioning people from rough situations or off of the street into safe housing.
What looked like a perfect fit for both parties (I provided safe affordable housing and in turn received initial funding and payments from the associations involved or other third party groups), quickly turned into a nightmare. Of the twelve individuals directly involved through the program, I ended up evicting ten for various reasons ranging from drugs and drunkenness to theft of another tenants vehicle at knifepoint.
2009 became the University of Hard Knocks education. The previous five years had been a basic education and I had definitely moved onto higher learning! It was in early 2010 after reflecting on how much I had learned that I finally decided to put a guide together to help other landlords learn how to evict a tenant, without going through all the turmoil I did.
It was during the last few months of 2009 that I actually created this site and started posting information on it. I also started compiling information to create what eventually became my Eviction Guide for Landlords and finally put up for sale back in December of 2009.
Alberta Eviction 2012 Update
Fast forwarding to now, I’ve helped hundreds of landlords with problem tenants during this time, I ‘ve answered what seems like thousands of emails and we’ve grown significantly. What I’ve noticed is many of the landlords out there have the same problems, so I’ve added training webinars to the site and I’m even expanding to a second site based primarily on teaching landlords how to make their work easier (visit TheEducatedLandlord.com for more info!).
On the down side, this growth is a double edged sword. Yes, I am helping significantly more people these days and yes sales of my guide, time spent doing consulting with landlords has increased and other product sales have increased, but it has put a toll on my available time, which leads me to the next section.
Contacting Me
Just to clarify, the majority of the information on this site is FREE. There are dozens of comments and questions asked throughout the site and they answer many of the questions that landlords and tenants may have and I gladly answer them, time permitting.
I do provide a couple of paid products that also include additional information, these are the Eviction Guide and the Eviction Forms packages (note the Guide includes the Eviction Forms), and I have several live training sessions I provide to help Landlords for FREE. I also provide some paid programs where I train landlords.
I would really like to help everyone, but I have only so much time to accomplish that, so if you need additional information, here are the rules about Alberta Eviction and contacting me.
Option 1 For no charge, you can leave a question on the site, there is typically a comment section at the bottom of each page, simply fill in your question and I typically answer it within 48 hours or less. (Check out my Frequently Asked Eviction Questions Page)
Option 2 Pick up one of my guides or packages and email me back that you have additional questions, note that these questions should pertain to the package. If you are buying the Eviction Forms package, don’t expect me to walk you through the RTDRS steps. I will usually be back to you within 24 hours
Option 3 Book a consultation with me, I charge $50 for a thirty minute phone consultations and will answer your questions and guide you to the best of my abilities. I can typically get back to you same day and help provide you with the guidance you may need for questions you have about evictions.
Hopefully you can understand me having to take this stance.
Regards,
Bill Biko
Hi Bill,
I live in Calgary and renting out my condo outside the city, my tenant is on a one year lease and I am having problem with him not paying on time. On September, he asked me to deposit his check on the 4th day of the month because the money is not there yet and so I said ok. But this month, when I deposited his check, it bounced. I contacted him and he said, his wife made out a lot of checks to the school. He said, he will deposit the rent last friday, Oct.24 which then he is almost a month behind so I charged him with penalty. When I checked my bank on Saturday, He only deposited the half of the rent owed. I contacted him thru text msg. and telephone but until now, no reply. Should I proceed with RTDRS? Please help…thanks.
Brenda
Hi Brenda,
So he’s been late once, but asked you to wait and then paid September in full, he then bounced a check and has now paid half the rent for October? I think that’s how I read it?
You could go to the RTDRS, but apparently they are backed up two to three weeks right now due to volume. You may want to give him a formal written letter now recapping the problem (including all the previous issues) and explaining how much you need to be paid on Saturday the 1st. Then if you’re not paid you have more ammunition (evidence in this case) that you can use for an eviction.
If he fails to pay on the 1st, you could then proceed on the Monday to go file.
Bill
Thank you very much Bill for your reply and for the conversation thru the phone!! I feel better now that I know what to do. What a great site!
Brenda
Thanks Brenda,
I’m glad our consulting conversation was able to help you out and point you in the right direction.
Best of luck going forward.
Bill
Hi, Bill. This is the first time reading your website. Great information–thanks!! I am in the process of re-wording my Residential Tenancy Agreement for new tenants. The property for which the agreement is meant is an apartment building which we recently purchased. I am looking for how to word a clause to include in the agreement with regards to pests (bed bugs, cockroaches, mice). I know the building has had a cockroach infestation previously and the landlord paid for the extermination in that case. I would like to include a clause in the lease stipulating it is the tenant’s responsiblity to pay for costs associated with pest extermination if I can trace the source to one specific unit. Would a clause like this stand up in court?
Thanks so much, in advance, for any help you may be able to offer.
Jo-Ann
Hi Jo-Ann,
You could add it in, but proving it would be nearly impossible and enforcing it potentially worse.with multiple tenants in the building, how could you prove one tenant brought in bed bugs? Or cockroaches? And mice would be due to an opening somewhere in the building allowing them in.
You might have a good idea that it was the newest tenant, but there is no guarantee it wasn’t the new couch the old tenant picked up off of Kijiji that brought them in, or an overnight guest. It’s just too hard to prove and that would be the downfall.
Now if you could unequivocally prove one of the tenants was at fault, then you may have some grounds and having it in your lease would potentially help you, but again, how can you prove it without a doubt?
Bill
Bill
Bill,
Thank you very much for the write-up. I just read the guide and have a question about the process of enforcing an eviction.
I am currently in a situation with tenants where I could file a formal eviction via the RTDRS and likely win. However, there is also the possibility of signing a lease amendment such that we terminate the lease early. Ending the lease early is in both our interests as I get the problematic tenants out, and they are relieved from liability of the remainder of the lease. The tenants have also expressed interest that this might be what they want.
My question with this situation is: Can the original lease be ended early simply by a signed early termination agreement? Importantly, in a worse case scenario of the tenants not vacating by the agreed upon termination date, would I still have to go through the formal RTDRS process and hire a bailiff to evict the tenants? Or would this method of lease termination clearly mean that they are trespassing and therefore eviction is immediately enforceable by law enforcement (aka. calling the police).
Some situations may warrant a formal eviction, however, I also feel that some conflicts can also be diffused via compromise by both parties. Your thoughts and criticisms on this proposed strategy would be great!
Hi Zee,
If both tenants agree to an early termination in writing and a new lease is written up, then the new lease would take precedent. However, if they still don’t leave on time you would still need to file a formal eviction through the courts or the RTDRs to get them out. And yes this would still require the bailiff.
The only advantage you would have with a new lease is you may be able to shorten the time the tenants would be staying. If you are taking say six months off the term, it will be much easier to evict them for over holding sooner, rather than having to wait until the end of the term or having to evict them for another reason that may not hold up or that they may be able to negotiate for some sort of Stay or Cinderella order where they get put on a payment plan.
Evicting for over holding past the end of their lease is a pretty cut and dried eviction versus other reasons where the tenant may be able to provide evidence disputing your version and which could cloud the issue. So depending on the reasons you may want them out and the amount of evidence you currently have, redoing the lease may not help you as much versus immediately filing now to get them out.
Hope that helps,
Bill
Thanks for the perspective, Bill. I may have to reevaluate my strategy.
It’s been quite stressful in the last few weeks dealing with this issue. The upcoming events in the next few days will be the deciding factor of whether I will file a formal eviction or not (depending on if I get rent paid in full).
As a suggestion for the site and your guide, it would be interesting to see more topics around collecting monies that are due from evicted or problematic tenants and your recommendations on how to proceed with such scenarios. Correct me if I am wrong, but even if a tenant is evicted they are still liable for re-rental fees and monthly rent up until the time the landlord finds a replacement tenant (assuming the lease agreement is still in effect).
Hi Zee,
I would suggest filing an official eviction as soon as possible for several reasons. First is shows you are serious, they may think they can get extra time by stalling or they may be good people who just need more time due to bad luck, at least you have it started. Second, you can always cancel. If they come through you can cancel the hearing and you are better prepared for the future.You’ll be out the $75 filing fee for the RTDRS, but it may expedite getting paid so it’s a cost of doing business.
Third, it will save you time if they don’t pay. With hearings being backed up two or three weeks due to volume, the longer you wait, the longer before you see your money or get your place back.
As for the tenant being responsible for the remainder of the lease, yes and no. It’s also the landlords responsibility. This means you have to make every effort to refill the property. If you’ve been given no notice and they move on the 1st leaving you scrambling, you would fairly easily be able to retain part of the deposit to cover a portion foo the month and re-advertising costs, but if you can fill it mid month then you shouldn’t be able to keep the entire amount. Based on having a deposit that matches the monthly rent.
Now if they gave you 30 or even 60 days notice and opportunities to show the place while they were there, you could charge for advertising costs, but in a hearing you would be forced to pay back the deposit if it was retained for breaking the lease if you made no attempt to even try and fill it on time.
It’s a fine line, but the landlord has the priority to fill the place and the tenant has too cooperate.
Hope that helps,
Bill
Hi Bill –
I’m a Calgary landlord. On January 1st, 2014, I gave 365 days’ notice of termination of tenancy to long-time (troublesome) tenants in one of my basement suites. I must perform major renovations to the suite, including tearing apart walls, ceilings and floors but also coring concrete for expanded basement window installation. The suite has deteriorated dramatically during their tenancy and will take a large investment to be in “move-in” condition. To date now in September, the tenants have done nothing about finding a new home (to my knowledge). They appear to live on some type of assisted living program and are at home 24 hours per day. They have been difficult tenants especially in the last two years, disturbing other tenants and making many unnecessary calls to my caretaker over a variety of real (and imagined) issues. In addition, they are bothersome when my contractor is working on site in another suite, repeatedly disturbing his work. They consider themselves my “handymen” to help out my contractor and, against my explicit instructions “try to fix things”. It costs me a great deal to have my contractor go back and repair things they have damaged while “trying to fix things”.
To provide further context of the situation, they rented the suite as a “non-smoking and no pets” property. They have admitted to smoking “in the past” however I believe it still happens inside the house during the winter. Currently they have four cats, unauthorized by me or my caretaker. The basement and stairwell have a significant cat odor. Of course, I now expect additional expense from pet damage.
I’m learning the hard way: these are the only tenants I have now where I do not have a documented lease.
Now, last week after one of their recent (imagined) complaints to Alberta Health Services that there was no hot water, an inspector visited the property, talked to my caretaker, personally confirmed that there definitely was hot water, but noted the basement windows did not meet egress code. I received a letter from Alberta Health Services stating that “the tenants are moving out” and that the work to core out and replace the basement windows was to be completed by September 30, 2014. I have no idea if this was a misunderstanding on the inspector’s part that the tenants were moving out by September 30th (they’re not) or if I will be forced to do this major renovation work on the windows while the tenants are in the home. I have serious concerns about doing this while they are on the premises, especially given how meddlesome they are. I am concerned about liability insurance coverage if they injure themselves while the windows are being rebuilt. And, Alberta Health Services is not returning calls.
Nonetheless, my question is this: on December 31, 2014 when they are forced to leave the home (and I will go to Court to ensure this), what is the likelihood that the Courts will side with the tenants and allow them to stay in the property, given the typically harsh and inclement time of year plus the low vacancy rate in Calgary?
Thanks in advance for your advice,
H (I’ll use my initial in case the tenants are surfing the internet)
Hi H,
While you followed proper procedure regarding the 365 days notice for renovations, if the tenants breach the lease during the 365 days you can accelerate with an eviction.
This might be possible with the pets which are against the lease agreement, although if you have known about them for months it negates the seriousness of it. And without a written lease, again it has to be proven that was an original verbal condition.
I would start by continuing to contact Alberta Health Services and documenting all attempts. You need to clarify what the tenants are “moving out” means and whether you can defer the work until you are doing the major renovations.
As for the likelihood of the courts allowing them to stay on after the eviction date it is extremely low. To help ensure that, be sure you start roughly 90 days out sending them reminder notices. Written notices and documented follow up calls.
What you really want to do is to be able to show, if it comes to a court appearance, that you followed all the proper procedures, the 365 day notice, that you followed up along the way with reminders well in advance, 90 days out, perhaps again 60 days out with moveout instructions as far as cleaning responsibilities etc and how important it is they start preparing as the vacancy rates are tight and then 30 days out reminding them yet again about the deadline.
You want all the onus on them for failing to move out and doing this will cement your position. Also, you’ll want to arrange a few 24 hour inspections in November and December with and without your contractors to get in, start generating a list of repairs and work you need to do (also evidence confirming you are preparing for this so document times and dates) and allowing you to observe their preparations or lack of for moving.
For the official eviction day, be sure to give them a 24 hour notice of inspection a couple days in advance for the move out day so they know you will be coming and that you can be allowed in. With any luck they are all prepared and basically out the door. If not, you immediately need to start preparing to file at the RTDRS or the courts to have them evicted as it could be up to two weeks for a hearing due to backlogs from Christmas and a very busy December eviction month.
Historically January 1st is a very busy time as some tenants over spend at Christmas and find no rent money left over on the 1st.
Hope that helps,
Bill
Hello so I rented an apartment on third floor in march. Since then the building manager has decided we could nor speak to other tenant about cobcerns like noise. That’s good right no fighting in building. Bit the parking lots lights no longer work and it was late in the evening and very dark when I noticed a fellow tentant struggling with removing bike from car. Offered to help. Next manager sent letter to all tentants about a tentant t hassling peiple in parking lot and how they were watching situation. Since then they have installed one camera in my hallway that only gets my door and streams live to office. No other cameras have been placed in building. I don’t get along with building manager as I am a free spirt and she is very up tight. Feel the camera is not security like she says but surveillance. They sent letter stating other cameras for build would be going up by a certain date. That date was two weeks ago. Still no cameras. Is this allowed
Hi Tammy,
While it’s not right that the manager forbids you to talk to other tenants, they also cannot stop from talking to them. Talking to other tenants is not grounds for eviction. although if they do get a bee in their bonnet, they can certainly make up stuff to create an eviction scenario.
I’d suggest documenting all interactions and information like this if you intend to stick to your rights and it results in some sort of eviction attempt.
As for the camera, you may want to give it time to see if additional cameras do get installed. It does happen quite often when installs get delayed, so give it more time. Even at that, it may be tough to prove they are intentionally targeting you, it could come across as paranoia depending on how you respond, so be careful.
Ideally, I’d suggest you find a new place to live as it certainly doesn’t sound like this is too reputable a place.
Bill
Thank you Bill
I very much appreciate your informed explanation; you have helped relieve some very great worry, even though I believed I had a good understanding of the laws, but room rentals are grey.
She didn’t post any rules or laws, she didn’t do an inspection report and her animals regularly mess in the house – I have taken photos and dates, letting her know to clean up. Great packaging, expensive house / area with dirty owner.
Also appreciate your response of documents, if she calls police so that I am not immediately removed, Can they order me to leave as it is her house?
Thank for explaining her subsequent Court action if she chooses to go that route with flipping back and forth and stitching her own bits and pieces to support her position or that which her friends told her.
From the beginning I am respectful and calm in speaking with her at all times, remaining silent at others, knowing the type of personality she is. This seems to upset her more, as I sense she is trying to bait me into an argument, as an only child accustomed to getting her way, or bullying to get it. I see it and let it pass.
Would you please clarify one last item, that I can’t find and remains elusive:
What is the required/legislated notice and under what terms? The RTA and LTA are clear, but what about here, especially sharing house, but she’s trying to use the month to month terms.
Thank you again and terrific service you provide!
Hi Sam,
Sorry didn’t see your reply here until this morning. The police may ask you to leave, but it will depend on how muddy the situation is. If it’s a clear Innkeeper’s Act situation where you are being difficult and belligerent and abusive, it’s much more likely you will be removed or asked to leave.
If it’s an unclear situation where the landlord appears to be abusive it may or may not be a clear Innkeeper’s Act situation and could possibly be a Residential Tenancy Act situation, then they may step back, try to keep the situation calm and refer you to the courts to settle it.
The police can enforce the criminal code, but the RTS is civil law which goes through the courts and leaves them in a tough spot.
So in answer, there is no specific answer as not each case is the same. bottom line, be nice if they show up, have your documentation in hand and know your rights.
And as for notices under the IA, there is nothing officially posted anywhere, so it’s kind of a landmine. Often when it’s not specifically written it can fall to similar terms as the RTA notices, but it doesn’t have to, again a case by case and situation by situation. Was it a monthly lease, or weekly? Was it written or verbal? Were there specifics in the lease, or does it have to be speculated?
It is INCREDIBLY important for both landlords and tenants that there be a written lease in place. It doesn’t solve everything, but it can make much of it easier if it’s quite specific about the situations.
Hope that helps,
Bill
Hi Bill,
Due to a breakup I had to rent a room in a house. I took notes from our discussion about living in her house. I noted the payment amount and approximate term range, gave her the full rent and she signed the page.
A short time passes, with no problems, I keep my room, bathroom and all shared areas of the house very clean as I had my own home.
One Sunday, she returns from work, with a neighbor as witness and throws an official eviction notice at me stating I had to be out by end of month, was being kind in giving me 20 days vs only 14 days.
I have not incurred a substantial breach such as damage, assault or failure to pay rent on time.
She insists it is covered under the Landlord and Tenancy Act which is where she found she could give me 2 weeks. I repeatedly asked her where it was and wouldn’t show me.
I explained to her the month to month and fixed term obligations and rights of both landlord and tenant as well as what the 2 weeks notice is for: substantial breach: nonpayment or damage, which there is none.
She agreed to a lesser amount and now says she has people willing to pay the higher amount – although she offered me to pay that amount to stay, so it is a ruse.
On top of it, I had a motor vehicle accident (I walked away, but ripped muscles, car written off) and the doctor gave me a note that I couldn’t move for 2 months, but she has said, she doesn’t care about the doctor, the law only that it’s her house and claims we aren’t getting along and I treat her house like a hotel (both false) I informed her neither of these fall into legal eviction reasons for 2 weeks notice.
Repeatedly asking her to show me where she found this 2 weeks and finally said when she returns from an errand. She’s quite aggressive and kept telling me if I didn’t leave, then she’ll take me to court and she can afford it more than I can. Don’t need this drama on top of the other serious issues.
What can you tell me of the situation, as I’m all over the Landlord and Tenancy Act – which alludes to room rentals, but not clearly then just told about the InnKeeper’s Act – don’t see anything for the tenant.
Thank you
Hi Sam,
It sounds like the landlord isn’t very familiar with the rules and is trying to pick and choose which pieces she wants to use. Since you’re renting a room and you haven’t broken any terms of the lease from what you have stated, this eviction doesn’t have a lot of legal grounds.
Obviously it’s not a place you want to stay, so considering your accident and need to limit movement over the next two months your first option would be to try to negotiate to stay for another three months allowing you time to heal and find a new place.
Barring that, you could just carry on, let her learn the eviction process the hard way where she will eventually have to take you to court to evict you. Obviously she isn’t familiar with the Innkeeper’s act or the RTA and she may have muddled the waters sufficiently that court would be the only resolution to officially evict you.
She still has the option of trying to use the rules under the Innkeeper’s Act, but again you haven’t caused anything to provoke an eviction and if she does involve the police, you can provide the backup info where she is trying to use eviction notices and RTA at the same time.
Hope that helps,
Bill
Hi there, sure hope you can advise: we rented a 3 bedroom to a tenant single mom of one and one on the way and here girlfriend last January/14. Since then she has made another bedroom from part of the house where there are now 2 beds and we suspect there is now a man living there and she is charging rent. Can she do this? How can we prove it?
Hi Terry,
Does your lease have anything about subletting included in it? That would be one avenue to start with.
How did she make a bedroom? Did she add walls or just put a bed in place?
You could prove it by possibly doing an inspection or interviewing neighbours.
You’re not giving me a lot to work with here, so it’s very hard to have any definitive answer.
Bill
Is it legitimate for an apartment building in Calgary Alberta to charge an extra $50. monthly if i do not want to sign another lease. I thought after a one year lease it was possible to go month to month. The one year lease ends the end of May 2014. Thank you for any info you may offer
Hi Georgianna,
You’re kind of stuck in a gray area Georgianna. It is possible to go to month to month at the end of a lease, if the lease and the landlord allows it. I advise most landlords to not go that route and many leases are fixed term only and need to be renewed to fixed term.
The landlord is supposed to give you 90 days notice of a rent increase, but they also do not have to renew a fixed term lease. So while you could argue they haven’t given you proper notice of the increase, they could also decide not to renew, forcing you to move out.
In this case they are creating a new lease and with it a slightly higher rent. Your options would be to fight it and face eviction due to them not renewing, or to renew at the higher rate and be prepared for the same to occur next year.
In the current low vacancy market a $50 increase is pretty good as I know many places have increased by a couple hundred dollars since last year. So you may want to weigh your options carefully and see if this is a fight you want to fight.
Regards,
Bill
Bill, a million thanks for your support during our “Eviction Process”. So good to have someone to talk with who has done several Evictions. A voice at the end of the phone was so reassuring.
Your videos and educational material is a must for everyone in this business.
Excellent Bill!!!
Thanks Neil, glad you found the Guide helpful and glad the eviction worked out so well!
Bill
Hi I am a tenant and have a question. I am renting a basement suite since July 2013 on a fixed year lease. When we moved in the nieghbors upstairs were friendly and never had issues with them at all they moved out a month ago the new tenants upstairs are very noisy and yet we never complained because we not the type to complain I tried to introduce myself to nieghbor he wouldnt even talk to me and they act snobby then on Friday morning my mother was making herself toast and set fire alarm off and the nieghbor upstairs stomped his feet agressively til we were able to get the smoke alarm to stop sounding it goes off every time we cook due to poor placement in the home. That evening when I got home from school there was an eviction notice from my landlord saying that we are too noisy that we are smoking in nonsmoking and that we have an extra person living here all things that are not true only person I can think of is my friend who comes over during the day alot even when I am in school because he helps out with heavy lifting around the house for my mother and me. My mom is 62yrs old and I have a broken back so we have low income and barely can afford to live here paying the rent now we have till April 30 to find a place and move. For the noise we are never usually up past 10pm so I do not know how we are supposedly up all night making noise and swearing etc and no one has smoked in the house at all so I do not know what to do thought maybe you could suggest something or might be living on the street by end of April which is not right considering in the letter my landlord left it states that we have always paid our rent on time (should be I set up automatic withdrawal from my bank account to simplify things) but this not right we haven’t done anything there were comments about smoke before and we do not know where it coming from it might just be coming in from outside or the storage room is right by the furnace and our wood smoke covered camping supplies are in there. I do not understand it because absolutely no one in the house was smoking we have it set up even when someone comes over they can sit in a wood lawn chair on our step and smoke. Also there is no where in my rental agreement that we cannot have visitors I checked and my landlord never has come over into my suite herself just going by what the new nieghbors say and yet the only thing that might be bugging his asthma is there is a large amount of dust being circulated in the vents I clean every day yet dust still piles up within a few hours its gross and I do not smoke in the house because I am respectful of where I live and I own two dogs and I do not want to expose them I have been struggling to quit and worst of it was I had not had a cigarette for over two weeks just before I recieved the notice I was so upset I started smoking again which is upsetting me. And same new nieghbors are smoking pot I have smelt it several times walking past thier part of the yard strong yet again even though I am allergic I do not complain because housing in Grande Prairie is tight and I do not think its any of my business what people do in thier private time. but noise complaint when they up all night partying till wee hours of the morning sorry my diabetic mother had to have breakfast at 9am seriously not something that should have even be an issue we took the fire alarm down. This place is horrible when we tried to get our mail box key we had trouble because the place is not even legally registered as a duplex even though its rented out as one. Yet rental agency sees no problem with it…
I forgot to say also that I have rented several places and never had this problem before my dogs dont even bark. I have several past landlords that give me good reference and very disheartened this first time I have ever dealt with a rental company instead of the landlord directly and just feel sick the last tenants upstairs had no problems with us but they also told me about the problems they went through with this company that why they didn’t renew thier lease. Its just frustrating and I have school coming to a close with finals in April and do not know how I am going to manage that with finding a new home on top of it. Frustrating that although no one smoked in the home we are being accused of it all the time since the new neighbors moved in.
Hi Agnes,
I would suggest you approach your previous landlords and ask for letters of reference from them as well, in case it does go to a hearing.
Bill
Hi Agnes,
The onus in this case is on the landlord to prove everything. If you can refute all of their claims you can most likely avoid eviction. I’d start by talking directly to the rental agency, with follow up letters stating that these claims are false and that you will contest any eviction proceedings.
Make sure you document everything and when, or if, they push this to a court hearing, you must attend to defend yourself. Skipping the hearing will simply allow only one side ot be heard and will likely end with a win for the landlord.
Bill
Hi I have a tenant complaining about a bad odor smell last week found the problem sewerage pipe came apart that was on day 1. I found someone to go and solve problem they reported that the sewerage line had to be redone all over. Next day water pipe came apart I sent another plumber they fix the problem pipes had to be glued back she still complaining about the smell. She sign her lease again in November of 2013 she was complaining about the rent. Everything was ok she had spoke about the smell but it will comes and go away. So upon signing the lease things was ok just talking about the rent being lower she a elderly lady cause her light bill was high. Its a whole story I’m just feedup because she threaten me about her health that the smell is affect her my thing she stood a whole year in the home.And then she renew her lease I got screwed from the first tenant. NEED HELP BAD
Hi Tanya,
You definitely need some help with grammar and clarity… But I can’t really figure out what you’re asking. If you could clearly explain what you need help with I may be able to provide some guidance.
All I understand from your comment is you have a lady who doesn’t like the smell in your property due to a potential sewage/water problem and who thinks your rent is too high. If you’ve properly cleaned up the property after the spill there may be some residual smell.
As a responsible landlord you need to correct that and make sure the property is safe and reasonable to rent. If there isn’t a smell now, I’m not sure what the issue is.
So what’s the actual problem?
Bill
Can I terminate my tenancy if I have a fix 1 year lease. If no how can I do this if they pay rent on time but don’t keep basement clean and also I want to sell my house as well
Hi Hashmat,
If the reason you wish to terminate is you are selling it isn’t a valid termination. If you have a fixed term lease, simply don’t renew when it comes up, but be sure to give them ample warning.
If the lease isn’t up for a while yet, hen consider buying them out, sell with them present, or sell it as a rental with tenants already installed.
Regards,
Bill
Bill, I don’t think there is an office in Red Deer for RTDRS. My cases were handled out of Calgary. In both cases I was totally disgusted by the decisions. I am still sitting here with an order for 4000.00 that eas never paid. That judge made it clear during our phone hearing that the tenant did not have to provide me with any contact information (current address and place of employment) despite saying he had to pay the 4000.00 owing. How bizarre is that.
Red deer Provincial Court is where I finally found a judge who handled the matter swiftly and successfully.
Linda
Hi Linda,
Sorry you are correct it is a phone in service via Central Alberta. I’m wondering if they simply use different people for those cases?
With the Provincial Court did the judge order the tenant to provide their place of employment and new address?
With judgments I’ve learned they are better than nothing, but if you’re already dealing with tenants that cannot afford to pay rent, even with a judgment you may not recover money owed you. since they stay on the person’s credit report for up to ten years though, if things do turn around in their life there is a possibility they have to repay you.
The positive for you is you found an effective way to get results.
Regards,
Bill
Just a note. As a Landlord I have been through the “court” process two times with RTDS and was totally frustrated. Despite having plenty of paperwork, the “judge” definitely was working for the tenant…even going so far as to ask one who was late or non paying for 8 out of 10 months, “When would SHE like to leave?” I gave her notice in Feb., went thru the RTDS in April, and they let her stay till June 30th. When she left she took the washer, curtains, rods, and a queen bed that was stored with her permission downstairs and which they used. When I went to the REAL court over another tenant, she was told she had 7 days to get out in no uncertain terms. Thank heaven for a real judge who did what was right. I am in the Red Deer region – I would definitely check out the court system. Just a thought.
Hey Linda,
You’ve mentioned before you’ve had problems with the RTDRS. I’m just wondering if it’s the attitude in the Red Deer office? I know a lady that operates an eviction service company out of Edmonton and she only uses the RTDRS and with great results and I’ve talked with dozens and dozens of landlords in Calgary area who have used it with great success.
One fellow in particular who had a horrible string had six RTDRS hearings and handily won each one. It sounds like you have definitely go the courts system figured out, so I would suggest you use that in your area.
Regards,
Bill
Hi..quick question..my tenants called complaining of mice..I had an exterminator go there today (5 days after the initial complaint) and a day agreed on by the tenants.. They refused to let the exterminator in one of the rooms and there were piles of garbage in the basement and the backyard..the exterminator said the mice won’t go away until the property is cleaned..the tenants did nothing to get rid of the garbage prior to the exterminator showing up even though we had asked that it be cleaned up.. Do we have the right to file a 14 day notice with RTDRS? Based on health concerns and possible property damage?
Thanks so much
Hi Jenn,
As part of your lease you should have a clause to the effect that the tenants are to keep the property in a reasonable condition of cleanliness.
You should be able to evict them for this breach in your situation. Couple that with additional reasons such as potential property damage and your attempts to work on the property (extermination in this case) and you should have a fairly strong argument.
If they have children, there is also the health concern.
From the sounds of this, you don’t want these people as tenants anyway and its best to get them out as soon as possible as it doesn’t sound like they are taking care of your property. However, you may want to consider giving them one warning letter.
This would inform them that they have XX number of days to get the garbage removed as it is a breach of the lease and if they do not comply you will go forward with an eviction of them. Add to that that without their cooperation you cannot deal with the mouse problem as that is part of the problem. This would also act as a piece of evidence showing you tried to work with them if you do file at the RTDRS.
To clarify the 14 day notice, you don’t actually have to give this to the RTDRS, you give this to the tenant. If they don’t leave after the eviction date set out in the notice, then you have to apply at the RTDRS or the courts to have them legally evicted.
If you suspect they won’t leave, or if this will just get worse if you tell them they have to leave, then I would suggest bypassing the eviction notice and immediately file with the RTDRS for an eviction to streamline the process. Filing with the RTDRS rather than using an eviction notice can save a landlord several weeks delay in the process and if properly prepared can usually get you exactly what you want. Your property back.
Hope that helps,
Bill
Thanks for your quick response..another question..we served them a 14 day eviction notice through RTDRS and we go to court on October 16th..they sent me the rent money via email money transfer for the month of October..trying to look like good tenants.what do I do with it? Send it back or deposit it? Thanks
Hi Jenn,
Since you are evicting for reasons other than rent, I would take the money and still go to court. Since the hearing isn’t until the middle of the month and your eviction likely wouldn’t be until November 1st at the earliest, you still need to get paid.
Regards,
Bill
Hello Bill,
For the last 9 months I have been renting out a very large room in my basement (basically the basment), the first couple of months have worked out great but the last few months the person has not been adhereing to our verbal rental agreements. I have chatted with this person a couple of times out of respect but it has not helped and now I no longer feel comfortable. How much time do I need to give this person to vacate?
Hi Sara (now),
If you’re the owner of the house, and have common areas you share, you fall under the Innkeeper’s Act. In this case you can get them out very quickly, but you still need reasons.If they are threatening, you can do it the same day.
Give them the option to leave on their own ASAP or you may be forced to evict under the Innkeeper’s Act which would allow you to evict them right away. The police may (or may not) help you with escorting the tenant off the property, it seems to depend on how familiar they are with Residential Tenancy Act versus Innkeeper’s Act.
Bill
P.S. and please please please people, uses written leases! It makes your life easier when there is problems.
Hi Bill — Great website!! Thanks for doing pulling it together.
I have long-time basement tenants in a Calgary property who have always paid their rent 2 or 3 days early but who have often failed to adhere to the no-smoking policy they agreed to when moving in. I’ve turned over three sets of upstairs tenants over the last two years due to the alleged smoking and it’s becoming a real “he-said-she-said” situation. I do not have a written tenancy agreement with these basement tenants (but do with the upstairs tenants). Do I have recourse under the Landlord Tenant Act to evict for substantial breach (smoking and other all-hours noise) without a written lease? I’m getting almost daily complaints from upstairs (brand new tenants in the last week). Additionally, the basement suite will need to be completely renovated as they have not kept up with general maintenance. I would actually prefer to evict them to completely renovate the suite, but as a landlord, I must deal with this alleged smoking problem first. Any thoughts or advice would be much appreciated!
Helen
Hi Helen,
Without a written agreement it can be significantly harder for you to evict them. From now on please make sure all tenants have signed written agreements, it will make your life as a landlord easier. It doesn’t make it impossible though, just harder!
The smoking issue can always turn into a he said she said scenario without a written contract, they can argue you never told them, you can argue it was discussed etc. You’ll have a much stronger chance to evict for them disturbing the other tenants. Of course, I would also include the smoking problem as it’s always better to go in with as many reasons for the eviction as possible in case one gets thrown out for lack of evidence. Might as well pile on the lack of maintenance as well as they may try to dispute the damage deposit being withheld partially at least later as well
You’ll need to fully document all the previous tenant departures and why they left (due to the basement tenants) to build up a solid case that they aren’t the best tenants and are causing continual problems. Also, I would skip an eviction notice and go directly to the courts or the RTDRS. As a first time eviction process, the RTDRS is an easier road and helps you understand the process without the formality of the courts.
I do sell a guide that helps explain all the steps of the eviction site, you can find access to it down the right sidebar, but it’s not essential if you want to try on your own. I just help clarify and break down all the steps so it is less stressful and you know what to expect.
Whichever way you proceed, you definitely have some options right now to proceed, even without a lease.Also Helen, if you haven’t registered to get my emails, you might want to sign up on the right side, I’ll send you more information about the eviction process and then helpful tips to make landlording easier for you.
Hope this helps,
Bill
Hi, Bill. I wonder whether I can filing an Application with Residential Tenancy Dispute Resolution Service or not. I signed Agreement for Sales my house in Sept 2010. As the Buyer was not qualified for applying mortgage, we agreed a financing schedule for two years ending with October 20, 2012. The buyer paid my monthly amount of $1672 as the rental and at the closing day she has to pay principal sum of $384.900 to take over the house.
How ever she usually late for payments. She did not pay me the payment of September and October 2012 and broke the agreement on October 20, 2012 because she is not qualified for applying mortgage. Now she still stay in my house. Could you please let me know how I can convict her. I am confused because in the agreement I am the seller (not the landlord) and she is the buyer (not the tenant). Thank you very much in advance.
Hi Chi,
The short answer is no, you can’t file this at the RTDRS.
The long answer is that it’s more complicated. First off, remember I’m not a lawyer, I’ve just dealt with a lot of Real estate issues and situations, including agreements for sale. This isn’t a rental agreement as much as it’s a purchase agreement that’s gone sideways. Due to that, the complexity of it alone will take it beyond the scope of the hearing officers at the RTDRS. They specialize in rentals and the Residential Tenancy Act and how all of it comes together. They are quite good at that (most of the time, but some people I have heard from disagree), but when the problem becomes too complicated it can cause problems and they usually pass it on the the court system.
The next issue is it sounds like you don’t have a rental agreement in place, just a contract stating the purchasing agreement which includes the rental amount. To protect yourself in a situation like this, it’s usually broken into two separate contracts with a rental agreement being the first one and it simply has an addendum which links it to the purchase contract.
It’s very important to have some language in there stating that a breach of the rental agreement nullifies the purchase agreement. If this is indeed how you’ve set it up, you would be in a much better position, but it would still typically be beyond the scope of the RTDRS and require going through the court system. The judges in this situation would have a much broader knowledge of the laws and rules that apply and will be able to make the proper ruling.
At the very least I would recommend you talk to a lawyer and determine a course of action that will work. We’re not talking about a small sum of money and at this point you don’t want to make a legal mistake that could end up costing you tens of thousands of dollars just to save a few thousand dollars in legal fees.
Hopefully this helps point you in the right direction.
Bill
Thanks Bill. I have also talked to an MLA this afternoon and will be meeting with him in the next few weeks. I believe Landlord and Tenants is one of his areas to be involved with and he did say that sometimes the pendulum swings to far and it needs to be balanced again. Hopefully there will be change in the future. I have certainly lost my innocence as a landlord and a human being.
Hello,
First off, thank you for the information you provide on your website. Very much appreciated that this information is here.
I’m also hoping any information to guide me on what to do in this situation would be appreciated as this is the first time I’m being a landlord. Didn’t think it’d be stressful but I bet no first time landlords do.
Currently, I have 2 tenants living in a condo suite that I rent out (2 bedrooms) for the past 8 months in Edmonton. Both of their names are on the lease, which is a 1 year period type at the moment.
Everything has been fine (at least I thought) until the last couple of weeks where they’re starting to have disputes between themselves and both want each other gone but both want to stay as well.
One says that the other owes them money and the other one is not willing to pay that person back. I told them that this is a small claims court issue since it does not actually have to do with the rental but it’s causing more tension inside the rental to where it’s escalating pretty quickly.
One also says that the other one never does any cleaning and isn’t doing their part on keeping the premises and their bills are constantly paid late (not the rent), which I mentioned that this is something between themselves and never should have included me but they both keep coming back to me and I’m trying to not get myself involved and not tell them to do anything as that could potentially open myself up to liabilities.
I have recommended that they try and talk to each other in a civil manner but that allegedly did not work.
This is causing a serious amount of stress and any guidance is appreciated.
Questions I have:
– Am I able to evict just one of the two tenants? For not keeping the place reasonably clean constantly (I guess on the word of the other tenant) or if half the rent starts coming late? (I don’t have it in the lease that the rent comes from both of them individually but as one lump sum but they both pay me separately)
– If one leaves willingly, would I create a new contract for the tenant that stays behind?
– If one leaves, do I hold onto the damage deposit until the tenancy ends with the original tenants or do I give back the portion of the damage deposit?
– One tenant also mentions that the other tenant is threatening but I do not think it’s an assault threat, not sure what the threat is but I think it’s to not give anything owing back.
– For a lease contract to be voided, do all names/parties on the lease have to agree?
Again, thank you for the information and your time.
Steven
Morning Steven,
On one hand, if the tenants are not getting along, as you stated, it’s not really your problem and there isn’t much you can do about it. there’s nothing you can do to enforce one tenant paying another for whatever they owe. It is indeed a small claims court matter if they wanted to proceed that way.
Realistically though, if it causes problems due to fights and disturbances at the condo, it becomes your problem very quickly. it could lead to complaints form other condo owners, damage to your property, unpaid rent etc.
In your situation you might have to step in and play mediator and see if you can get some common ground, at least for the next four months when the lease expires. You may want to explain to them their options and point out currently with the extra stress this is creating for you, the lease will not be renewed.
In answer to your questions, you would have to have proof that the property is not kept up to reasonable standards, and it’s tough to evict justa single tenant when both are on the lease. Responsibility (even if one dodges it) comes back to both people who sign. If the rent is late by one party, you can still evict the other party for late rent, again this is because they are both responsible for the full payment as defined in most leases.
If one does leave, you have a couple options, make an amendment to the current lease and all pertaining documents like walk throughs etc showing that one tenant has left and get it signed off by both parties. Or, create a new lease and start fresh. If you have concerns about the tenants ability to make payments on their own or whether you want to carry on with them, simply make it a shorter term and state it is a “trial” basis. If there is only three month’s on the original lease create the new lease with a three month term.
This gives you the flexibility of not renewing in three months if things go downhill, the flexibility of increasing the rent at that time as it will be a year since the rent was originally set and the option for the tenant to move on if they discover living by themselves isn’t affordable.
If one leaves it doesn’t change the damage deposit status. They have to collect the damage deposit from the remaining roommate, not from you.
As for “threatening”, you have to be absolutely positive what the threat is before you proceed. If it’s threat of physical harm, as a landlord you should be concerned about safety of your tenants and treat this as a serious issue. Physical threats against a tenant or against you allow you to provide the confrontational tenant with a 24 hour eviction notice.
Note that a 24 hour eviction notice is a serious issue and has to be acted upon quickly and with urgency. If this occurred two weeks ago, it would get thrown out by the courts as it doesn’t appear serious or urgent if there was that much delay. If this happened last night and you delivered the notice first thing in the morning, it would have much more validity and be much easier to enforce.
Finally for the lease to be voided, yes everyone would have to agree and it’s always best to protect yourself by getting everyone to sign off as well and not just keep it as a verbal agreement.
Hopefully that points you in the right direction and helps you out.
Regards,
Bill
Thank you for your response. Your time and information is appreciated.
Hi. I have a problem tenant she has Lived in my upstairs suite for 3 months. Every month the rent is late she has had 4 different roommates move in and move out. The police have been there on 3 different occasions. Last week they had a party which resulted in a fight the police being called and my bay window being smashed. Now the downstairs tenant moving out. Can I legally give her 24 hours eviction or 14 day eviction even though it’s now the first and they just paid rent for the month of may
Hi Jennelle,
If you would have reacted immediately last week with the 24 hour eviction you likely could have moved forward. Now that a week has passed a 24 hour eviction notice wouldn’t hold as much weight. 24 hour evictions are very serious and have to be immediately acted upon or the hearing officers and courts disregard the motives behind them and the seriousness of the events.
However, you still have sufficient grounds for eviction of continuous breach of the lease by paying late. At this point, time is of the essence, so I would skip any notices and proceed directly to the RTDRS or the courts.
Be sure to include the continuous late payments, the damage and the disturbance of the enjoyment of the other tenant to the reasoning for the eviction.
Regards,
Bill
P.S. You can go with a 14 day eviction notice, but if they don’t leave in the 16 day time period you then have to go to the RTDRS or court anyway, so skip the delay.
Hi,
I have a problem basement tenant. The upstairs tenants are great, but the basement one has cause 2 upstairs renters to leave already and are now trying to get the new ones out. I allowed her to put out an ad for new tenants, she found a girl she went to high school with over a decade ago. After moving is, she found out they have a cat (which I am ok with), and is now using it as leverage (allergies) to try and have the upstairs tenants removed (is this possible, she claiming to get doctors and lawyers notes etc). I want to keep them and get rid of basement tenant as I feel this cycle will continue. What can I do?
Hi Jane,
You definitely need to have your downstairs tenant move on as it’s unlikely the situation will get better. Unless your lease states specifically that there won’t be any pets or animals on the property I don’t believe there are any precedents for forcing tenants with pets to move out. Even if it impacts other tenants.
I would suggest you offer her an opportunity to break her lease at no penalty and explain that she can get her full deposit back if the property is in the same condition as when she moved in. Remind her that she is obviously unhappy there as the last two tenants haven’t worked out well and she should probably look at an apartment where she will have more control.
Regards,
Bill
Thank you for the information. I will be a little more wary in the future and will be asking more indepth questions before I sign anything.Thanks again.
As a tennant with bbedugs I have to say I agree w/ this to a point. There are many jerk landlords that I’m sure are renting apartments that they know to be infested. I got bbedugs from a neighbour in the building this is after the landlord had all our apartments treated 2xs as a precaution. The problem is that the tennant in question keeps bringing in second hand stuff, and letting her friends (who also have bbedugs) into her apartment. I feel sorry for our landlord having to pay and pay to keep having the units treated. All we need it to be precautionary and sensable. Now that I have these bugs I can tell you I’m going to be super cautious about anything I bring into the house as well as luggage when I travel.
Dear Bill. I am not a landlord but a tenant. I am having a problem finding the definition of the type of housing in which I presently reside. I am here for work and I have a month to month lease. My quandry is…the unit I stay at is or was a 3 bedroom apartment( one of 5 ) numbered 1 thru 5…I live in #3 so im 3.1. these units are situated above a strip mall. There are common living, kitchen, bathroom and laundry facilities. As each “sleeping room” ( so designated 3.1, 3.2, 3.3 )has its own lease is this a rooming/boarding house?.What rights do I have as a tenant because the regulations seem to be vague at best when it comes to this situation. Secondly who is responsible for cleaning & upkeep of “common areas” such as bathroom etc? not including personal dishes etc..So does this does fall under the IA or the RTA as the landlord doesnt live here. There is an onsite agent/maintenance guy here who lives in unit 2 who has keys and lets himself in on occasion without notice. how does that work? My girlfriend has been taking care of the regular cleaning of the bathroom and common area floors etc however she isnt everyones “skivvy”. so how does that work? I have seen 5 other tenants come thru here since february 2012 and I have no say or input as to who is let thru the door how does that work? please advise as to where i can find answers to my questions and concerns. Thank you.
Hey Confused,
I can see where there might be some confusion on your part. In your case you actually fall under the Residential Tenancy Act. The reason for this is the landlord doesn’t live on the premises. That was the easy part.
In this case it’s still a rooming house (boarding houses provide a meal or two typically), but still under RTA rules.
As for the cleaning, that depends on the rules the landlord puts in place, the tenants that reside there and how the landlord enforces it.
Since there are common areas the manager is allowed to enter those areas, but your rooms would be regarded as private areas, especially if they have locks. To enter your room he would require proper notice unless prior arrangements are made.
Since you don’t own the property the placement of tenants will be up to the discretion of the landlord or manager I guess in this case. It would be different if you were renting the space and then subletting the rooms.
Hope that helps answer your questions.
Bill
Hi,
I rented a bedroom out in my basement at the start of the month. The tenant has access to my kitchen, so the agreement we signed was a room agreement not covered under RTA I assumed.
Anyway, to cut a long story short. 1 of his cheques bounced shortly after he moved in and he kept saying i’ll have the money in a few days etc. He stays in my house ALL day drinking and I recently caught him smoking inside my house! After a few arguments that came close to blows, I gave him a notice to vacate letter.
I also have 2 young children on a biweekly basis and basically had to stay at friends house this weekend, waiting for the termination date to expire which is today. I drove past this morning and his car is still at my house. What are my options, to get my house back ASAP I can’t live like this anymore. I’m thinking of just going down to the basement and chucking his stuff on the front lawn. Help please..
Hi Gerald,
If you rented out the bedroom and have shared common areas, you fit under the Innkeeper’s Act and the not the Residential Tenancy Act. You could have skipped the notice to vacate letter and told him to leave, especially after catching him smoking.
If he is not gone by the time you get home, tell him he has 30 minutes or you will call the police to escort him off the property. If he is belligerent, call them right away. Innkeeper’s Act is entirely different than Residential Tenancy and as long as you inform the police that you fall under the Innkeeper’s Act you can make this a very short lived issue.
Regards,
Bill
Hi Bill,
I phoned the Police this morning, just to get some information on what I can do tonight. The operator said, the Police can’t get involved in domestic disputes unless it turned violent.
They said I’d have to apply for a court order to evict, I did tell the operator it was a room I rented in my shared basement. Maybe the Police operator was confused that shared living space doesn’t fall under RTA.
So, just to confirm if the guy is still in my house tonight, I can call 911 and have him removed? To be honest I’d like to follow up with a restraining order, so he never comes back and for the safety of my twin 8 year olds.
Thank You..
Hi Gerald,
This seems to come up quite often. There is often confusion between what the police can do and where the RTA versus the Innkeeper’s differ. Under the RTA, you go through the courts to remove tenants, under the Innkeepers Act, the police can escort the tenants off the property and then the tenants can come through small claims court to resolve any issues. In your case and from what you have told me, it sounds like you have a room you rent out and share the rest of the house, this means the RTA doesn’t apply.
Under the Innkeeper’s Act you are similar to a hotel. If a guest in a hotel becomes unruly, they call the police and he is escorted out of the building. It works the same way in your situation. I wouldn’t recommend calling 911 unless it is a real emergency though, I would just use the main police number and call it, it might take an extra couple of hours, but the process will be started. Again, if he is aggressive and you have concerns about safety or damage, then it’s up to you whether you call 911.
Regards,
Bill
Hi we have a tenant that is late every month this month they say cant pay until the last day they always claim they will pay on a certain date and never do but days later always excuses ( coincidence that sickness, deaths, empoyer not paying always same day of the month the 1st day rent due. i am tired of chasing, they were on a longterm lease with an increase that i said after the forth month i would inforce. was toold they are looking for other property to rent. can i evict by email as i do not live near by but 7 hours away? what should i do. please advise Rae
Hi Rae,
You are supposed to deliver the eviction notice in person, but if you can deliver it via email and confirm they received it, it might work for you or at the very least light a fire under them. Perhaps a better solution would be to have someone you know post/deliver the notice to them locally.
Also, if you are serious about getting them out, you should bypass the eviction notice and simply go straight to the RTDRS or the courts and start the eviction immediately. This can save a couple weeks of time if they plan on fighting the eviction or if you believe they won;t leave by the eviction date. You can do much of the RTDRS process (if the area your property is located in is served by the RTDRS) via phone and fax.
Regards,
Bill
the best info i have ever received about the eviction process …bill has been fantastic !!! thanks again
Thanks Ben,
Glad I could help!
Bill
Bill, thank you very much for your eviction guide and help in dealing with our problem tenants. We wish we had found your site and purchased your guide earlier, as the information has been very useful. We appreciate your quick email responses to the questions we had.
Thanks to you our bad tenants and stress are now gone.
Thanks Doug and Susan,
I’m glad I was able to help!
Bill
I had just purchased the package from you and everything looks good. I have a rental property with rent at $1700/month. In our Lease Agreemement we have a late payment penalty ($50 per day)
My concerns:
1: Rent is has been late for the past 4-5 months
2: This month, it is late (we have recieved partial payment)
3: The condition of the property is on a steady decline
is the $50/day an extreme amount, and are the tenants expected to pay this? They have claimed to contact the Landlord Tenant Board and was advised that they do NOT need to pay late payment penalties.
They said they will have the remaining rent payment on Dec 23 (13 days from now)
we have not served them a 14 day eviction notice yet, should we bypass the 14 day eviction notice and proceed to file a claim with RTDRS?
Would the time of year (christmas) have an effect of eviction?
Would the tenant being on medical leave from work (missing work) for 2 weeks, causing a reduced income effect the eviction process?
If we file with the RTDRS, do they still have the 7 days or whatever the length is to pay the remainder of the rent?
If eviction is carried out, how do we ensure that their stuff is gone? How long do they have before i can go in and change locks and start cleaning/repairing the house?
Sorry for the boatload of questions, but as you can tell, its a huge problem
Thank you!
Hi Dustin,
After reading your situation, I would highly suggest you skip the 14 day eviction notice and proceed directly to the RTDRS on the grounds of continually beaching the lease and paying late. It’s highly unlikely they will be changing the way they pay and if you go with a straight 14 day eviction notice for late rent this month, if they pay the rent in full before the eviction date, the eviction notice becomes null and void, meaning you are right back where you were.
Eviction notices are highly effective as evidence and as warnings, but if they don’t leave, you still have to go to court or the RTDRS. It doesn’t sound like they are leaving, so why go through this again?
I also would include the steady decline of the property and any other breaches, you don;t want to give them any wiggle room. When it comes down to paying your rent, it doesn’t matter if it’s winter, if it”s Christmas or if it’s due to being injured or laid off. There can sometimes be compassionate reasons for delays or extended time, but the tenants have a commitment to pay, much like you have a commitment to keep the property at a certain standard. You will have issues over Christmas with availability of hearings and ease of moving for the tenants though, so don;t delay and get this started ASAP.
As for your penalty, it’s not excessive, it’s just unenforceable. The law states you cannot penalize tenants for paying late (stupid rule in my opinion, as the banks seem to be able to get away with it!). As a landlord I have similar penalties in my leases and I use them to reinforce why rent has to be on time. If you go to the RTDRS, don’t include these penalties as part of the money owed as it will be voided and if they have paid in the past, there is a chance you may have to refund these penalties. In the end they will still be responsible for paying the outstanding rent so if they do pay and you are evicting for reasons other than outstanding rent this month only, but rather continually being late, they will still have to go.
If you go through the RTDRS, once the eviction date has come and you confirm they have left you can change the locks. If they haven’t gone by the court ordered eviction date, you can bring in the bailiffs to enforce the eviction and then change the locks. Priority for you at this time is to start compiling information and get ready to go in Monday and file with the RTDRS if applicable in your area (Calgary and Edmonton are not a problem, areas in Southern Alberta do not have RTDRS services yet).
Hope that points you in the right direction Dustin!
Let me know if you have more questions I will be checking email and the site randomly over the weekend and will answer when I can.
regards,
Bill
P.S. Thanks for purchasing my forms package, if you also need the RTDRS guide, there is a discount coupon code included in the forms package you can use, so be sure to find it first.
From what I can see in the RTA and the code of practice it doesn’t appear that late fees are unreasonable. $50/day, though, might be seen as unreasonable. A one time fee of $50 probably would not.
<**note**> Edited by admin as original link no longer works
The tough part is the fee cannot be a penalty and fees for paying late can be deemed as penalties by hearing officers. Often they just throw them out. Even excessive NSF charges will get thrown out, as they can also be deemed penalties. To collect these often the hearing officers will want to see the actual charge you incurred and allow you to pass that on only. Again this isn’t written in stone but is generally how it occurs, soem hearing officers make exceptions.
Regards,
Bill
Hi Bill,
Jut want to say thank you from the bottom of my heart, you were amazing walking me through the painful eviction process of my bad tenant. They came with a lot of pathetic stories from Ontario as a couple, but made life like hell for us from 2months after; and finally didn’t pay for the last month of rent, asked me to use their security deposit, damaged the property, and left without my keys and was going to post it to me. I was devastated, furious and confused; but Bill was helpful all through the way with helpful tips and follow up on steps to take etc. with constant email almost daily. He responded to them all with helpful tips all the way.
Thanks again Bill.
Honestly I had to smile at Robert Janik’s comment. It just seemed so absurd and unrelated to anything I had experienced using AlbertaEviction. As an Alberta landlord, this site has been THE most useful site I have come across, partly because there is so much useful information on it but also because it is all about Alberta’s landlord and tenant laws. Everytime I have a question, I can usually find the answer somewhere on the site, or if not, Bill has kindly answered my questions through e-mail. I recommend AlbertaEviction to every landlord that I meet, and without fail when I speak with any of them after, all I hear is how helpful they have found the information listed here as well. I personally love all the proactive landlording tips Bill e-mails out, but I have also used the site to walk me through a difficult eviction. Bill was able to educate us about a particular law that fit our circumstances and we ended up getting that particular tenant out way faster than we ever could have without Bill’s help. I encourage Mr. Janik, if he is indeed a landlord, to try the site again. Clearly he has misunderstood.
I think someone must have just had a bad day or lhe’s not a landlord but a bad tenant. I just want to say that the information you provided me in my venture to evict saved us a lot of time and money. We started out trying to go to court but with your help we found out that this wasn’t necessary and proceeded without having to go to court. The bad tenant was trying to get us to take them to court just to waste our time and money but had no choice in the end to leave with the help of the police.
So thank you so much Bill, you provide very valuable information.
Thanks Joan, glad I could help!
Bill
lousy info. Scaaaaaaaaaaaaaam!!!!!!!
Somehow I think this wasn’t really a landlord, but rather a tenant leaving this comment? But just to humour you, Mr.Robert Janik, what info do you feel is so lousy?
Bill
So just to follow up on this, I left Robert Janik (I’m assuming that is his name as his email address he left was robertjanik@gmail.com) a comment her to let me know what he felt was so lousy about my info and I also emailed him at the email address he left. At this juncture I’m pretty confident in saying, our poster was likely a tenant who doesn’t like people learning how to evict him.
As I’ve mentioned several other times to other tenants who have left me comments or feel I only help landlords, I help people who are abusing the system. If you are a landlord and you have a tenant not paying you, damaging your property or generally causing problems for you, this site can help. If you are a tenant who has a landlord who has turned off the utilities, doesn’t make necessary repairs and treats you like crap, I can likely help you as well.
There are rules in place to help protect both sides, and there are reasons the rules are in place. I don’t necessarily agree with all of them, but this site can still help. When I have people leave comments like Mr. Janik above (if that’s his or her real name), it raises my hackles so to speak. then when they don’t come back to justify their comments I’m left leaving messages like this.
The only positive, if this turns out to be their real email address, is that now when a landlord searches for them online they should find this series of comments, on an eviction site, which may raise a few red flags about why a tenant was looking up eviction information and calling it a scam.
Regards,
Bill
P.S. I did a search on the email address and found no other references on line to that address.
Hi Bill:
My nephew is in a position where he was dating a girl (who is bi-polar, etc), bought a house in his name only, the lived common law for a year after he purchased the house. The relationship turned sour and he asked her to leave. She refuses. The RCMP were called one night when she was assulting him, they told him he had to leave as she had no place to go and he could go and stay with his mom. They have talked to a lawyer, who said that he has to prove that she is a renter. She does get money from Calgary Housing Authority to cover rent, (although she is not paying a cent) but the Housing Aughorithy will not give them a copy of the lease agreement due to confidentiality and she refuses to give them a copy herself. This has been going on for months. He has given her a written eviction notice, told her numerous times that she has to be out by a certain date and she still refuses. Any help would be appreciated.
Hi Jan,
You have a bit of a problem as you are caught between a common law living arrangement and a Residential Tenancy Dispute. Without a copy of the lease there is nothing to prove she is a tenant versus a spouse. Will the Housing Authority provide a letter verifying she is receiving assistance versus the actual lease copy or Rental assistance form? This might be one tact.
The other issues I see from this are that since they did live common law for a year, she may actually have rights to a portion of the house, just like in a regular divorce. I’m not sure of the time frame common law arrangements require to qualify as divorces, but I seem to think it is a year. Second issue is that your nephew would have had to sign a rental assistance form and submit it to the Housing Authority in order for her to receive her payments. Since it sounds like this money never actually went towards rent, this could easily fall under the fraud category. The question being was he fraudulent in signing the paperwork allowing to receive Calgary Housing payments, or was she fraudulent in accepting the money and not actually paying him. This brings it back full circle to needing a copy of the original lease, or if no lease exists, then this essentially is a divorce, someone was fraudulently receiving funds from the Calgary Housing and the situation I previously mentioned comes back up.
Without that lease or verification she was getting rental money from the Calgary Housing Authority, it will be an uphill struggle trying to evict her. He will have to figure out how to get one or the other and then at that point he can go through the RTDRS to get her evicted. Alternatively, if she pushed that they lived common law, and he was making the mortgage payments, she may have defrauded Calgary Housing. The lesson to be learned fro this is that you need to keep all your documentation in order to be able to evict a tenant, otherwise it becomes he said she said or worse case, as in this scenario, he could potentially lose a portion of his equity to this person as part of a divorce settlement.
I’m not a lawyer, so you may want to get some expert legal advise, but this is how it appears to me with the information you have provided so far, not sure if it helps, but it may clarify where you sit right now.
Regards,
Bill
Hi Bill:
Thanks for all the great info and links on your site. You used to have a page about the Alberta Innkeepers Act, posted on Nov 19, 2010. It is not showing up as a valid link anymore from Google, but there was a cached page I could look at. Is this information still valid?
I have a couple of rooms in my basement in Edmonton that I rent out to people who present themselves as having good character (I have two young children upstairs). Recently, I had a problem with one fellow who was bothering the other guest by making meals, doing dishes (disturbances) after midnight. I told him when he came in that this was an Inn under the AB Innkeepers Act (I have the required posting on the inside of the doors of the bedrooms), so I asked him to cease and desist which mostly he did, but there was still a real personality conflict between the two guests. Ultimately, I gave him 59 days notice to vacate at the end of July 2011, plenty of time to find a place. He kept saying that he wasn’t leaving and at the beginning of July refused to pay rent. On July 8, I gave him a notice to pay up by Monday the 11th or else leave. He didn’t pay, so as per my rights (I thought) under the Innkeepers Act I changed the locks and retained his stuff until he came up with a payment. Yesterday I allowed him to come and pick up his food and clothing without any payment and after he had done so, he delivered me a letter from a lawyer which he had gotten through Legal Aid which stated that I had no rights under the Innkeepers Act and that they would go to Court of Queens Bench for “an application for Replevin”.
Do these people have a winable case and what resources are there that would help me? Thanks so much for any suggestions that you can provide.
Sincerely,
Ken.
Hi Ken,
Thanks for notifying me about that, were you finding it via a Google search, or did you try it off of the site? The page is still up and not much has changed with the information that I am aware of. Here is the actual link if it helps, Innkeepers Act Versus RTA.
In answer to your question, most importantly you need to know I am not a lawyer and this is just my opinion but, from everything you tell me, it sounds like you won’t have a problem, other than you will end up wasting a bunch of your time. Since he is using Legal Aid, his court costs will be zero and he is just cluttering up the court system and wasting tax dollars (again in my opinion and from what I am reading here). So even if he is wrong it doesn’t matter, of course the question is why would Legal Aid think they would win.
If the property does indeed fit under the Innkeeper’s Act, it’s pretty cut and dried, he broke the rules and didn’t pay, so you followed the Act. So his lawyer will have to prove you fit under Residential Tenancy Act for their case to hold water. This falls into line with what you said about you having no rights under the Innkeepers Act. If you can prove you are renting rooms in your private home with shared access to the property no problem. If the lower unit has separate suites, then it’s a problem.
Replevin is a legal remedy for someone to try and get back goods held by someone illegally. So he is just saying you are holding his goods illegally, which again isn’t true if he owes you money and you fall under the Innkeeper’s Act. Your options at this point are to read through the Act and make sure everything sounds good and you fit all the qualifications and to make sure everything you do points back to this staying under the Innkeepers Act. If it looks like you fall under RTA, then you will have other problems, but can probably just return his stuff and walk away from the money owed (yes it sucks), but it would likely end there.
Some of your options are, you can try and defend yourself in court, or hire your own lawyer to fight it or contact the other lawyer (if he will talk to you) and negotiate. Perhaps they will agree to a partial payment to get the goods back, or they may want to be hard nosed and see what they can do, you never know until you try. It may come down to how badly you want the money or how bad you want this over, although it really sounds like you did everything correctly.
However it ends up, there are a couple lessons here. First, it’s not worth giving someone extra time if there is a problem. As bad as it sounds, being nice as a landlord when you are evicting someone rarely turns out in your favor. Follow the rules, explain why they have to leave and stick to your guns, you are probably off their Christmas list anyway as you are kicking them out.. Second, if you fit under the Innkeeper’s Act one of your biggest benefits is the police. They will come to assist you in removing a tenant who is being evicted and you will have the benefit of having the law on your side. This can be huge leverage if someone is unwilling to leave, especially if you explain there options, leave now, or I will call the police and they will help you leave.
Again, I’m not a lawyer, I don’t have all the facts and I might be missing something important here, but from my understanding of the information provided, it’s my opinion that you won;t have a problem winning.
Hope that helps,
Bill
Thanks Bill – just saw the ad in the Anchor advertising this site….. have passed it on to another new landlord…… always appreciate your input and advice..
Hi Colleen,
Thanks for commenting! Just thought you should know you are part of the reason I wrote the guide! I still remember first meeting you at the RTDRS and how I was able to help you get through some of the confusing aspects of all the paperwork and the processes! Thankfully it worked out for you and I hope you are doing well.
Bill
So grateful. Hope it is everything I need it to be. Shannon
Thanks Shannon,
Hopefully your eviction works out successfully and thanks for the great comments and questions you have left!
Bill
So absolutely frustrated right now. Bill, your materials are great as is your followup by email. You make the RTDRS sound so simple and effective; but, that is the furthest things from my experience. I have had two cases with them in the past 10 months, went in with ALL my documentation necessary (plus more) and felt both times that it was a waste of time. CASE 1 they awarded me a judgement but wouldn’t let me ask for his new phone number and place of work; CASE 2 after serving her with eviction for March which she refused, we went to the Resolution service in April. Despite knowing that there was extensive damage to the home AND rent was late 7 out of 9 months, the “judge” asked HER when she would like to leave. We were not consulted at all as to what we hoped for. In the end the judge offered her until June 30th. This after we had served her for March. This just doesn’t make sense to me.
So, here I am today with another renter who is late for the 4th time out of 5 months; who won’t answer calls; promises money and doesn’t pay it and I don’t know where to start. I’m just angry, tired and searching for what really does work. And yes, I did check references. Needing to vent and wishing there were someone who’s been there to talk to.
Linda
Hi Linda,
I’m sorry to hear about your experiences. And unfortunately I don’t have a good answer for you.
For the first case, this is where the Privacy Laws completely fail. They are setup to protect people from invasion of their privacy, but rather they work as shields for people breaking the laws. While it does restrict what you can do with the judgment, it does still remain on their record for quite a while.
For the second case, that’s just shocking. Did she have young children? That is another loophole. When families with younger children are involved they can get away with virtually everything.
I’ll send you a private email and maybe we can talk a bit more.
Bill