Eviction Information Quick Start
Hi, I’m Bill Biko, I’ve been a landlord for over twenty years now and when it comes to evicting a tenant, I’ve had a lot of experience. Since I started land lording I’ve had over 1,500 of my own tenants which taught me a lot on it’s own, and while I’ve had a ton of great tenants, not all of them were perfect and that taught me even more.
That’s what led to the creation of this site. Since I started I’ve helped tens of thousands of landlords, tenants, realtors and more with my articles and advice and through my eviction forms, eviction guides and consulting services.
I understand the frustrations because I’ve been there. When I lthink about the first time I was evicting a tenant I had the same frustrations we all do.
I had a bad tenant, I wanted to evict them quickly and yet I didn’t understand the process of evicting a tenant. Trying to find the information was painful and on top of it, I was getting conflicting information. Sound familiar?
So to get past those frustrations, I learned what I needed to do with bad tenants, what the processes and hoops I had to jump through to deal with them were and ultimately how to evict them with as little additional pain and frustration as possible.
Experience comes from dealing with problems, and boy have I dealt with a lot of problems to earn that experience!
While dealing with so many tenants has definitely had it’s ups and downs, the positive is all that experience has led me to become an expert on the eviction process in Alberta and also an expert on how to avoid many of them before they even happen.
I now know what I can do, what I can’t do and what I should be doing in advance to help anyone evicting a tenant deal with it as quickly and effectively as possible.
That knowledge led to the creation of AlbertaEviction.com to help other landlords going through similar frustrations understand the steps and processes of evicting a tenant.
But there’s so much information here that new visitors are often confused about where to start or where to find the information they need right now! It can be both overwhelming and confusing and you want information that will help as quickly as possible.
That’s where this Getting Started page comes into play.
To help landlords (and tenants, if you’re a tenant check out my guide for tenants called A Tenant’s Guide to Evictions) find the information they need about evictions in Alberta, I’ve put together this page to help organize many of the common questions I get about evictions.
While many of the articles themselves are helpful,
be sure to read through the dozens of comments below the article
to get even more information.
If you’re renting out a room in your property, versus a suite, house or apartment, you should immediately scroll down to the Tenancy Act or Innkeeper’s Act section as it has vital information you need to know moving forward that can save you time and frustration.
Otherwise scroll down to the appropriate section that relates to your situation where you will find specific articles related to the topic.
I hope you find this helpful.
Contacting Me Directly
Due to time constraints, I don’t take calls about evictions directly except on a consultation basis. If you have simple questions, please leave comments at the bottom of any page and I am usually able to respond within 24-72 hours.
If your questions are of a more urgent nature and you need immediate help I do offer 30 minute consulting sessions which you can find out more about here, When You Need Expert Eviction Advise NOW. I usually respond to these calls in 12 hours or less and often within a couple hours.
Eviction Notices
Here are several of the popular posts about how and when to use eviction notices when evicting a tenant. Note that eviction notices do not guarantee tenants will vacate. If tenants do not leave after the eviction notice period, you then have to go directly to either the courts or the Residential Tenancy Dispute Resolution Service to get a court ordered eviction.
Read “When Not To Use a 14 Day Eviction Notice” below to learn more about this.
Have the tenants threatened you or other tenants? You may be able to use a 24 hour eviction notice, find out more by reading “Know when You Can Use a 24 Hour Eviction Notice”
Don’t Wait To Evict Late Paying Tenants
What To Do With Continually Late Paying Tenants
When Not To Use a 14 Day Eviction Notice
An Extra Step To Ensure Your Eviction Is Effective
Know When You Can Use A 24 Hour Eviction Notice
If you plan on using an eviction notice, I’ve put together a package of eviction forms along with a step by step guide on how to fill them out and where to use them so they are not only legal in Alberta, but properly filled out to avoid loopholes.
Yu can find out more information here, Eviction Form Packages
Late Paying Tenants
Late paying tenants may not seem like a big issue at first, but when it becomes habitual it becomes a much bigger problem and can lead to even bigger problems down the road. These articles discuss what you can do with tenants who constantly pay late.
In my experience you need to treat late payments very seriously as it sets the tone for future instances. I’ve even given tenants eviction notices for late payments with the understanding that if they pay the rent before the eviction date the notice is null and void.
This allows me to have a paper trail showing they are consistently late if I do need to evict them later. check out the following articles for more information.
What To Do With Continually Late Paying Tenants
Don’t Wait To Evict Late Paying Tenants
Evicting A Tenant – The Process
Understanding the steps involved with evicting a tenant can solve a bunch of frustrations. The following links will take you to some videos of interviews I had with eviction service companies in Edmonton and Calgary.
They explain many of the steps and issues you may be facing and also walks you through what they can do for you if you don’t have the time or patience to evict the tenant yourself.
Changes to The Eviction Enforcement Process in Alberta
An Interview With an Eviction Services Company
If you plan on evicting a tenant through the Residential Tenancy Dispute Resolution Service (RTDRS), I’ve put a guide together that walks you through all the steps involved, explains exactly what will occur at each stage and even includes several examples of actual evictions I went through with my tenants.
You can find out more about it at the following link,
How To Evict Tenants Using the RTDRS
RTDRS Info
The Residential Tenancy Dispute Resolution Service or RTDRS is a system designed to streamline landlord and tenant issues. It’s available in Edmonton, Calgary, Fort MacMurray and Central Alberta and is my favourite way to evict tenants as it is far less formal than the court systems and a much easier environment to navigate.
The link below walks you through more information about the RTDRS
Residential Tenancy Act or Innkeeper’s Act?
Were you aware that if you are renting rooms out in your personal residence, your property fits under the Innkeeper’s Act (IA) versus the Residential Tenancy Act (RTA), the rules and laws for this are substantially different, and are much more in favour of the “Innkeeper”.
Understanding this can make evicting a tenant much easier where as not understanding it can cause delays, give your tenant unwarranted extensions and generally cost you money.
Here are some quick links to help explain the difference and to help you determine if you’re actually an Innkeeper. I’d really recommend reading through the comments on these articles as well.
Enforcement of the IA is hit and miss at times and understanding it better can help make sure you fit under the rules better.
Does Your Rental Fit Under The Innkeeper’s Act?
Innkeeper’s Act Versus Residential Tenancy Act
Due to many of the headaches that people renting out rooms have run into I’ve created several packages of Room Rental/Innkeeper’s Leases that not only include the necessary forms, but also explain the rules and regulations much more in depth.,
Knowing this can make your landlord experience, much more enjoyable. You can find out more information about the various packages at the following link,
Roommate Leases/Innkeepers Lease Packages
Other Popular Posts About Evicting A Tenant
There are also several other articles I’ve written that answer some of the common questions I often received.
They don’t quite fit into some of the other categories, but they may be relative to you, so take a look through and see if they are exactly what you were looking for.
Can You Evict a Tenant In The Winter In Alberta
Extra Steps to Ensure an Effective Eviction
Why It Doesn’t Matter What Tenants Say About Leaving
The Spiral Landlords Get Dragged Into With Evictions
This site is continually evolving and I try to add new, relevant posts and updates as I get more feedback from you the readers, so if you have questions, feel free to leave a comment here.
Eviction & Eviction Notice Guides
I’ve also put together a couple of comprehensive guides to help landlords dealing with eviction issues in Alberta. One is a package of both 14 day and 24 hour eviction notices that includes all the required information to make the notice valid in this province and the second is a full step by step guide to evicting tenants using the RTDRS service.
Both of these are paid products, but when you consider the cost of making a mistake when evicting a bad tenant, you will find them an absolute steal. Plus they come with a 100% money back guarantee! So you win either way.
14 and 24 Hour Eviction Notice Package with Walk Through
Evicting Tenants in Alberta Using The RTDRS
If you still haven’t found what you are looking for and are confused about your next step to evict a problem tenant or simply want to better understand your options when it comes to dealing with a tenant issue, I also offer a consulting service to help guide you along the way.
I can answer questions you may want to keep out of the public eye and to answer the tough questions. when it comes to evicting a tenant. I can also help you avoid mistakes that lets tenants stay for additional weeks or months on your dime!
To find out more about this option, you can visit this page,
Residential Lease Packages
As the site has become more and more popular I have had more and more requests from people to get copies of the forms and paperwork I use.
One of the main requests being my lease package.
So I’ve put together several bundles of leases that should fit most people’s requirements. You can find out more about them here,
Residential Lease Packages For Alberta
Resources – Eviction Service Companies
Evicting a tenant isn’t a job for everyone. It can take time, energy and there may even be a concern about confrontations. At times like this you may want to hire a professional to deal with everything for you.
First, this isn’t something I do for others (I have enough on my plate!), but I have worked with and talked with several companies that do tenant evictions on a daily basis.
Here’s a resource page of companies you can contact so you can deal with this from a more hands off approach.
Alberta Eviction Service Companies
Evicting A Tenant
As always, there may be information that you can’t find, or doesn’t apply quite the same to you. For non-time sensitive matters simply leave a comment below or on the appropriate page and I’ll get back to you when I have time.
Also, if you find the information on the site helpful, leave a comment to let others know about it and be sure to share it with friends who would also find it helpful.
Regards,
Bill Biko
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Hi Bill,
I gave my tenant over 3 months notice to vacate the premises. They are on a month-to-month lease. I explain to them I need to sell the property as I an getting old and not in good physical shape. It seems apparent that they have no intention to move out end of this month. What are my options?
Thank you.
Anant
Hi Anant, unfortunately it sounds like your notice to vacate was invalid. Under a month to month lease there are limited ways for a landlord to terminate the lease and while selling is one of them there is a specific method for it. That 90 day notice cannot be served to the tenant until the property is sold (ie all conditions are removed). Since you haven’t even listed it yet, your hands are tied. Since the tenants don’t seem to want to move, it becomes even more complicated as they can make selling even more difficult by neglecting the property and forcing the price lower, by interfering with showings, by not keeping the property clean and a myriad of other highly annoying tactics.
I had actually written an article walking landlords through the process of selling their rental, which you can find here https://albertaeviction.com/alberta-eviction-process/selling-a-property-with-tenants/ that I recommend you read through.
Thee are some strategies to help you at this point an dif you’d like to book a consultation I could walk you through the steps. Be aware though, due to the month to month lease it could be expensive as you would have to pay the tenants to leave (cash for keys) or it would take time.
You can book consultations here, https://albertaeviction.com/when-you-need-expert-eviction-advice/
Bill
Hi Bill,
Our renters were late on rent AGAIN, to be brief. I have a couple of questions. We were out of the country when rent was due and the date passed. I had pre signed eviction copies made and had my friend mail them by registered mail. They have not picked up the mail at the post office yet and now the 14 day date for eviction is closing in and they still haven’t picked up their notices. What is the rule regarding this? If they were to pick up their notice (I actually have them 17 days notice because I factored in the post delivery time) they will actually have a 6 day notice. Does this still hold or will I have to serve them new papers in person with 14 days allotted?
Also, in our lease agreement we have late fees. Do late fees hold up in the test of law when collecting? So, on our eviction notice we indicates all rental charges and late fees are to be paid in full and then the eviction notice is null and void.
Thanks in advance for your time!
Hi Marty,
The clock really doesn’t start until they receive the notice, that’s the problem with not serving it in person. At this point you might as well throw it out of the window and move to step two which is going to be applying for a hearing.
Once you’re in a hearing the late fees are usually thrown out and if you are evicting only for paying late this time if they pay up they will be allowed to stay. If you’re evicting them for continuous breach of the payment terms, then even if they pay up you’ll be able to evict them. I discuss that a bit more under one of the other articles on the site.
Bill
Hi, What are a Landlords options when they rent out a town home, to two separate tenants (both had met with each other before lease was signed, and everyone seemed to get along….). There is a separate lease for each tenant , indicating their portion of the shared rent, utilities etc..
It is a guy and a girl, and since the time that they had both moved in ( less than a month) the female tenant is being intimidated by the male tenant, to the point where she has some real concerns about safety, and just not sure if he may lose his temper at some point. Can I as a landlord give notice to the male tenant to leave on that sort of basis? It is almost a ‘he said – she said’ situation, as I can only go on what she has told me. They are both paying their rent on time, but of course it has just been the first month. The lease indicates that ‘The landlord grants the Tenant the right of full use and occupation and Peaceful enjoyment of the Leased Premises” which is certainly not the case for the female tenant. I don’t believe that the male tenant is even being civil enough to her, to sit down and talk about the issues. I plan on meeting with them both this weekend and have a meeting with all of us, but any suggestions would be appreciated !
Hi L.G.,
If the one tenant is interfering with the peaceful enjoyment of their space, you need to step in. You’ve created the situation where you have two unrelated tenants living together and ultimately her safety comes down to you.
Step one, you need to immediately talk to the intimidating tenant and inform them this will not be tolerated. If this isn’t working he should vacate now or make plans to vacate very shortly.
Step two, follow it up with a written letter (you can drop this off simultaneously) informing him any threatening actions or physical confrontations with either the other tenant or the landlord can trigger a 24 hour eviction notice.
Step three, if anything happens you have to take immediate action, the 24 hour eviction notice should be provided same day or as quickly as possible and then if they don’t vacate an immediate filing at the RTDRS office needs to be made.
Bill
Once a tenant gives notice to move out, does the landlord have the right to show the room to new renters and what is the procedure. My tenants are renting furnished rooms with a shared kitchen and bathroom. After a tenant moves out, within how many days must a landlord give back the damage deposit .
Hi Loreen,
This can vary depending on the setup and whether the landlord lives there. I have furnished rooms I rent out and in my case I never show them until they are empty. I do have dozens of different pictures of the rooms unoccupied that I use to show people and to place in my marketing, but that is as close as they get to seeing inside.
I could probably force the issue, but the headaches aren’t worth it and if it makes the tenant confrontational you know the room won’t look good when you show it anyway.
As for the deposits, they should be refunded within ten days of the tenants moving out, but again this can vary whether you live on the property or not. Again using my properties as an example, I refund as tenants move out after doing the walkout inspection and filling out my walk out forms. Since I cover all the utilities there aren’t any surprises that way and inspecting the room is easy enough to do with a checklist.
Hope that helps, if you’re interested in the forms I use and the processes you can check out the links on the top of this page to Roommate/Innkeeper rental forms.
Regards,
Bill
Hello again
it appears we may have a tenant who will not be paying rent. I want to get my ducks in a row.
once the rent cheque does not clear. …I can start eviction process.
I want to be correct.
I give 14 day notice to evict., with the option to pay rent and nsf prior to eviction date.
I include names, rental address and sign it.
Yes it is a fixed term lease with a section stating unpaid rent will result in termination.
Is this correct.?
Hi Marcy,
As soon as the check doesn’t clear or the day after you don’t receive payment you can start the eviction process. But you don’t necessarily need to give them an eviction notice, you can go directly to the RTDRS and file for a court eviction.
Which route you take depends on each scenario and for a first time offence I would suggest using the eviction notice, but for a repeat offender I would bypass that and go directly to the RTDRS or if you really want to get the tenant out.
Bill
Hi Bill, I’m glad to have come across your web page. I sure could of used it 3 months ago. I was a first time landlord of one year. Had a so called nice middle age family in my house with 3 children. They caused so much damage that above the $2400 damage deposit it cost me $12000 to get me house back together. I filed with the Residential Tenancy Dispute Resolution Service (RTDRS) and I have been awarded the judgment.
I rented the house again to a young individual. I interviewed a lot of possible tenants and made my best choice. This person been paying well and seems to be very nice. I have entered the house recently and noticed the house to be quite untidy. I thinking they may need a maid. (lol) The house is not damaged and I’m ok with the current situation except I have noticed a smell of Pot!! The house is non smoking. Maybe it on this persons jacket?
How or should I bring this to their attention? I do not want to go through the same thing as I did 3 months ago. It was a very financial and stressful time for my family.
What would you suggest?
Thanks in advance
Marie
Hi Marie,
You may want to give them a written notice about the responsibilities outlined in the lease about keeping the property in good repair and clean. You could also broach the subject of the smell of marijuana and reminding them that what they do on their personal time is fine, but that the property itself is non-smoking, which includes pot.
Best path is to always have a written note about this and if you do talk to hem in person, follow it up with some form of written notice to have as potential future evidence in case it does go down hill.
Regards,
Bill
Hi Bill,
I have a tenant who is paying month-to-month since her lease expired earlier this year. She wanted a short lease in the beginning as she was just waiting to have renovations completed on her own property. It has now been ten months past and she still does not have a final completion date, although it should be in the next couple months. I have been wanting to sell that property for awhile now (which has been openly communicated to her) but have been very flexible and accommodating as I know she would be in a bind waiting for her place to be ready. Can I serve her a 90 day eviction notice so that I can list the place once she moves out? Listing the property with her in it is not an option…I tried that for a couple of months and it just didn’t work out (scheduling/viewing conflicts, cluttered/unstaged state, etc.). Anything that I should keep in mind so that I don’t back myself in a corner? Thanks very much!
Hi Mika,
You backed yourself into a corner by going month to month.
You can’t evict her because you are selling the house, you can only give her a 90 day eviction notice after you have a confirmed sale. You do however have the option of raising the rent once every 365 days and since she is at ten months you are close to that time frame.
However, you have to give 90 days notice (three full months) to do that, so I’d suggest giving her a substantial increase notice as motivation. If she doesn’t leave, the higher rent will help potentially offset the delay.
Bill
Thank you for the great info, Bill! If she is open to it, can I get her to sign a one or two month lease agreement starting on the first of next month? I am hoping this alleviates the 90 day notice for rent hike and like I said, she is only looking to stay until her renovations are completed (any day now!). It is just so difficult to get her to commit to a specific date, making it VERY hard for us to list the property.
Hello we rent a house privately here..we have a lease saying we have full control over house…our daughter lives in the basement suite with our two granddaughters…we rent the room out but the tenant refused to sign a lease with us…so we are on a month to month basis…I asked him upfront if he had a criminal background now I find otherwise…he was in federal prison for assault…he used to be a meth dealer for 10 years….the last five days I noticed some erratic and bizarre behavior…..he keeps seeing bugs that are not there…shadows…found out he spent major time in alberta hospital…he never threatened me so I figured just leave him be….had once incident he was suicidal and was holding a knife to his throat…police came almost had to tazer him….because he wouldn’t go with them..off he went to hospital and back 10 hours….tonight he flipped out on me for no reason …I felt threatened and ran downstairs..called police I told them he might be on drugs they said they couldn’t do anything he was escorted and driven to his friends…I said can you give me a restraining order they said they couldn’t…so now I’m scared when this person comes back…I went downtown and they told me unless he’s related I can’t do nothing until Monday…please help me get this person out I’m scared…he has a knife ….razor blades…I’m totally freaked and need your help…sheena80@shaw.ca
Hi Sheena,
If he’s threatening you, you can give him a 24 hour eviction notice, but the reality is if he doesn’t leave you have to file for an eviction Monday. I have several articles on the site about 24 hour evictions and when you can use them, When you Can Use a 24 Hour Eviction notice.
If you provide him with a 24 hour eviction notice (and you should do this immediately), it can also be part of your evidence when you apply to the RTDRS and it should be mentioned when filing as this expedites the process a bit.
If you’re unsure of the RTDRS process, I do provide a full guide that walks you through how to file, what to expect and all the steps along the way, you can purchase it here, Using the RTDRS To Evict A Tenant.
In the meantime, I’d suggest you find a temporary place to stay. In future, NEVER EVER let a tenant in if they refuse to sign a lease and make sure you do thorough due diligence on future tenants.
Bill
Good day.
Great site. Thank you for providing an excellent resource. My 4 hour flight delay turned out to be the best thing that happened because I disovered your site. Hours turned into minutes reading all the scenario’s.
Simple question: n addition to not permitting drinking or drugs on my property can I include cigarette smoking?
Thank you in advance.
I live on the property and rent furnished rooms out on a monthly and weekly basis with shared common areas.
Also, you may want to check out the sections on the Innkeeper’s Act to have a better understanding of what rules you can operate under.
Bill
Hi Jamie,
If you are in Alberta the answer is a resounding yes. Having the property be non-smoking is allowable under the rules and tenants breaching that rule is grounds for an eviction.
Bill
Dear Bill:
Here’s a good one, I think. My 82 year mother has my useless, elder-abusing ex-brother living in her basement. He has lived at home all his life but for about three years. He pays no rent, does not help with anything, and provides no support or help in any way.
How does she get him out? My mother is now at the end of her tether and wants him gone.
Thanks for any advice.
G
Hi Greg,
You’re starting to get into family law with situations like this which is beyond the scope of this site. In the old days, you simply kicked your kids out when they broke the rules once to often, nowadays with litigation and lawyers it gets a bit trickier. You may want to consult with a family lawyer to confirm options.
It may still be viable to simply lock him out, but until you confirm it please don’t.
Bill
Hi Bill,
I have a roommate I have to Evict. We have a roommate agreement set up between us for a shared living space. He was not put on the lease agreed with my landlord. I have a strict no drug tolerance on the roommate agreement, If there is shown use or possession it would be immediate eviction stated on the agreement. He had initialled beside it understanding. He has now come home high off acid ( willingly admitting and telling me to stay out of his room and we’ll be good) and showing possession and use of other drugs on the property ( As he stumbles through my home high dropping ash from his pipe on my couch and lighting up in my backyard), This has become a high risk and safety issue and have spoken to police especially with a baby in the house. They have agreed to be there for giving the notice incase he is high and i don’t know how he’ll react. Does he get 24 hour notice? Am I suppose to give a warning? And if its past the first of the month by only a few days hows the issue with rent and security deposit work with a breach in his agreement.?
Help would be great Thank you!
Sarah
Hi Sarah,
Sorry to hear about you problem, but there are some good points here. s it’s a roommate situation you don’t fit under the Residential Tenancy Act, you’re acting as the landlord in this case subletting the room to him and because of this the closest legislation you fit under is the Innkeeper’s Act.
Now you don’t specifically fit under it, but the majority of the time the rules default to this. At this point I’d suggest giving the tenant an ultimatum to be out by X day, depending on your stress level and concern it could be tomorrow, or it could be a week to give them time to get out. Let them know if they do not vacate by that time you will bring in the police to assist.
Your enticement for him would be he gets the prorated amount of his rent back to him plus his security deposit (if the room and property are in the same condition as when he arrived) right away. If he delays, drags this out or causes problems you may retain more of his rent for vacating the room early. Hopefully this lights a fire under him and pushes him forward.
Now the caveat, the police don’t enforce this equally across the board. The Residential Tenancy Act and the Innkeeper’s Act aren’t actively covered by the police as they are meant to be dealt with in the court. However, under the Innkeeper’s Act there is a section dealing with problem guests and is where hotels are allowed to have police escort problem guests out of the property. Some officers extend this out to roommate situations and will help you out, especially if they get out of control.
There is always a a chance he will try and take you to court later, but in the majority of situations when roommates get kicked out they are in breach of some portion of the law and rather than get exposed to their breaches they just move forward and forget about it. Now if they are wrongfully evicted it still gives them leverage, but it sounds like in your situation you won’t have many issues.
Just be sure to document everything in case it does suddenly come back up later.
Hope that helps,
Bill
Hi Bill,
Up until a about three weeks ago, the owner of the property I live in was the “landlord”, we ended up with a crack head in one of the suites and now he is using “management” company, which doesn’t return phone calls. Sometimes he was slow to respond but he’s a good landlord and I’m a good tenant. I had an issue with my job in July, so my Aug rent was late but is paid in full. When I moved in here, the owner allowed me to move in without a tenancy agreement or lease, he said he would come by the following week with one but never did, I tried to contact him a couple times with no response so I let it go, I’ve lived here since March. I told him he didn’t have to worry about paying a cleaning company because I was going to do it again anyway so I cleaned the place before I moved in. The damage walk through was done with maintenance guy the day I got the keys before I had a chance to clean it. There was things in the suite which needed to be fixed and I was told would be fixed and never were, some of those things I also had fixed because I considered them “safety” issues (anything electrical related); I didn’t ask for any money after they were fixed or anything like that. Management company says I broke residential tenancy act or something because I made an “improvement”. What I did was make sure no one was going to get zapped by faulty wiring and installed a $400 closet organizer (I asked the owner first and he said I could do anything I wanted to the place), and fixed the caulking in the shower so there wouldn’t end up being a leak into the wall and subsequent mold growing. Two days after the management company took over they had a locksmith come and change the locks. I work nights… yesterday (Sunday) I left to go to work and discovered an eviction notice posted on my front door, according to the time on the notice I was still awake, so clearly they just stuck it on there instead of trying to reach me directly. Have to say I’m so happy to have an eviction notice posted on my door for all the neighbors to see when I as far as I’m aware I’ve done nothing wrong… very respectful way to treat someone (note the sarcasm). Reason for eviction says I owe $800 in misc charges. I don’t owe any money to the management company or to the building owner, so I’m confused. I called the management company, the person who’s name is on the notice wasn’t there and there was no one there seems to be able to tell me what this is about. They initially said they wanted to come and do a walk through to look at the suite (everyone’s not just mine), but there has never been any date/time set up to do that.
I think it is because there is no agreement or lease between the owner/management company and myself and now they are just trying to fabricate a way to get me out so they can have someone else move in and sign one. I don’t know what my options are. I’ve never been evicted or even received an eviction notice until now, in fact I’m quite disturbed by getting one. I’ve only lived in Alberta for 9 months, I actually lived with my next door neighbor (we’ve been friends for years) for the first three months I was here, so I’ve lived in this building for the whole time I’ve been in Alberta. For essentially the previous decade I owned my house, so it isn’t like I have another landlord I can use as a reference even if I did move out. How is possible or OK to treat a tenant like this? I know you usually help landlords get bad tenants out, but what about when a good tenant is treated badly?
Robin
Hi Robin,
I’d start by writing a letter of objection regarding the eviction explaining that you fixed wiring that you had requested to be fixed and was never completed and that you had the landlords verbal approval to make changes.
I’d also ask for a detailed list of the miscellaneous charges that they believe you are responsible for.
Once you’ve objected they have to either submit a new eviction notice or take you to a hearing through the courts or the RTDRS service. Even with an eviction notice, you won’t have to leave until you receive a court order for you to vacate by a specific date, but that requires a hearing which you get to attend and defend yourself.
To best prepare for that, I’d suggest creating a timeline now while things are fairly fresh of any conversations, arrangements, requests you’ve made and any notices you’ve received that you can provide as evidence if it does come to a hearing.
In the end, they need a valid reason to evict you and if you can invalidate any reasons with a thorough defence they can’t evict you. As for usually helping landlords, my goal of the site is to help good people deal with bad people. The majority of the time (just due to the numbers of renters versus landlords out there) it is the tenants who are bad, but I often help good tenants with bad landlords, so I hope this helps!
Regards,
Bill
Hi Bill,
Thank you so much for your quick response, I really appreciate your help. They called me back today, told me the eviction notice is because I have to sign a lease (they also told my friend whose lease has been expired for years that she has to sign another one), and they said the $800 is for a damage deposit. I paid a damage deposit to the owner when I moved in. I told them they can’t force me to sign I lease now, I’ve lived here without one too long (not sure about my friend)… interestingly enough if they’d just asked me to sign one in the first place and not threatened me I probably wouldn’t have had an issue with it. I’ve been a good tenant without one, having a piece of paper saying I’m going to live here for X amount of time isn’t going to make a difference – I don’t appreciate being threatened. I also told them I already paid a DD and wouldn’t be paying another one. The woman I was talking to said it is because now they are in charge of the property blah blah blah… and then said she’d get the GM for me who could give me more information. The GM never did come to the phone. Since they have confirmed my suspicion that it is to get me to sign a lease, should I include that in my objection? Does it need to be in any particular format, or just a letter saying I object to it and why? Does it have to be delivered in any particular way? I was thinking of just taking two copies into the their office and having the receptionist sign and date one so I have record of when it was received by them.
Oh I also never got a “notice of landlord” when I moved in, I have no idea what that even is but someone told me I should have gotten one. Is it important?
Thank you again. My stress level went way down after I read your response. I really appreciate your time 🙂
Robin
Hey Robin,
At this point they can’t force you to sign a lease. If one isn’t completed before you move in too bad. However, they could give you the option of continuing on what would be a month to month basis with a stiff rent increase or allow you to sign a fixed term lease for a more reasonable increase to effectively force your hand.
As far as increasing the damage deposit, that is illegal. The damage deposit does not increase, even with a new lease.
I wouldn’t necessarily go into specifics about the objection, but rather request more information from them again to drag it out. If they don’t understand the rules, it’s not your job to educate them, they are supposed to be a property manager. Also the longer it takes to get answers the further out any potential rent increases would be as they have to provide 90 days notice which includes three full months.
If they don’t get back to you until the 2nd of October that gives you another full month of no changes.While it might be nice to have the receptionist sign and ate your copy, they may refuse, you could send it registered mail, or simply request her name and document everything.
The notice of landlord is simply an address where you can serve the landlord any court applications or letters of objection, at this point it comes back to the PM’s address now although they should have provided it earlier.
Hope that helps,
Bill
Hi Bill, I did what you said to do and asked them for a list detailing what the eviction was about and the subsequent $800 demand, and gave it to them on the 19th. Their notice stated I needed to vacate by the 22nd. Last night I got home from work (shift changed to days now) and discovered I have another eviction notice on my door, this time they say I’ve done significant damage or something (they have never asked or been inside my apartment as far as I’m aware), I did have a conversation with them when I mentioned the things I’ve done to/in the suite. I can dispute this one the same as I did the last one correct?
Why do I get the distinct feeling I’m going to be harassed every two/three weeks or so? As an aside there are two other tenants who live here who are now considering finding somewhere else to live because of how I’m being treated. There are only 4 suites in this building.
IF I am working out of town (sometimes I do and it could be for weeks at a time) and they serve another eviction notice, when I come back find out I’ve been evicted. What are my options? Can I come home and find the locks changed possessions gone? Or are there certain rules that they have to abide by? If my neighbor happens to see the notice can I have them give the rental company back a response if I’m away?
Thank you again
Robin
Hi Robin,
You can definitely dispute any notice given to you, however once you dispute it, it starts the clock for them to attempt to apply for an eviction hearing. This can be a good and a bad thing. When they have no grounds for evicting you and obviously appear to be making things up or unsure of the process, you really want a hearing. If I recall you have objection letters asking for more information, evidence showing you asked for repairs they didn’t complete and they appear to be making things up.
So a hearing would only benefit you. If you could get letters/statements form the other tenants or better yet bring them to a hearing it would benefit you even more.
Now, if you’re gone and they serve another eviction notice, they can’t change the locks until they have an actual hearing and the courts set an eviction date. This currently takes about 10-14 days after the eviction date on an eviction notice.
To cover yourself, send them a written note and make sure they are aware you are gone for a while for work when you leave. This would allow you to fight any eviction they tried to push through while you are away due to the grounds they knew you were gone and couldn’t properly serve you hearing dates. They have to serve you with a hearing date notice a full three days before any hearing. If you don’t get served the hearing application, you can appeal the eviction on the grounds you were improperly served.
If your neighbour sees a notice, I would make sure they have your number or email to send you an update. Once you know about the eviction notice you can reply to the property manager about any objections.
Hope that helps you a bit,
Bill
Hi Bill
my name is Tien we signed contract for 1 year $ 1800 a month she moved in about 2 months she just pay $500 even damage deposit not go through I phone .text and email not answer please help me and let me know what do I do thanks bill
Hi Tien,
First thing I tell new landlords, your tenants do not get keys until you have the first month’s rent and the security deposit paid in cash. Now you need to go through the RTDRS or the courts to evict her. It is unlikely you will ever get paid, so priority will be to get her out as quickly as possible so you do not lose anymore money.
I would suggest either purchasing my Eviction guide off of the site to help you or to hire an eviction service company. Alternatively you could read through all of my articles and all of he comments on the site to better understand the process, but I think you will find it very frustrating without guidance. My guide breaks you all the steps and walks you through what you need to do relieving much of the frustration while a eviction service company will simply do the entire process for you.
Using a service will cost you between $800-$1,200 typically while my guide is $39 plus it costs you $75 to file at the RTDRS. While waiting to do either will cost you another $1,800, so yo need o do something right away.
Hope this helps,
Bill
Well the news just keeps getting better & better doesn’t it. I really messed up by not getting a new lease signed before the last one expired. So I must give her 3 months notice as well as have a reason to get her out now? Does she also have to give me 3 months notice before she moves out & if she doesn’t, is she liable for those months? What a mess I am in! 🙁 Thanks for your quick replies by the way even if its not really good news for me!
Hi Dave,
You’ve just had good luck catching me at my desk Saturday afternoon, usually I do reply within 24 hours depending on my schedule. And in answer to this question, on month to month, she just has to give 30 days notice.
Bill
P.S. Think of it as an education, you’re really not out a ton of money, but definitely much much wiser. It could be far worse as some of the other landlord stories on here will attest.
Thanks Bill, not exactly the news I was hoping to hear. I guess I could still pursue getting her to sign a lease until the end of July at the current rate OR I could also be a jerk & give her a months notice before the end of this month & she would have to vacate by Dec 31st since she is now on a month to month term.
Actually Dave, she is on month to month now since you didn’t sign a new lease. There is no incentive for her to sign a lease, especially since she has gone this long avoiding you. Since she is month to month that means you have to give her 90 days notice to move out, not one months notice and you need a reason to evict her, if you give her a notice to vacate by December 31st and I was her, I would ignore it. You would have to go to court to get an eviction date if she wasn’t gone on the 31st and it would get thrown out due to incorrect notice periods.
By then it’s mid to late January, you can’t do a rent increase (well you could, but it wouldn’t take effect until May and she would eb gone by then) and you’re stuck in the status quo as if you didn’t do anything at all.
Month to month takes away all of your control as you now understand!
Bill
Hi Bill, I have had a tenant for many years. It came time to sign a new 1 or 2 year lease at the same price(her option)July 31/13. She finally said she would stay for another year. It came time to get the lease signed & she said she actually wants to move the end of April so she wants a 9 month lease. I tell her a shorter term will cost her more & gave her a number of lease terms & prices including a month to month term at $230 more per month. A number of attempts were made to get the 1 year signed but she would not reply for appointment requests or make excuses. I finally gave her a deadline Oct 5 that she has until the 15th to get the 1 yr lease signed or I would consider her a month to month tenant back to Aug 1 & she would be charged at that rate. She still ignored me & has just continued to pay the 1 year lease rate. I have told her she owes Aug through Oct at the month to month rate $230×3=$690 but still giving her option to sign a new lease Nov to end of July at the rate she is currently paying or shorter terms at different rates. Nov 1 she paid the yearly rate again & is ignoring me & my emails! What do you suggest? I am guessing if I do nothing she will just continue to pay the yearly rate & move out at end of April as she wishes.
Hi Dave,
You’ve kind of backed into a corner now Dave.
Because you didn’t resign a new lease prior to the lease expiring and now we are several months past that date, you’ve automatically lapsed into a month to month. As harsh as it sounds, you had to lay down an ultimatum, sign the new lease, before it expires, or we end the term and you have to move out.
Additionally, now you can’t go back and claim the higher amount, because it’s defaulted to the original rate, so what to do?
To bad you didn’t look into this last week, because it just cost you four weeks, but give her a 90 day rent increase notice effective March 1st. The notice has to include three full months, so if you would have given it to her October 31st or sooner, it would have been effective February 1st.
She’s only going to be there March and April, so you have a couple options. Alberta does not have a ceiling for what you can raise rents, but there are reasonable expectations. Since you haven’t raised rents in many years it appears, check what current rents for similar properties are in the area and then raise it to that plus a premium of a hundred, two hundred or even three hundred. Legally you could make it five or six hundred, but why push it?
If rents haven’t changed in four or five years, that might translate into a six or seven hundred dollar increase for the two months. And if she doesn’t pay on the 1st, you have to start the eviction process immediately, DO NOT DELAY. If you do it immediately, it will stay take anywhere from five to fourteen days to get a hearing, but once you get the hearing and get the judgment (because you followed all the rules). She will be obligated to pay you or vacate.
Your satisfaction is she’ll have to leave a month sooner, or pay you extra for two months. If she leaves early, you can get back in sooner, get the property painted and fixed up and get it back on the market ASAP, possibly even mid month and at a much higher rent as rents have increased so much.
Hope that helps put you on track,
Bill
Hi there,
I was wondering, in Alberta would we fall under the innkeeper’s act if we live on the main floor of a house and rent out the basement which is developed and includes a kitchen/bedroom and bathroom? If so what type of notice is required for tenants to vacate? thanks.
Hi Molly,
You fit under the Residential Tenancy Act as they have their own unit and don’t share your kitchen/living space. The time and type varies depending on the reason, and you have to have a valid reason unless you have a fixed term lease.
If you can tell me why you would like them out, I can probably narrow your options down.
Regards,
Bill
Bill what do I do if my landlord failed to comply with landlord tents act came into the house I’m renting and says that she put locks on the door..I can’t get back in to clean…I fear she’s taking pictures and going to frame me for damages her last tents made…The police won’t help me.She tried breaking in when my son was home on tusday,Wednesday she just walk right in the house in front of 4 witnesses on was a social worker from menal health.what do I do now? Please help
Hi Jennifer,
Call the Landlord and Tenants Consumer Contact Centre at 877-427-4088, they should be able to walk you through the proper process to file a compliant against her. They are very pro tenant and should be extremely helpful.
Also, make sure you document everything that’s happened in case it does go to soem sort of hearing. You may have to fiel through the RTDRS to dispute her retaining a portion or even all of your security deposit, so by documenting what happened now it will make the process easier, plus with filing a complaint you will show a history of her actions.
I know you’ve left quite a few messages here, but can’t recall your entire situation. If you were to be out by the 30th of June, the place should have been cleaned by then. If you over stayed past the lease or when you were to be out, she cannot change the locks until she has confirmed you are out, so she may be in even more trouble.
Hope this helps,
Bill
My mom went into long term care about 14 months ago. My sister lived with my mom in my mom’s home prior to her transition to long term care. All legal paperwork is in place and has been exercised regarding Personal Directive and Endearing Power of Attorney. My brother is responsible for my mom’s health decisions and personal well being regarding Personal Directive and I am responsible for all her finanical requirements since I am her legal Power of Attorney. My sister continues to live in my mother’s house and she has paid very little to stay there during this time. Currently, we have recieved nothing from her since the end of 2012 (and even then it was a struggle to get anything from her but we did recieve $1200 to cover the period of Sept – Dec 2012). This of course does not cover the expenses to maintain the house (ins, taxes, monthly utilities, etc.) I have asked my sister for money many times and she simply tells me she is sick and unable to work and that she has applied for some sort of insurance and is at the mercy of the insurance company. Meanwhile, the bills continue… I have lined up another family member who is reliable and is willing to pay to live there. It’s important to note that my mother does not want her house sold while she is living and the rest of my family have agreed that my sister needs to be evicted somehow but they all want to honor my mom’s wishes and therefore the house will not be sold until my mom has passed. It’s important to also add that a formal will is in place and the house is not to be left to my sister. Any suggestions? I have no idea where to start. Again… No contract or lease in place, nothing reliable in terms of past actions or commitments to a firm rent amount in the past, with my sister saying she’s ill and therefore not working so she has no income (she never has been reliable when it comes to earning her own paychecks), this certainly complicates things.
Hi Debbie,
Problems with family members can be especially challenging, so I can appreciate your issues. Now there may be other options your lawyer may be able to bring forth in this situation, but that would be dependant on the original deal with your sister. That original deal may even come into play when trying to evict her via the courts or RTDRS.
Since it’s a verbal agreement, you’ll need to show there was some type of agreement in place where the sister was require to pay rent and then show she simply quit paying. It sounds like you have this from 2012, although at scattered amounts and nothing concrete as far as payments. Any eviction comes down to showing a valid reason for a tenant to be evicted, so you will have to establish concretely that she is supposed to be making payments and simply is not.
In this case you will also have to show you tried to work with her by letting her make minimal payments or she could make the argument there was no agreement and she just tried to chip in when she could.
So at this point you would have the option of going either RTDRS or the courts, but due to the extra complexity, it may be better to go via the courts as it should reduce the amount of appeal options. The RTDRS may be able to handle it as well, but if it starts getting into family law issues and Power of Attorney over laps it may simply be beyond the scope of the hearing officers and they will then defer it to the courts anyway just putting you a few weeks behind.
Other tacts you may want to consider would be to jump in and assist your sister with the insurance issues. You can then determine if they are real or simply a stall tactic and if they are real, the next step would be to move forward with assisting her in finding a new place to live. If she has valid health issues you may be able to work with government housing programs of some kind to get her on some type of assisted housing list etc.
By potentially working with her and assisting her move on you may save the headaches and additional family stress of actually evicting her and it will definitely make family get togethers less stressful!
Also, as I mentioned it may be worthwhile to talk to your lawyer to see if there are additional legal means to rectify this via some family law back doors.
Hope this helped give you soem ideas,
Bill
Why don’t you post material about tenants that have had extreme financial crisis, paid their rent, have been late in the past but “paid” and are still being screwed over by the “Landlord”. It’s not always about the bad tenants but sometimes Slum Landlords….
Hi Michael,
Thanks for your feedback. I actually get very few calls or emails from tenants with problem landlords, but when I do I try to answer them all. You can find them throughout many of the comment sections of the posts.
I have a real problem with slumlords myself. As a landlord I feel you need to take responsibility for your properties and to ensure your tenants are looked after. If you look after them, they generally, in turn make sure the property is also taken care of. Slumlords are just in it for the money and have no regards for the people who live in their properties. I agree whole heartily when these landlords get slapped with hefty fines and even with them getting their properties taken away.
In the past I have had many tenants fall behind due to layoffs, illness and many other reasons. Some have managed to catch up, while unfortunately the majority just used it as an excuse to avoid their debts to me and simply disappeared. So there are good and bad in all corners.
Regards,
Bill
Hi Michael,
Thanks for your feedback. I actually get very few calls or emails from tenants with problem landlords, but when I do I try to answer them all. You can find them throughout many of the comment sections of the posts.
I have a real problem with slumlords myself. As a landlord I feel you need to take responsibility for your properties and to ensure your tenants are looked after. If you look after them, they generally, in turn make sure the property is also taken care of. Slumlords are just in it for the money and have no regards for the people who live in their properties. I agree whole heartily when these landlords get slapped with hefty fines and even with them getting their properties taken away.
In the past I have had many tenants fall behind due to layoffs, illness and many other reasons. Some have managed to catch up, while unfortunately the majority just used it as an excuse to avoid their debts to me and simply disappeared. So there are good and bad in all corners.
Regards,
Bill
Hi,
I am trying to purchase your Eviction forms and Eviction Guide for $39.00.
I clicked on the “$39 Buy it” button and it took me to another page noting what appears to be a book cover. I then clicked on the “I want this” button. But nothing appears to happen when I do that.
I have a nasty tenant who has put a stop payment on his last months’ rent. I either want him to pay for the last month or get out.
Any help would be great!
Thanks,
Arpad Berdin
Hi Arpad,
I’m just checking message now and saw your comment, but I also see you managed to order the guide.. So I am assuming you got it to work? Let me know if you have questions.
Bill