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The Canada Landlords Association is a leading organization for small residential landlords across Canada. We provide a unified voice for private landlords and promote and protect residential landlord interests to national and local government. We provide a unified voice for private landlords and promote and protect landlord interests to national and local government.

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BC Landlord and Tenant News

Mould, insects plague Surrey apartment building

September 7, 2011

A recent CTV report states tenants at a Surrey, B.C. apartment are not getting any help from their landlord or the government.

Kwantlen Park Manor in North Surrey has been plagued by problems with moisture and mould for years, according to tenant Sue Collard.

“Six-and-a-half years I’ve lived in this building, and I have not lived in a suite that does not leak,” she told reporters at a rally.

The property manager acknowledges problems, but says:

“I’m only the manager…go to the goddamn owners. I’ve been fighting it for the last four years myself,” he said.

The building is owned by the well-known Sahota family. In 2007, the roof of one of their East Vancouver properties, the Pandora, collapsed.

Read the CTV Report here

Message to BC Landlords – When kindness doesn’t pay (Part 3)

How could they do this to my property?

August 29, 2011

This is a warning to all landlords in Vancouver and the Rest of British Columbia.  Although I’m in Ontario, I hope what happened to me helps others all over the country.

I was very happy to have hired property manager John Schutten.  John spoke with the tenants and managed to get Teddy and Nancy to sign a form called an N11 (“Agreement to End a Tenancy”) from the Landlord and Tenant Board.  John told me in Ontario even if the tenants sign a form saying they will leave, we needed to take it with a grain of salt because they could ignore it and continue to stay.  Both John and I thought it was likely I’d have to order the Sheriff to physically evict them from my rental property.

I knew we needed to get an eviction order through the Landlord and Tenant Board.  John attended the hearing at the LTB on May 17.  The tenants didn’t even bother to show up!  This was actually a good thing because many tenants will show up with fake maintenance claims in order to stall the whole process  and live rent free.  We were granted the eviction but couldn’t get the Order right there and then.  In Ontario you have to wait to receive the order via snail mail.

Finally May 31st arrived!  This was the day the tenants were supposed to vacate the property according the LTB Order.  My fingers were crossed they would obey the law and leave when the LTB said they had to get out!  John did an inspection and these tenants had not packed a single box!  We couldn’t consider the property abandoned so we had to take an expensive next step…ordering the Sheriff.  Off to the Sheriff’s office John went with the LTB Order in hand to book the Sheriff.  Cost?  $320!

In some places, you can wait weeks before the Sheriff’s office has time to come to your property.  Fortunately, Hamilton is a large city and they work every day of the week.  The Sheriff came and posted a letter on the door stating the tenants had 72 hours to leave and take all their belongings.  The tenants had until June 7 at 10 am to vacate.

I felt relieved this whole ordeal was about to end.  My happiness and relief ended when I thought how much money I was out dealing with the eviction process in Ontario.  The Sheriff cost over $300.  Plus the LTB cost me $170.  I had to pay John for his professional and experienced help.  I also didn’t receive April or May rent.  Now it was June and another month of no rent.  My tax bill and mortgage still had to be paid!

On the evening of June 6 (hours away from D-Day, or E-Day for eviction) I drove by my little property after work to see what might be happening.  Good news!  I saw a U-Haul truck pull up in the driveway.  It looked like they actually started moving furniture out of the house.  I saw their things all over the front yard and sidewalk.  My Lord, they were even having a garage sale!

The next day the Sheriff came.  At long last my property was ‘mine’ again.  These rotten tenants were finally gone!  I was beaming.  The smile on my face was only matched by the spring in my stride as I walked to the front door to take a look and then change the locks.

Then I went inside.  No. This was just too much….. They couldn’t have done this to me…..

Discuss this in the landlord forums here

Do Vancouver landlords discriminate?

Or do Landlords Care About Paying Rent on Time, Not Doing Damages, and Getting Along with Other Tenants?

August 26, 2011

As reported in the Globe and Mail finding a great place to rent in Vancouver can be difficult.  It can be even more difficult if you are gay or a single parent, according to a new study.

What do you think?  Do landlords really discriminate based on sexual orientation or on being a single parent?  Or do landlords care more about ability to pay the rent on time, not doing damages, and respecting other tenants?

Read the original study here

Discuss this in our Landlord Advice Forums here.

 

 

Vancouver and all BC landlords can now access infrared technology

July 2011

The Vancouver Sun has a great new article on how B.C. landlords can now access infrared technology to watch tenants with the aim to use your rental as a grow-op.

Brian Goldstone, who is retired from the RCMP  says “Out in the (Fraser) Valley especially, the landlords are having a heck of a time with grow-ops.”

Read more at Infrared Technology

Discuss this at the Landlord Advice forums

 

Tenants halt the swing of the wrecking ball

July 2011

Property owners wanted to develop land to take advantage of new economic opportunities.  The problem is existing buildings were full of leased tenants says a recent Globe and Mail story.  This can create problems says John Crombie, a national retail director with real estate brokerage Cushman & Wakefield Inc.

“The terms and conditions of a lease are binding on the owner of the property,” he sayss. “If a lease has been executed and a tenancy has, say, 10 more years without any termination issues, then it’s a fight. If the tenant doesn’t want to move, and refuses to play ball, the landlord can really be in a pickle.”

Read more Tenants halt the wrecking ball’s swing

Discuss this at the Landlord Advice forums

 

Infrared technology can help B.C. landlords spot grow-ops

July 2011

VANCOUVER — Law-breaking tenants beware: B.C. landlords now have access to infrared technology to keep an eye on you.

A Chilliwack, B.C.-based security firm is offering monthly surveillance of properties using a FLIR infrared camera. The technology can detect excess heat from homes — a key signature of a grow-operation.

“Out in the (Fraser) Valley especially, the landlords are having a heck of a time with grow-ops,” said Brian Goldstone, a retired RCMP officer who is now the CEO of Griffin Investigation and Security Services Inc. “Grow-ops destroy the house, causing black mould, and the insurance won’t cover them.”

FLIR cameras, like their car-mounted $14,000 Owl Vision model, “take a thermal image of the property and from that, we can tell whether or not there is an anomaly, which could be a grow-op,” he said. “Because of the amount of lamps they are using, the house is hotter than the norm.”

After spotting such an anomaly, a landlord would then have cause to do a home inspection.

Goldstone said that Griffin’s FLIR unit is similar to that used on police helicopters, but much smaller, so it can’t see through windows, giving it the advantage of maintaining some of the tenant’s privacy.

“It gives us the heat signature of a house, but it can’t show you people walking around in the house. That’s very important. We don’t want to get into privacy issues.”

Increasingly, Lower Mainland municipalities are holding landlords responsible for cleanup costs incurred during grow-op busts in their properties.

Chilliwack’s Nuisance, Noxious or Offensive Trades, Health and Safety Bylaw, for example, has collected hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines and fees. Under the bylaw, landlords must inspect their properties for illegal activities every three months.

“Because of the ways cities are going after them now, landlords have to show they’ve done due diligence,” Goldstone said. “This is a quick and easy way to do it.”

Goldstone said the service also acts as a preventive measure: If tenants are aware a landlord is doing infrared scans, they are less likely to set up shop.

“It really is a deterrent,” Goldstone said.

Last year, RCMP report there were 32 grow-ops dismantled in Chilliwack, with 20 trafficking charges, 11 arrests for hydro theft and 22 arrests for production.

“There are a lot more tips coming in from the public than we’ve had in the past. I think the awareness has grown,” said Const. Tracy Wolbeck of the RCMP’s Upper Fraser Valley Regional Detachment.

In April, Chilliwack RCMP made their second-largest grow-op bust ever, seizing 5,000 plants at a residence. In May, a residence was busted and seven people arrested. That residence was rented out and had been busted for a previous grow-op on site in 2004.

Hoarders? What can a landlord do?

“Our hands are really tied under the Residential Tenancies Act.”

 July 2011

Like a lot of residential property investors in Ontario are doing these days, the Toronto Star asked:  The threat from hoarders is real, but do property managers have the power they need to get access to apartments and protect their tenants? 

According to the Ontario Residential Tenancies Act landlords must seek the permission of their tenants to enter their rental units. Gaining access is often difficult. However, following the terrible fire at 200 Wellesley St. E. last September, the fire marshal’s office is now asking landlords to be vigilant about reducing risk to other tenants from the problems caused by hoarding, and to notify local fire departments if they see instances that are of concern.

What can landlords do?  Two members of the Ontario Landlords Association Andrew Ganguly and April Stewart of Landlord Legal were interviewed to help provide advice and guidance.

Ganguly explained “The problem we have is that our hands are really tied under the Residential Tenancies Act.”

“If I serve the required 24-hour notice to inspect a unit and the tenant refuses entry I’m stuck — the tenant doesn’t have to let me in. It causes a lot of anxiety because you want to keep an eye on it because you know you will be the one to be blamed but you can’t do anything about it.”

Stewart gave background information on Section 15 of the Fire Protection and Prevention Act, 1997 which allows a fire official to enter a premises “without a warrant or other authorization for the purpose of removing or reducing the threat.”

In one of Stewart’s cases, the tenant had piled up so much debris gathered outside and inside the house  the fire department issued such as order.

Stewart explained the landlord had not managed to get the Landlord and Tenant Board to issue an eviction notice. While the fire department is now asking the landlord to get rid of all the debris left by the tenant, the landlord knows that under the law he can’t do so as the tenant was not legally evicted.

Stewart said “Now the landlord is in a bad position, left in limbo with the status of the tenant because the landlord tried previously to get rid of the tenant but didn’t win the eviction case.”

Read more at the Toronto Star.

Discuss the article in the Ontario Landlord Forums.

 

When kindness doesn’t pay (Part 2)

When things go wrong don’t expect any help from the government

July 2011

Late payments, a mountain of garbage building up, the tenants lying about us going through their personal things, strangers coming in and out of the property through the windows, the police monitoring the property…it was getting to be too much!I knew I needed to take a step back and hire professional help.

Fortunately through the Ontario Landlords Association I knew where I could find good help.  I contacted John Schutten from a local property management firm called Ready4Rent and asked him to take over.

John gave proper notice and did his initial inspection of the property.  He went in and inspected for any maintenance or safety issues and took photos.  Like so many unruly tenants who have no respect either for the property or their own safety John found they had removed all the smoke alarms, were storing motorcycles in the house, had ripped off all the screens from the window and the place was a mess!

As a true professional, John communicated with the tenants and gave them an opportunity to change their behavior and start following some maintenance and safety rules.  The result?  They didn’t listen, continued to ignore the rules and continued their destruction of my property.

John had asked me what I wanted to do- I said I wanted them out.  I couldn’t trust them, I was suspicious of their drug activities, the place was becoming a fire-trap, they were wrecking my once beautiful home…I wanted them gone.

Since the Fall I was getting the rent paid by Ontario Works (welfare) every month.  On March 1 the money stopped.  No direct payment.  Not a cent.  I immediately contacted the welfare fraud department.  A while later I received a call from their case worker.  This case worker was different than the one I spoke to in the Fall.

She wouldn’t tell me very much because she said her hands were tied by the Privacy Act.  I told her the tenants were paying me via Ontario Works with a direct cheque, and it suddenly stopped.  The tenants were doing something else with their welfare check.  She told me this was not a fraud situation.  Tenants on welfare are able to stop their check going directly to the landlord with a quick phone call.  She said fraud was only for situations where the welfare recipient was working under the table, claiming other people under them, etc.

I asked the case worker, “So you are telling me that failure to pay rent with the shelter allowance part of a welfare check isn’t fraud?” The rent portion of their cheque is a shelter allowance, and these tenants were spending it on things other than for shelter!

I asked her what happens if they don’t pay rent and I report it.  She told me she could hold back the cheques until they produce a rent receipt.  I asked her “what happens if they produce a fake receipt?”  She answered it was not her job to decipher whether or not a receipt is fake or not!  She also said the tenants might be using up their last month’s rent and might move out.  My fingers were crossed!

After I finished with the case worker I felt very suspicious the tenants were going to issue a fake rent receipt so they could keep getting their shelter allowance while living in my house rent free.  I emailed the Ministry of Social Services explaining my situation and looking for help.  Here’s the response I got back:

“Thank you for your e-mail to the Ministry of Community and Social Services regarding your tenant.

When a tenant who is receiving social assistance is not paying rent, the local Ontario Works or Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP) offices may direct part of a social assistance recipient’s assistance to a third party, such as a landlord or utility company in order to cover rent or utility costs. These pay direct arrangements may remain in effect until it is evident that the recipient is able to manage their financial assistance.

A pay direct arrangement is purely an administrative arrangement that does not change the landlord-tenant relationship or any existing legal obligations. In particular, under this administrative arrangement, the Ministry of Community and Social Services does not take on any of the tenant’s legal or financial obligations.”

And here was my response…..

“I am most insulted with this lame reply.

I am not the first landlord to tell you about the scamming that is going on with regards to tenants having their cheques redirected to themselves only to turn around and use that money for other uses other than its intended purpose- which is to pay for the necessary rent.

Your hands-off approach, with the “it’s a landlord-tenant problem” is getting real old and tiresome.

This email is completely unacceptable as a response…you are the welfare fraud department- THIS IS WELFARE FRAUD!

What does a tenant have to do before they are investigated or charged with misappropriation of funds?

Perhaps the welfare fraud department is really just  a make-work project by the current liberal government who treat landlords as second-class citizens? I realize with these types of comments such as yours, there are no real efforts to stop this complete waste of taxpayers money.    I will forward this email on to the appropriate people.”

My head was spinning over the situation.  Not only were the tenants wrecking my house, potentially doing illegal activities, the police involved, …I was facing months of them living there rent-free!  The government didn’t care and was on the tenants side!

I began to investigate how OW and OPSP really work in Ontario.  Here is what I found out:

-A welfare or ODSP recipient can have their cheques redirected back to themselves at any time with one simple phone call requiring no explanation whatsoever!

-If the pay-direct cheque is coming to you, and it comes late, OW will NOT even confirm to say whether or not the cheque is in the mail!

-If the cheques stop coming, and the tenant goes into rental arrears, the case worker nor welfare fraud department does not care, and will always have the landlord eat the costs

-It has also happened where the tenant did NOT ask for the cheques to be stopped going to the landlord, yet the tenant received the cheque because the case worker made a mistake- too bad, so sad for the landlord, right?!

-Many welfare recipients have more than one address and cheques go to many of these addresses- yet again OW and welfare fraud turn a blind eye!

-Even after the tenant moves out, sometimes the cheques keep coming- yet again no clue for welfare administration – no checks and balances

-Case workers do NOT check with the landlord to validate any information, a tenant can say they are moving out, when they haven’t, and OW has the right to put a stop payment on a pay direct rent cheque- no warning to the landlord of course!

-Welfare fraud department will not follow up with landlord who has reported welfare fraud

I was learning fast. 

Thank God, because things were about to take another turn.  The tenants said they might agree to move…or maybe not….

Toronto Star: Landlords warned not to discriminate in rental ads – June 2011

Jane Schweitzer says writing an ad for an available rental property has become a minefield thanks to the glaring eye of the Ontario Human Rights Commission (OHRC).Schweitzer, a Hamilton resident who owns several rental properties and Assistant Moderator of the Ontario Landlords Association forums, says the commission’s recent campaign to address “discriminatory housing advertisements” goes too far. (more…)

When kindness doesn’t pay (Part 1)

Why Landlords Must Protect Themselves From Their Own Good Intentions

By Jane Schweitzer June 2011

My tenants gave notice to move and I began showing the property to prospective new tenants.  One family came and were immediately interested.  Nancy, Teddy and their young daughter seemed very nice.  I was happy when she told me the “loved the place” as soon as they walked in.  I had the place looking good and it felt nice when they commented how beautiful it was. Nancy told me “You should have seen some of the places we looked at – they were awful!”  They said they wanted the place. (more…)

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