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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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Prince Rupert LandLord – Let My Tenant Nightmare Be a Warning to Other Landlords

December 1st, 2012

A Prince Rupert Landlord Has A Warning For All British Columbia Landlords After Her Rental Property Has Been Left In a Shambles

This is a a story all BC landlords should read. It’s a ‘wake-up’ to make sure you conduct proper tenant screening.

Okay, Tell Me What Happened

A Prince Rupert landlord is facing thousands of dollars in losses due to bad tenants. The landlord is issuing a warning to others to make sure they do thorough tenant screening before handing over the key to their property.

The landlord says:

“I think a lot of people have had a similar situation happen, but haven’t wanted to speak about it.”

She continued by saying:

“If you have new tenants, you could be in for a surprise.”

It’s a warning this landlord hopes other landlords listen to. She says “be careful of who you rent to.” We’ve seen this warning before.

What Type of Shape Was the Property In Before the Tenants Moved In?

The 2-story rental house was renovated before being rented out. It was in terrific condition. It even had all new appliances.

What Did The Tenants Do?

After two years of living there, the tenants left the place in a shambles. This is why the landlord wants to warn others.

What Were the Damages?

The damages to the rental property were extensive. They include:

1. The Appliances

All the new appliances were destroyed. Totally unsalvageable. The dishwasher leaks water. The two year old stove has had all the wires ripped out. The refrigerator won’t keep anything cool.

2. The Walls

Paint is chipped off everywhere. There are holes in the drywall. Even the light switches have been torn off.

3. Mould

The fan in the bathroom was ripped down and now mould is growing all over.

4. Electricity and Wiring

With wires being torn out, only half of the house has working electricity. It could have been caused by the tenants having a grow op.

5. Odours

Despite the lease saying the house was a ‘no smoking’ rental, the tenants smoked inside. The whole house now reeks of old cigarette smoke.

And added with all these damages, the tenants left owing $1,300 of rent.

It’s Horrendous!

Yes. The landlord says it’s terrible what they did.

What Does the Landlord Want to Say to Other BC Landlords?

The landlord want to tell other landlords to make sure they do proper tenant screening, including credit checks. If someone wants to rent your house, vet them thoroughly.

And if you are a landlord you have to know the laws and the rules and make sure you keep tabs on your tenants and make sure they aren’t destroying your home. If you don’t have the time to do this make sure you hire a terrific property management company.

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The Warning Is Loud and Clear. Avoid Your Own Tenant Nightmare By Doing Proper Tenant Screening and Seek the Advice From Professionals If You Need Help. Discuss This And Other Landlord Issues On the BC Landlords Forum.

Tags: credit checks, Landlord Services, legal, Property Management, Rental property
Posted in bad tenants | Comments Off on Prince Rupert LandLord – Let My Tenant Nightmare Be a Warning to Other Landlords

Vancouver Tenant – Get Rid of the Pigeon Poop

November 16th, 2012

A tenant in North Vancouver Says His No One Is Taking His Concern Over Pigeon Poop Seriously

What’s the Situation?

A tenant living in a rental property in North Vancouver states his landlord is not dealing with the inches of poop lying outside of his window from pigeons.

How Bad Is It?

The tenant, Michael Ravenscroft, says it has now become more than three inches deep. And it’s right outside of his window.

What’s Ravenscroft Done to Fix The Situation?

He complained to the property management firm running his building. He says they did nothing to help.

What Next?

He sent a complaint fo the health department. For over a month no one even contacted him.

According to Ravenscroft, no one is taking his issue over the pigeon poop seriously enough. This isn’t an issue about pets, he said. Instead is a biohazard issue.

When Did He Fist Become Concerned?

Ravenscroft said he originally smelled a foul smell outside of his apartment. The problem was that no matter how hard he cleaned the smell wouldn’t go away.

When Did He Find Out the Cause of the Odour?

Eventually, he saw outside his window there were some shafts. In those shafts were a huge coating of not only pigeon feces, but also decomposing bones.

Is This Common?

Yes.

Pigeons find building an ideal place to make their nests. And they are also know to carry some diseases which can be picked up by people. While it’s not commons pigeon poop can carry serious diseases spread simply by breathing in the odours.

What Does The Government Say?

The Health Officer for Environment matter said there is more risk for people when cleaning the feces rather than only living beside the mess.

The Health Officer met with the property management company and he was assured the mess would be cleaned up, thus avoiding any conflict with the tenant.

What Does the Property Management Company Say?

The property management company is called Living Balance. They are aware of the problem and preparing to clean up the problem. It’s important property management companies offer professional landlord services.

Is This A Common Problem in Vancouver?

According to a company that protects buildings from birds, it’s a common problem.

Landlords And Property Managers, It’s Important To Be Ready For Everything!

Tags: Property Management, tenant problems
Posted in Landlord Services | Comments Off on Vancouver Tenant – Get Rid of the Pigeon Poop

The Vancouver Tenant Rent Bank Is Starting to Help BC Tenants

November 1st, 2012

A Project Aimed to Assist People in Bad Financial Situations Pay Rent Is Beginning For Vancouver Tenants

What is the Rent Bank?

Thanks to the Streettohome Foundation and the Radcliffe Foundation, tenants in Vancouver who are in danger of becoming homeless will get a life-line.

What’s the Life-Line?

The Radcliffe Foundation has contributed over $350,000 to Streettohome’s Rent Bank which will allow renters to apply for loans to help pay rent.

Can You Provide More Details?

According to the CEO of the Streetohome Foundation, this seed money for tenants in need will assist people who need money to pay their rent and keep a roof over their heads.

What Are the Details About the Loans?

The loans are for emergencies only.

They are interest free and made only a one time basis to help cover rent, a rent deposit or utility fees.

How Are the Funds Delivered?

The funds are sent directly to the landlord. This is very different than in provinces such as Ontario where payments are sent to tenants and not landlords, often leading to landlord/tenant problems.

The tenant has up to two years to pay it back. This is a good example of a way to help tenants who need a hand.

How Many People Will This Help?

This will help at least 1,600 renters avoid eviction in Vancouver per year.

Instead of Blaming Landlords, Vancouver Tenants Have a Way to Avoid Eviction When Times Are Tough.

Tags: Rent
Posted in British Columbia Tenants | 1 Comment »

Landlords – Use the Power of Equifax to Find Great Tenants – NOVEMBER 15

November 15th, 2012

Tenant Screening and Credit Checks Has Never Been Easier for British Columbia Landlords!

http://bclandlords.ca/2012/09/01/police-investigate-possible-revenge-arson-against-landlord/

http://ontariolandlords.org/blog/barrie-landlord-wants-to-warn-others/

Equifax now provides the Multi-Family Housing industry with a single-source, web-based property management program to effectively and efficiently pre-screen prospective residents/tenants. Verify consumer identity, credit worthiness, criminal history, rental history, employment background and more.

The value to your business

Access consumer credit reports, scores, criminal searches, eviction searches, employment verification and rental history verification
Reports can be customized to fit your specific needs
Our client-specific ordering features list only the products and services you need for fast, accurate ordering
Includes our InstaCriminal Statewide Search, an instant statewide database search, available in 38 states
Reports can be ordered 24 hours a day/7 days a week from our secure online program
No software to install – our system is entirely web-based

TORONTO, ONTARIO–(Marketwire -09/30/11)- Equifax (NYSE: EFX – News) announced today the launch of their new online tenant screening service, Tenant Selector. Tenant Selector gives registered property management professionals the ability to screen potential renters quickly and easily and will be featured at this year’s PM Expo taking place at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre from November 30 to December 2.

Tenant Selector draws on Equifax’s market leading source of consumer credit information to instantly provide users with 24/7 access to a real-time recommendation on prospective tenants. No longer is it necessary to pull and review an applicant’s credit report to protect oneself against the potential threat of income loss or identity theft.

Here’s how it works: Tenant Selector is easy, fast and secure. Users simply enter the applicant’s name and other personal information into the system and Tenant Selector will do the work. Within seconds, Tenant Selector delivers an ‘accept’ or ‘decline’ recommendation based on factual information, not ‘gut feel’. Tenant Selector is a web enabled, browser based proprietary tool developed in-house by technology and solution experts at Equifax, a recognized worldwide leader in data protection and security.

Equifax invites you to visit their website (www.equifax.ca/growmybusiness) or PM Expo exhibit (Booth #2020) for a Tenant Selector demonstration and more information about how we can help professional property managers make the right tenant decisions.

About Equifax, www.equifax.com

Equifax empowers businesses and consumers with information they can trust. A global leader in information solutions, we leverage one of the largest sources of consumer and commercial data, along with advanced analytics and proprietary technology, to create customized insights that enrich both the performance of businesses and the lives of consumers.

Businesses – large and small – rely on us for consumer and business credit intelligence, portfolio management, fraud detection, decisioning technology, marketing tools, and much more. We empower individual consumers to manage their personal credit information, protect their identity, and maximize their financial well-being.

Headquartered in Atlanta, Equifax Inc. operates in the U.S. and 15 other countries throughout North America, Latin America, Europe and Asia. Equifax’s common stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol EFX.

Tags: credit checks, Equifax
Posted in Property management, Rental Property | Comments Off on Landlords – Use the Power of Equifax to Find Great Tenants – NOVEMBER 15

CREDIT CHECKS

November 1st, 2012

Why Should You Check a Tenants Credit:

A credit check helps you truly evaluate a tenant’s ability to meet their rental obligations.

When you own a rental property, the selection of an appropriate tenant is critical to the success of the landlord-tenant relationship.

As a landlord, you need to verify that all the information on a tenant’s application is legitimate and that the tenant has a history of reliability and promptness in meeting their financial obligations.

Unfortunately, tenants can provide misleading or fraudulent information on their applications. Protect yourself as much as possible from dishonest tenants.

A Credit Check is an invaluable and inexpensive tool to assist landlords in the tenant screening process. Credit reports cannot be directly obtained from credit agencies.

Screening of a tenant must go beyond a phone call to a former landlord or contacting a “character reference”.

TENANTCHECK provides landlords with a convenient opportunity to access a tenant’s credit history BEFORE entering into a tenancy agreement.

ONLY $10/check for BCLA members!

Tags: Rental property
Posted in Credit Check | Comments Off on CREDIT CHECKS

BC Landlord Issues Warning to Barrie Ontario Landlords

October 15th, 2012

Living in Duncan, BC, With a Rental Property In Barrie, Ontario, a Landlord Says Be Careful When Hiring a Property Management company!

If She Is In BC, Why the Warning for Barrie, Ontario?

You see, while she now lives in BC her rental property is in Barrie. It was her home before she and her family moved to British Columbia for a new job.

Rather than sell the house, she decided to rent it out.

Sounds Like a Good Investment Strategy

She has a very serious warning for landlords.

Here is Her Story

A New Job and a New Start

After living in Barrie for more than 18 years, her family went to British Columbia for new jobs. She hired a a large property management company to handle the renting out of her Barrie, Ontario house. Since she and her family would be in British Columbia, it was important to have a reputable company take care of the property and make sure it was safe and legal.

Becoming a New Landlord and the Problems with the Property Management Company

She decided to hire this PM company because they said they offered full service care to create a worry free feeling for the landlord. The landlords experience was very different than what was advertised. She knew how dangerous it was to become a landlord and not be ready for bad tenants.

The property management company rented to tenants with a very bad credit check, lots of evictions in the past, and who were even known by the police there!

After complaining to the property management company, they gave the landlord 30 days notice and washed their hands from putting a bad tenant into the rental unit.

Dealing with Bad Tenants From the Other Side of the Country

Working from the other side of the country the landlords finally got an eviction notice, without any help from the former property management company. Then, right before the eviction the government stepped in and paid the rent for the bad tenants.

This mean… still no eviction.

The Tenants Were on Ontario Works, aka “Welfare”

That landlord says that her tenants are funded by Ontario Works. They were known to the police. They don’t pay any rent or utilities. She says they won’t even cut the lawn. And the eviction process starts again. Unfortunately, the landlord couldn’t find the help she really needed.

The Landlord and Her Family Are Now In An Extremely Difficult Situation

With now over $8,000 in legal fees the landlord asks who will help her family pay the bill? Her family is near bankruptcy.

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Landlords, this is an excellent warning if you have rentals in other provinces., especially anti-landlord, pro-bad tenant provinces such as Ontario.

Tags: Barrie, Ontario, Property Management
Posted in Landlord Legal Problems | 2 Comments »

Tenant Activists Say “Stop Discrimination Against Pets!”

October 9th, 2012

BC Activists Want to Follow the Failed Ontario System

According to Sharon Isaak British Columbia landlords need to follow the same system Ontario landlords do when it comes to pets and rental units.

What’s the Issue?

Isaak says over half of all people in Vancouver are renters. In fact, in some areas the numbers are up to 80%.

She wants to change the laws to make it easier for renters to have pets in their rental property.

Weren’t the Laws Already Changed?

In 2003, the Residential Tenancy Act was adjusted to help those with pets find a home.

Here’s what Isaak says: about the laws which, “were changed to allow landlords to ask for a pet deposit to encourage them to allow pets, but what we’ve seen over the years, there’s been no more changes to encourage landlords to allow pets and that needs to change.”

Why Are More Changed Needed?

Isaak says she’s seen several older tenants even forced to euthanize their pets in order to keep renting in their building.

What’s Her Proposed Solution?

However if you head out east, it’s illegal in Toronto to discriminate against a renter because they have a pet

Is that Working In Ontario?

No. The policy in Ontario has been a disaster.

Why?

In Ontario it’s legal for landlords to advertise “NO PETS” but it’s illegal to then enforce it!

Ontario Landlords Have to Put Up With These Rules?

Yes. Ontario landlords are often faced with neighboring tenants being allergic or not wanting dogs and cats in other rental units close to them. However, even though the new tenants claims “no pets” to the landlord, they bring them in after signing the lease.

That Isn’t What We Need In British Columbia

Exactly. The Ontario system for landlords and tenants is seriously broken.

What’s the Solution?

If there is an actual problem, following a system where Ontario landlords are taking to the social media Warning People Not To Become Landlords in Ontario will lead to fewer rental properties and less housing options for BC tenants.

Tags: Landlord Legal, pets, Rental property
Posted in Residential Tenancy Act | 1 Comment »

October 1st, Time to Collect Rent and Time for Fire Safety!

October 1st, 2012

Collect the Rent…and Check the Smoke Alarms

On the first of the month every landlord in British Columbia expects rent to be paid.

This is also an excellent time to make sure your rental property is up to the fire code.

Landlords need to be very careful of tenant issues, especially when it comes to fire safety. Look what happened to an Ontario landlord.

Talk to your tenants, be a team, and make sure your properties are safe. Avoid tenants from hell.

After all, all small business landlords want to create healthy homes. And BC landlords are an amazing charitable group, like Albert landlords.

Vancouver, Surrey and other British Columbia landlords, understand the fire code and make sure the smoke alarms are working in your rental property and avoid landlord legal problems.

Tags: smoke alarms
Posted in Landlord Legal Problems, Rental Property | Comments Off on October 1st, Time to Collect Rent and Time for Fire Safety!

Ontario Landlord Warning Story – $10,000s and Over a Year Later…Tenant From Hell Finally Evicted

September 24th, 2012

Let’s Not Follow the Ontario Landlord Model!

BC landlords show our support to Ontario Landlord Darius Vakili for finally evicting TENANT FROM HELL “Nina Willis” after battle battle that took over a year.

For those who think we should follow the Ontario system, make sure you read this case on abuse and manipulation of the system in Ontario.

While landlords in British Columbia face challenges our own challenges, it’s nothing like what Ontario landlords face.

Discuss the whole HELLISH story HERE.

The problems Ontario landlords face is a warning for landlords in British Columbia. The Ontario Residential Tenancy Act is not the model we should follow.

Tags: Landlord Legal Issues, Ontario
Posted in Property management, Rental Property | 3 Comments »

Half of All Canadian Tenants Under 35 Don’t Have Renters Insurance

September 21st, 2012

No Renters Insurance Leaves Young People Vulnerable!

According to a poll by TD Insurance over half the renters in Canada under the age of 35 don’t have renters insurance, aka ‘tenants insurance.’

What Are the Consequences of No Insurance?

This is leaving young people vulnerable to losing thousands of dollars due to theft or accidents.

Why Don’t Young Tenants Want to Be Protected?

It”s all about some myths that exist in Canada, says Dave Minor. Minor is the VP of TD Insurance.

Minor wants these myths debunked.

Myth #1 Affordability

Minor says many renters simply believe they can’t afford insurance.

According to Minor, liability coverage for $1-million ($500 deductible) will cost tenants only approximately $150 for an entire year.

That works out to about $12 dollars/month.

Myth 2 “It Will Never Happen to Me”

The second myth, Minor states, is many tenants think accidents and theft won’t happen to them.

This is untrue because in reality, damages to the property, frozen pipes, etc. are common. Fires and other tragedies happen.

What Can Landlords Do?

With over 25% of British Columbia landlords renting out some part of their homes, encourage your tenants to get insurance.

To discuss this topic, join the British Columbia Landlord forum.

To tenants all over Canada, whether you are in Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Toronto, Barrie, Ottawa or another place, renters insurance isn’t expensive and protects you from problems that can happen to you. Make sure you protect yourselves.

Tags: British Columbia, landlord, legal, renter, tenant
Posted in Insurance | 1 Comment »

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