Move in Fees
Move in Fees
Stop using tenants as a source of income for your Strata?
Why do strata still over charge for move-in/ move-out fees?
Every time we rent a property in a condo our tenants are responsible for paying the move in and move out fees. Most of the buildings have a move in fee only and few have a move out fee as well.
What surprises us to this day is the amount of the fees that buildings are charging, and when asked the reasons they provide for changing those fees.
Recently we have had two different situations where buildings have charged move out fees. The first one charged it automatically on the move even though the builing bylaws did not have a move-out fee. It took 17 emails back and forth with the strata manager to reverse the fees to our owners account as the strata withdrew the funds from their account.
A more recent one was the application of the move out fee and a fine for the tenant not booking the move out. When we asked about the amount of the move out fee, $250 and what it is for we were surprised by the response from the strata manager.
Below here is the response:
“the move out fee is for elevator use: booking, locking off the elevator, and hanging protective wall pads. As well as common wear and tear: Extra scuffs, dents, or heavy traffic in the lobby, doors, and hallways.”
This reply surprises us as this is what is wrong with the strata management industry. The CRT was created in 2012 with the intention of creating a quicker way to solve disputes between strata and owners, contractors, tenants or other parties interacting with a strata without the need to go to court. The problem is many strata are not reviewing what the decisions are in the CRT. If they reviewed the decisions they would correct the way they manage their buildings, instead they are not changing and leaving the ownness on the owner or tenant to challenge them in the CRT. For a strata this can lead to excessive cost for a very minor issue.
There have been many cases brought to the CRT regarding move in and move out fees and their applications. All of them have had the same ruling that the fees must be “reasonable” and the funds must be used for specific reasons. For example hanging blankets in the elevator to protect the elevator is a specific use during the moving process and can be associated with a moving fee. Identifying that you are collecting funds for “common wear and tear” during the move to complete repairs has been identified as an item that can’t be part of the move in or move out fee.
Strata corporations are continuing to use the move in and move out fees to collect funds from tenants who don’t cause any damage to the common property. The move fee is not supposed to be a revenue source for the property. As Strata regulation 6.9 points out fees for common area usage fees must be reasonable and set out in a bylaw. A move out fee doesn’t set out that the fees are for reparing or painting the common area of the building, they are for moving.
What then is a reasonable cost for a move out fee. How long does it take the staff to hang blankets at the building?. The recent issue we had the bylaw indicates the move out must be requested five days in advance. The reasoning for this presumably is to provide time for people involved to attend to the building and put up the blankets. The five days insinuates that the people are not at the property every day and will perform this task the next time they are at the property. Therefore there would be no cost for travel time to and from the building as they are already planning to attend. Is $25, $50, $100 or $250 the correct amount to charge for hanging blankets in the elevator?
At this property the building has a move in and move out fee of $250 for each move. That is a total of $500 for an occupant of the building. We find this an excessive amount for a move in and out of the building. Other buildings charge more and provide even less services. We have seen some buildings charging larger fees but they provide security guards to watch the front door while the move in or out is occurring to protect the security of the building. That would make the fee being charged legitimate.
We challenge all strata managers and councils to review CRT cases and see what is reasonable for your buildings’ move in/out fee. If they are unreasonable, adjust them.
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