Primary Client
Owning a rental property requires knowledge and understanding of provincial tenancy law including the Residential Tenancy Act and Regulations.
Renting your property which is located within a Strata Corporation requires additional knowledge of the Strata Property Act, Regulations, Strata Corporation bylaws and rules With all the information it is important to hire the right professionals to help you manage your rental property.
Cartref Properties only provides Rental Property Management Services, specialising in management of rental properties within Strata Corporations. Cartref Properties doesn’t provide Strata Management Services eliminating potential conflicts of interest between the Strata Corporation and the rental property.
When a rental unit is managed by the management company of the Strata Corporation
one party will be identified as the primary client in the event of a conflict of interest. Strata Corporations will always be identified as the primary client over the rental property. Providing only rental management service allows Cartref Properties clients to always be the primary client.
Cartref Properties has extensive experience working within the strata field and can help owners experience a positive tenancy when renting their within a Strata Corporation.
You can find more information about us at: www.cartrefproperties.com
Enforcing an order of possession
Renting a property you own can be very emotional, and sometimes Landlords have a difficult time separating emotions about their property when dealing with tenants.
One of the more emotional situations in property management is enforcing an order of possession. An order is obtained from the Residential Tenancy Branch after a dispute hearing between the Landlord and tenant. Landlords can file for orders of possessions for many reasons, non payment of rent is the most common. After the two parties have attended a hearing at the Residential Tenancy Branch a decision will be provided by the adjudicator and the decision will outline if an order of possession is granted.
After receiving the order of possession the Landlord must deliver the notice of the order to the tenant, in accordance with the Residential Tenancy Branch requirements for delivery of notices. The order of possession will advise the tenant they must move out within a specified time after receiving the notice, or a particular date. When tenant’s fail to move out at the specified time or date, a Landlord must enforce the order in the BC supreme court inorder to have the tenants vacated from the rental property.
Before filing a writ in the courts, Landlords must confirm with the Residential tenancy branch that the tenant hasn't filed for a review of the order. If the tenant hasn’t filed for a review the Landlord will file a writ in BC Supreme court. Upon filing the writ a Landlord must use an authorized court bailiff to enforce the order. Only a court bailiff has the authority to remove a tenant from a property.
It is important for Landlords to remove the emotions and follow the process when enforcing the order. A tenant may request more time, or make other requests to delay moving from the property. Using a property manager can help remove the emotions of the eviction and enforcement of the order of possession. It isn’t an easy process to remove a person from their home, though there are times when it is required. Landlords and tenants understand by the time the parties reach the point of an order of possession being granted multiple steps would have been taken to prevent the situation from reaching this point.
Need assistance managing your rental property, Cartref Properties can help you, call today to discuss your needs or find more information about us at: www.cartrefproperties.com
Residential Tenancy Branch Hearings
Attending a Residential Tenancy Hearing can be a difficult process for Tenants and Landlords. A hearing with the Residential Tenancy Branch is about providing information and facts to an adjudicator who makes a decision based on that information.
Filing for a hearing requires owners and tenants provide evidence detailing the reason for the hearing. The hearing will begin with the adjudicator confirming details, including who is in attendance, what the terms of the tenancy are and the reason for the hearing. After all the information evidence has been provided and reviewed a decision will be rendered.
When attending hearings it’s important Landlords control their emotions during the process.
I advise clients only answer questions they are asked, don’t volunteer details and stick to providing facts. Adjudicators will make a decision based on the facts of the tenancy, and owner and tenants responsibilities as required by law. Unsuccessful hearings by Landlords are often a result of owners having difficulty keeping their emotions in check when tenants make statements. Landlords must understand how this process works, remain calm, don’t over react and eliminate emotion.
A hearing can result in multiple different decisions. It could be a hearing requesting a monetary order, by the owner against the tenant or by the tenant against the owner. A tenant could request a hearing requesting a decision forcing the owner to complete specified repairs. Owners can initiate hearings for eviction based on unpaid rent, or damage being caused to the rental unit or multiple other reasons outlined in the Residential Tenancy Act.
After the hearing a decision will be rendered and both parties will be given a copy of the decision. The decision will outline how the adjudicator came to the result, based on the information provided. It will also outline a process for the actions required. For a monetary order the decision will specify the amount owed and a time frame when the money must be paid to the other party. A hearing requesting eviction could result in an order of possession being granted to the Landlord. We will review orders of possession in an upcoming post. Managing all stages of the tenancy will prevent a tenancy ending up in a hearing.
Need assistance managing your rental property, Cartref Properties can help you, call today to discuss your needs or find more information about us at: www.cartrefproperties.com
Returning Security Deposits
At the end of the tenancy the Landlord and tenant must complete the move out process before the landlord returns the damage deposit to the tenant.
The move out process includes completing the move out inspection with the tenant. At the start of the tenancy a condition inspection report should have been completed by the Landlord and the tenant. Landlords need to bring that same report to the move out inspection and compare the current condition of the property.
After reviewing the condition of the property at the end of the tenancy, both the Landlord and the tenant should sign the condition inspection report. The report has a section where Landlords and tenants can state they agree or why they disagree with the report. It is important for a tenant to sign the document, even when they disagree with what the Landlord indicates on the report. If the two parties are not able to agree on the condition and amount of the deposit to be returned, then the landlord must file a claim with the RTB to be allowed to keep those funds. When Landlords apply to the Residential Tenancy Branch requesting to keep the damage deposit they are required to submit the condition inspection report as evidence to why they should be allowed to keep all or part of the damage deposit.
When the Landlord fails to complete the inspection report at the end of the tenancy it becomes more difficult for the Residential Tenancy Branch to grant them permission to retain all or part of the damage deposit. Tenants signing the document benefits both parties. It benefits the tenant as they have the opportunity to write on the report why they disagree with it. It benefits the Landlord by showing the Residential Tenancy Branch they have completed the process correctly and have not violated their tenants rights during this process.
One other key factor both parties often misunderstand about returning deposits is, when the parties disagree with the inspection and the landlord files for a hearing, the Landlord is not required to return any of the deposit until after the hearing has completed. This also means the Landlord may not use any of those funds to pay for repairs at the property until after the hearing.
I always encourage both parties to accept some responsibility and reach an agreement that both can accept to end the process. Arguing over $50 for not cleaning carpets, a stove or a broken light fixture will take more time and effort than agreeing on a lesser amount with each party taking a small loss to complete the process.
Managing your rental property can be confusing. Cartref Properties can assist you, call today to discuss your needs or find more information about us at: www.cartrefproperties.com
Stage three of a Tenancy - Ending the Tenancy
An end to a tenancy can occur for many reasons, tenants choose to vacate the property, a fixed term lease expires requiring tenants to vacate, a Landlord can request a tenant vacate for personal use and there are many other reasons tenancies may end. Here we will speak to the process and steps owners and tenants should follow.
When a tenant provides notice to end the tenancy they are required to provide one calendar months notice to end the tenancy. If a tenant wants to vacate the property at the end of August they must provide in writing to the Landlord or their agent a notice to end the tenancy on July 31st before 11:59:59pm. If the notice is received after that time the tenant could be held responsible for rent for the month of August.
If a Landlord provides notice to end the tenancy for personal use, they are required to provide two months notice and compensate tenants for the equivalent amount of one months rent. Normally this compensation would be in the form of not charging the last month’s rent owed by the tenant.
After notice has been provided by either party there are multiple steps both parties must take before the tenancy has ended.
A tenant is permitted to remain in the property until 1pm on the last day of the month for which the notice was provided. If the notice was to vacate at the end of July they would be allowed to stay until 1pm on August 31st. Tenants have until that time to clean the unit, repair damage, move their items from the property and return the keys.
What does this mean for the Landlord? It means if you have new tenants moving into the unit, 1pm on August 31st would be the earliest time anyone else could take possession of the property. It also means you should schedule the move out inspection after this time, unless a different agreed upon time is arranged.
A move out inspection is required and both the tenant and Landlord must attend. If either party fails to attend it could affect their rights to the pet and damage deposits or other costs associated with the tenancy. Landlords have an obligation to give the tenant two opportunities to schedule the move out inspection. Both parties can agree on the time and date of the inspection, as mentioned it should normally occur after 1pm on the last day of the month. Occasionally, tenants vacate early and the inspection can be performed at a different time.
Landlords should provide the tenant in writing confirmation of the time and date of the inspection. When performing the inspection Landlords should bring the original completed move in inspection report for both parties to compare the move in and move out condition of the property. After the inspection is completed Landlords are required to return the pet/damage deposits to the tenants within 15 days of the end of the tenancy. Failure to return the deposit in this time gives a tenant permission to ask for twice the amount of the deposit to be refunded. A tenant has an obligation to provide a forwarding address when vacating the property to the Landlord in order to receive the pet/damage deposits.
A tenancy doesn’t fully end until the deposits have been returned to the tenant, and the Landlord can close their file. We will discuss damage deposits in more detail in our next post.
Managing your rental property can be confusing. Cartref Properties can assist you, call today to discuss your needs or find more information about us at: www.cartrefproperties.com