Can my strata approve my tenants?
Many Strata Corporations have bylaw restrictions on the owner’s ability to rent their strata lot. The strata property act allows some Strata Corporations to have restrictions on the number of units allowed in their property based on a percentage or number of units, and may limit the time the unit may be rented.
One area the strata is not allowed to restrict is on who you rent your property to. Section 141 of the strata property act outlines the strata corporation is prohibited from establishing screening criteria, requiring the strata to approve potential tenants or asking for specific terms to be inserted into a tenancy agreement you enter into with your tenants.
If your strata corporation is asking for information on who you are renting to or requiring specific terms be included in your tenancy agreement they may be in violation of the Strata Property Act. Owners have the right to make a tenant selection they feel is suitable for their property without strata involvement.
Need assistance with your rental property contact us for an evaluation of your needs.
www.cartrefproperties.com
https://www.bclaws.gov.bc.ca/civix/document/id/complete/statreg/98043_08#section141
What’s going on?
We have talked about there being three stages to a tenancy. Stage two is managing the tenancy while the tenant occupies the unit.
The BC government standard tenancy agreement is six pages long and has 16 different clauses with multiple subclauses. Many landlords report to me, my tenants are good, because they pay rent on time each month. Payment of rent is only one of the terms in a tenancy agreement. How do you as a landlord ensure your tenants are adhering to all the other terms of the agreement.
One way to do this is to inspect the property during the tenancy. What can you determine by performing an inspection of the property. How many people are residing in the unit, is the person on the agreement still living there, how clean is the unit, is anything broken which has not been reported, have the tenants obtained a pet? In order to identify these issues one must physically attend the property.
I have often attended properties finding people with unauthorized pets they have acquired since renting the unit without informing the landlord.
If during an inspection an issue is identified this provides the landlord with the opportunity to make a decision about the tenancy. If a tenant has acquired a pet the landlord has multiple options. One they can choose to do nothing, two they can allow the tenant to keep the animal, three they can request the animal be removed if the tenancy prohibited pets. If a tenant obtains a pet and the landlord elects to allow them to keep the pet, two things should be done. A new condition inspection report should be completed at the time the pet is obtained to determine the condition of the property when the pet arrived. Second the tenant should provide the landlord with a pet deposit equivalent to half a month’s rent.
Tenants will sometimes sublet the unit without notice and when a landlord attends and finds different people residing at the unit. With Short term rentals we have heard stories of people renting units then turning the keys over to other parties who rent it on short term accommodation websites.
Performing regular inspections of your rental property will provide the landlord with the information required to make decisions about the property. Doing your due diligence before, during and at the end of your tenancy is important. We communicate to potential applicants that we will inspect the unit regularly which we feel discourages deceptive people from applying knowing they are going to be inspected regularly. Residential tenancy law in BC allows an owner to visit their property once per month with proper notice.
Caretref Properties inspects all the units it manages twice in a 12 month period to ensure the tenants are adhering to the terms of the tenancy agreement as part of our management agreement. Some insurance policies require more frequent inspections. Cartref can inspect units more frequently for an additional cost if requested by homeowners.
Not sure what is going on in your rental property, call us today and we can assist you with performing an inspection of your rental property.
Need assistance with your rental property contact us for an evaluation of your needs.
www.cartrefproperties.com
Three concerns with Landlords
Recently I was speaking with a prospective applicant for a property we had available. After some discussion about our property, they advised they wouldn’t be able to rent our place due to their landlord raising the rent. This surprised me and I inquired about the rent increase. They advised their landlord had informed them that if they didn’t sign a new lease that evening they would need to move out at the end of the month when the “fixed term expired”. As a property manager without knowing more details three things are of concern.
One, due to the pandemic the Province of BC currently has a rent freeze in place restricting Landlords ability to increase rents. A rent increase means the rent paid must not change, requiring tenant’s sign a new lease at a higher rate is a rent increase.
The second issue is more concerning as it disregards the Residential Tenancy Act fixed term lease requirements. In 2017 the BC Government changed laws around fixed term leases, preventing a Landlord from evicting tenants at the end of a fixed term and then renting the unit to another party at a higher rent.
A tenancy agreement can begin with a “fixed term,” it is what happens at the end of the fixed term that was changed in 2017. Landlords are now required to declare their “intention” for the property when the term ends, at the start of the tenancy. If the landlord has no intention of moving back into the property when the fixed term expires, the tenancy agreement must state it becomes a month to month tenancy. If the landlord indicates on the agreement at the beginning of the fixed term they or a close family member will re-occupy the unit, they must move back in for a minimum of six months.
These laws were changed because many landlords choose to vacate tenants and re-rent their properties at higher rates then the allowable rent increase limit determined by the government. If a landlord requires a tenant to vacate at the end of the fixed term and fails to move in, a past tenant could be entitled to compensation equivalent to 12 months rent for bad faith negotiations.
The third item is signing of the new lease. A tenancy agreement is a contract between two parties which requires both parties agreeing to sign. Due to the changes of fixed terms the agreement must state the tenancy becomes month to month when a landlord won’t occupy the unit. This prevents landlords from forcing tenants to sign a new lease in order to continue renting the property.
All of the issues above are why tenants feel poorly treated by landlords, and why legislators change laws that appear to be more favourable to tenants. Being a landlord requires one to ensure they know and understand the laws, regulations and processes of managing a rental property.
Need assistance with your rental property contact us for an evaluation of your needs.
www.cartrefproperties.com
https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/housing-tenancy/residential-tenancies/ending-a-tenancy/landlord-notice/two-month-notice#Use
Do I need to reply to the bylaw letter?
Strata Corporations have bylaws and rules which govern the process of how the building is managed. Strata Councils have an obligation to enforce the bylaws when a complaint has been received. Section 135 of the strata property act outlines the process Strata Corporation’s and councils must follow and owner and tenant rights in responding to a complaint.
Section 135 requires the Strata Corporation to send owners and the tenants communication with the particulars of the complaint and a reasonable opportunity to answer the complaint before applying a fine or other remedy. Other remedies could be charging the cost of a repair to your strata lot or denying access to a common area when the complaint is related to that common area.
When an owner or tenant receives a bylaw infraction complaint you should respond to the complaint. Often owners receive letters and discard them believing nothing will happen. After the time frame allotted on the letter has passed, strata council is in a position to make a decision to fine you the owner, or the tenant for the infraction. Often councils are looking for owners or tenants to correct their actions and change their behaviour in accordance with the bylaws. It is important to respond to the infraction letter and explain your side of the situation so that council has all the information ensuring they are making an informed decision.
Most buildings follow the process correctly, some Strata Corporations apply fines without the proper notification. One of the most common areas for improper notice is, late or non payment of strata fees. Payment of the strata fees is a bylaw and requires Strata Corporations follow section 135 before applying a fine to your account for non payment of strata fees.
When responding to your bylaw infraction complaint council must provide the option of requesting a hearing in front of council to explain your position on the matter. You should evaluate the complaint received and decide if this warrants you requesting a hearing in order to better clarify your position. It is important for owners and tenants to understand council is not required to provide an answer at the time of the hearing. As an owner and or tenant it is important to read and respond accordingly to the complaint received.
Need assistance with your rental property contact us for an evaluation of your needs.
www.cartrefproperties.com
How do you know you have a good tenant?
You don’t - Doing your due diligence with reference and credit checks which indicate positive information about tenants could result in a negative experience. How does Cartref Properties selection process help owners find quality tenants?.
In a previous blog about stage one of the tenancy we discussed how the tenant selection process has multiple steps. Each step gives you the opportunity to learn more about applicants before deciding to rent your property to them. The tenant selection processes shouldn’t be rushed, to ensure due diligence can be performed effectively.
Each step gives you the opportunity to confirm or verify information, eliminating tenants who may not be suitable for your property. Tenant selection has three main steps, screening, showing and evaluating, when not rushed are very effective in selecting quality tenants.
The screening process is performed when applicants contact us asking to rent or view the property. This step gives the opportunity to ask basic information including who would be renting the unit, when they want to move in, where they currently live and why they are moving. They may not provide all these details during this process and you will need to decide if you want to proceed to the next step based on the information provided. How quickly they reply or effectively they answer your questions gives insight into them as a person. I often asked people to tell me about themselves and who would live there and the reply is just the number of people, with no further details. This is a sign they are not reading our request.
Showing the property is an opportunity to interview the applicants in person. It shows if they are respectful of our time, property and process. When applicants fail to attend a showing on time without an explanation it provides insight into their character. How the tenant views your property, do they ask to enter, or open a door or closet, or do they proceed without asking provides further indication of their personality. If an applicant asks if you can alter the selection process it often indicates inaccurate information may be provided.
When potential renters are viewing the property it is important to ask questions about them, including where they work, live and plan on moving. These questions would be asked in the screening process, during the showing is the opportunity to hear if the applicants provide the same information or different details. A showing also provides the opportunity to explain the evaluating process and what is expected during the tenancy at the property.
The final step is the evaluation process. After the showing we may provide potential renters with an application form to rent the property. Upon receiving the application we review notes taken during the screening and the showing process and compare if details are consistent with the information on the application. When information is inconsistent it often means they are trying to hide something. We look for signs applicants are trying to keep information from you.
Today with the advent of cell phones it’s very easy for applicants to provide contact information for managers/supervisors where the phone number is not the business number.
I have been asked how do you verify this situation. Doing your due diligence to ensure the contact person provided is actually the supervisor may require more investigation. We search for the business online and will call the main business number asking to speak with the person provided on the application.
A recent applicant asked me why I didn’t call the number provided for the employer. This immediately advised me they were not forthcoming with the information provided on the application. I had researched the employer online, called the main office number and asked for the person identified on the application. Although I was informed they were the applicants supervisor, I had suspicions they weren’t based on the response provided.
Another tactic used by applicants is pressure of time. This same applicant advised me one day after sending the application in (and on a Saturday) they were approved for another unit but preferred ours and wanted to know when they would be approved. We continued our normal process of checking applicant information, which carried over into the next work week and were able to determine multiple pieces of information provided were inaccurate. Allowing us to select a different applicant who we feel is more appropriate.
Applicants who are good people will provide you with correct and accurate information required to make an informed decision. Applicants who try to alter the process of evaluating an application often are trying to hide something from you, and are probably a tenant which would provide a negative experience.
There are many good tenants who will rent your property, sometimes it takes time to find the right one.
Need assistance with your rental property contact us for an evaluation of your needs.
www.cartrefproperties.com