Licensed Property Management
As a licensed property manager I am glad to see the regulatory body taking significant action against parties who are not complying with the licensing laws in British Columbia. See the link below.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/unlicensed-property-management-penalty-bcfsa-1.6290396
I have spent many years working in the industry to learn the laws and regulations which are there to protect both Landlords and Tenants. I understand people who want to manage their own property or think it’s too expensive to hire a licensed professional. Having said that breaking the law should not be something one is allowed to profit from. Landlords and tenants have a confrontational relationship in the market today due to many factors, one being a lack of trust. When people are acting in a capacity they are not educated in, this leads to greater friction between Landlords and Tenants in the marketplace, making it unfair for Landlords and Tenants.
My recommendation to Landlords is, hire a property Manager. I suggest Tenants rent from property managers as well; this provides an additional recourse in the event of issue as licensed property managers can be sanctioned for unlawful actions, and therefore are more likely to follow the law’s.
There are many unlicensed people managing properties for other parties, making it more difficult for those of us who act professionally and responsibly to provide quality service in the market. If you're not sure your property manager is licensed you can check by searching the BCFSA website.
https://www.bcfsa.ca/public-resources/real-estate/find-professional
Licensed property managers are hired by Landlords to provide services to the owner of the property. They are not able to represent tenants in the finding of a rental property. There is a significant difference in these two tasks.
Many fables I hear from Landlords are that I rented to this person. They seemed like a nice person, I should have done more background research before renting to them.
From tenants it starts with I rented a place and the landlord seemed like a good guy….but after I moved in it was a nightmare.
Need assistance managing your rental property? contact us for an evaluation of your needs.
Cartref Properties specializes in managing rental units located within Strata Corporations.
www.cartrefproperties.com
What is a form K?
Living in a Strata Corporation can be complicated, you own the home but unlike individual houses there are additional rules and bylaws residents must abide by. All Strata Corporations have “rules and bylaws” which are created by the ownership voting and approval at General Meetings. All residents including tenants living in Strata Corporations are required to follow the rules and bylaws. How do tenants know what the rules and bylaws are to ensure they are in compliance?
Strata Corporations are governed by legislation in British Columbia called the Strata Property Act. Section 146 of the act explains the requirement for landlords to provide tenants a copy of the rules and bylaws “before the tenant rents the property”. A “Form K” also known as “Notice of Tenant Responsibilities” must be signed by the landlord and the tenant before the start of the tenancy. The Strata Property Act also requires owners to provide a copy of the signed form K to the Strata Corporation within two weeks of renting the property. Many Strata Corporations have added bylaws making it a requirement that Landlords provide the signed form k as outlined in section 146, which provides Strata Corporations the ability to take actions including applying fines if a form K is not provided.
It is important to understand that having tenants sign the form K and sending it to the Strata Corporation isn’t all that is required. A form k is an acknowledgement by the landlord that they provided a current copy of the rules and bylaws to the tenant. When tenants sign the form K Landlord’s should provide current copies of the rules and bylaws, explain to the tenant why they are signing this form, as they are required to comply with the rules and bylaws and should read the documents provided to them. Another overlooked aspect is rules and bylaws often change during a tenancy. The Strata Property regulations standard form K identifies the need for tenants to comply with the “changed” rules and bylaws. During a tenancy, tenants may not be aware of changes to rules and bylaws unless the Landlord provides them with updates. A majority of tenants are not informed of communication in the Strata Corporation as the Strata Corporation will convey information to the home owners. It is the homeowner or Landlord's responsibility to communicate information to the tenants. After each general meeting Landlords should review minutes of the meeting to review changes made to the rules and bylaws. If they are changed or new ones added, Landlords have the obligation to provide the changed rules and bylaws to their tenants. When changes have occurred Landlords should have tenants sign a document identifying they have received the new or changed rules and bylaws.
Properly completing the “Notice of Tenant's Responsibilities” protects both the landlord and the tenant by clearly explaining the expectations of both parties during the tenancy.
Need assistance managing your rental property? contact us for an evaluation of your needs.
Cartref Properties specializes in managing rental units located within Strata Corporations.
www.cartrefproperties.com
Rental Application fees
Searching for a tenant takes time and effort to find the right people for your property.
First you must advertise your property and show it to prospective applicants. Prospects will submit an application and Landlords will need to check references, perform credit checks and determine if the applicant is suitable for the property. All of this work takes time, and some Landlords want to charge a fee for this time.
Part two section 15 of the Residential Tenancy Act in BC prohibits Landlords from requiring a deposit or charging a fee for accepting or processing the rental application, investigating an applicant's suitability or accepting the tenant. What this means is a Landlord is not entitled to be directly compensated for these efforts. Rent for the property will need to cover these anticipated costs for Landlords. I have seen some Landlords state the fee will be added to the rent or deposit when the tenancy is accepted, this is inappropriate and not in accordance with the Residential Tenancy Act.
Asking a potential tenant to provide an amount of money could deter quality tenants from applying because they are informed of the law. Landlords could find themselves in a Residential Tenancy Board hearing if an applicant submitted their application fee, then wasn’t selected to rent the unit.
Being a Landlord is equivalent to owning a business. If you owned a retail store, restaurant or other business and required potential employees to pay a fee for submitting their application you would limit your choice significantly. Quality employees would look elsewhere and your business wouldn’t perform as you would expect. Requesting a fee for the application to rent would provide the same results, and a tenancy that wasn’t what you expected.
Landlords should take the appropriate time to thoroughly investigate each applicant's suitability for renting their property, in a manner which is in accordance with the Residential Tenancy Act. Failure to adhere to Tenancy Laws in BC often creates issues between Landlords and Tenants.
Looking for Property Management you can find more information about us at: www.cartrefproperties.com
Empty Homes Tax Declaration
What is the empty homes tax? The City of Vancouver brought in the empty homes tax to help eliminate homes that were sitting empty and not being used, by the owner or by other parties. Owners who live in their property, or rent them out for at least 6 months of the year will not have to pay the tax as long as they make the annual declaration the property was occupied.
If you are renting a property located in the City of Vancouver you are required to declare if your property was rented by February 2, 2022. There is no reason to wait if you know your property wasn’t empty. Follow the link below to the declaration page and instructions on how to declare.
Failure to declare can result in a tax being assessed to your property in the amount of 3% of the assessed value of the property. With the value of real estate in Vancouver this can be a significant penalty to any homeowner. Additionally, the city may apply a fine for failing to declare the empty home tax.
https://vancouver.ca/home-property-development/declare-property-status.aspx
Need assistance managing your rental property? contact us for an evaluation of your needs.
Cartref Properties specializes in managing rental units located within Strata Corporations.
www.cartrefproperties.com
Why use a Licensed Property Manager
If you own a property and need to have it rented. Who should you hire to manage the property? Good Question.
In BC the Real Estates Services Act is the law which outlines what a transaction in real estate is and who can manage those transactions for other people. We will look here at Rental Management specifically. It is a requirement to be licensed to provide rental management services in BC for others, unless you are in an exempt category.
The definition of rental management in the Real Estate Services act is as follows:
"rental property management services" means any of the following services provided to or on behalf of an owner of rental real estate:
trading services in relation to the rental of the real estate;
collecting rents or security deposits for the use of the real estate;
managing the real estate on behalf of the owner by
(i) making payments to third parties,
(ii) negotiating or entering into contracts,
(iii) supervising employees or contractors hired or engaged by the owner, or
(iv) managing landlord and tenant matters
The Real Services Act requires individuals to be licensed to provide Real Estate Services in BC to or on behalf of another in exchange for remuneration. There are some exemptions including, the owner of the property may manage the rental, caretakers hired by owners of a property, trustees in bankruptcy, executor or administrators of an estate, persons acting under the order of a court, practising lawyers and financial institutions with respect to real estate it owns. All other parties must be licensed to provide third party rental management in BC.
What are the benefits of using a licensed individual to manage your rental property?
All Real Estate Professionals are governed by the British Columbia Financial Services Authority (BCFSA) which has rules, regulations and requirements in place to protect consumers in the management of their real estate. All rental property managers are required to be employed by a real estate brokerage and have a license. Every two years property managers are required to renew their license, during the two year licensed period property managers are required to engage in specific training to ensure they are complying with regulations in the industry. The brokerage must follow strict rules for accounting the funds they collect from real estate transactions in trust accounts which can be audited by BCFSA for accuracy.
How do I know if a person or company is licensed?
The BCFSA website has information available for professionals and the public. Under public resources in the Real Estate section there is an area labeled “Find a Real Estate Professional”. In this section it gives you the opportunity to enter an individual's name and or name of the brokerage. If you enter the name of the person or the company and nothing identifies them, then they are not licensed in BC. BCFSA offers many more resources for customers explaining how professional managers are required to represent their clients, regarding conflicts of interest, confidentiality and how client money is managed.
If you are not sure your property manager is licensed, view the link below to find out.
https://www.bcfsa.ca/public-resources
Need assistance managing your rental property? contact us for an evaluation of your needs.
Cartref Properties specializes in managing rental units located within Strata Corporations.
www.cartrefproperties.com
