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 approving 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 Tenants 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 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 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 Landlords 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.

You can find more information about us at: www.cartrefproperties.com

Three Stages of a Tenancy

There are many aspects of renting a residential property, which can be divided into three stages of a tenancy. The first stage is tenant placement, the second stage is during the tenancy and the third stage is the ending of the tenancy. Each stage has unique and different aspects to the process of renting your property. All three stages are important to having a positive experience with tenants. 

Tenant placement is the stage where you make a decision on who will rent your property. It is very important to take the time required to make an informed decision. Performing credit, employment or personal reference checks is valuable to ensure the person renting is a suitable occupant for your property. Placing a tenant without reviewing the applicants information and background to the best of your ability often results in a negative tenancy experience.        

After placing the tenant many landlords feel they have a positive tenancy when tenants are paying rent each month. As we are seeing today more than ever tenant situations may change after the tenancy has started. In British Columbia landlords have the right to access their rental unit during the tenancy (with proper notice) and should take advantage of this opportunity to visit the property and review to ensure their tenant continues to maintain the property throughout the tenancy. 

Ending a tenancy has many different steps and often provides the most conflict between a tenant and landlord. Conflict usually arises over the move out condition inspection report as tenants and landlords often have different opinions of the condition of the property at the end of the tenancy. A condition inspection report is performed twice during the tenancy, once at the beginning and once at the end. Performing a successful condition report at the end is dependent on performing a thorough report at the beginning of the tenancy. Reporting the proper condition of the rental unit in the beginning eliminates conflict when the tenancy ends. What many landlords don’t understand is that if the tenant and landlord are unable to agree on the condition at the end of the tenancy this creates more work for landlords and possibly more costs in ending the tenancy. 

We will explore each stage in more depth in a future communication. 

During current emergency conditions of Covid-19 all of these stages have additional restrictions and need to be adhered to ensuring safety for tenants and landlords.

Welcome

Welcome to Cartref Properties Ltd. My name is Philip Davies, I am the Owner and Managing Broker of Cartref Properties Ltd. After working in the rental and strata property management industry since 2009, I have created Cartref Properties.

Cartref Properties provides rental property management services in the Lower Mainland of British Columbia helping owners manage their investment properties. Cartref Properties has experience managing apartment buildings, individual houses, condos and townhouses. 

Cartref Properties specializes in the management of rental units located in Strata Corporations, which requires knowledge of the rental market and the strata management field and provides many challenges for owners to understand. My experience in rental and strata management has shown a need for knowledge and understanding of renting in a Strata Corporation. Cartref Properties experience can help owners have a positive experience renting their property.    

You can find more information about us at: www.cartrefproperties.com