When does a tenancy begin?
Your property is vacant and you search for a new tenant. After multiple viewings and applications you select what you feel is the appropriate tenant for the property. What do you do next? You make arrangements with the tenant when they can move into the property. Let’s say the property is available on the 1st of the next month which is Monday. The property is vacant and the tenants ask if they can move in on the weekend instead of Monday. Since the property is vacant you agree to meet the new tenants on the Thursday evening before the weekend to sign the lease and give them the keys, as this is when both of you are available. The tenants move in on Saturday on the weekend.
The question is when did your new tenancy start? Does it start on the 1st of the month which is the date on the tenancy agreement? Or Saturday the day they moved in?
Both those answers are wrong. The tenancy would begin on Thursday, the day you signed the lease with the tenant. Section 16 of the Residential Tenancy Act states “The rights and obligations of a landlord and tenant under a tenancy agreement take effect from the date the tenancy agreement is entered into, whether or not the tenant ever occupies the rental unit.”
What this means is at the time the lease is signed the tenancy begins, even if tenants fail to occupy the unit. In this scenario if the lease was signed on the Thursday and the tenants did not move in they have engaged the tenancy and have the same rights as a tenant, and you as the landlord have the responsibility as the landlord. How can this affect you as a Landlord?. It is important you ensure your home insurance is active for the Thursday when the lease is signed. This also means the tenant has all the rights of a tenant starting on Thursday. This is a short time frame though I have seen other times when it has been a longer time frame and or when the unit is still occupied by the previous tenant. If a new lease is signed while the previous tenant is still in the unit, you are making assumptions that a tenant will be leaving the property as agreed upon. This could create a situation where two parties are claiming tenants rights to the same property.
Need assistance managing your rental property? contact us for an evaluation of your needs.
Cartref Properties specialises in managing rental units located within Strata Corporations.
www.cartrefproperties.com
What a Landlord needs to know when serving a Two Month notice for landlord use.
The Residential Tenancy Act allows for an individual owner to re-occupy a property they own which currently is a rental. The Residential Tenancy Act states: “A landlord who is an individual may end a tenancy in respect of a rental unit if the landlord or a close family member of the landlord intends in good faith to occupy the rental unit.”
When choosing to evict a tenant with a two month notice (RTB-32) for Landlord use, a Landlord needs to clearly understand the consequences if the landlord fails to follow through with the requirements.
The Tenancy Act requires landlords act in good faith when dealing with tenants. When serving a two month notice a Landlord must provide the notice within the service requirements of the act. The notice specifies that the tenant is entitled to one month free rent when a two month notice is served. This is often taken in the form of the last or second month of rent being waived. The intention of this is to provide the tenant with the resources to rent a new property.
The act also specifies who is required to move in when evicting a tenant for Landlord use. The person moving in must be the owner or a close family member of the owner. Who qualifies as a close family member? The act defines the following parties as close family members:. The individual's parent, spouse or child, or the parent or child of the individual's spouse.
When we look at this definition we also need to understand who doesn’t qualify in accordance with the act. The following people don’t qualify: Landlords, siblings (brothers/sisters), cousins, and friends. Landlords evicting a tenant must clearly understand who qualifies to occupy the property after evicting a tenant for Landlord use. When moving into the property the act requires the landlord to occupy the unit for a minimum of six months.
In 2017 and again in 2021 the Provincial government changed the laws regarding Landlord use with regards to the compensation to tenants for landlord use evictions. What changed in 2017 is when the landlord is found to have evicted a tenant for landlord use and not done so in good faith, the compensation that could be awarded to a tenant is equivalent to one year of the rent they were paying. In 2021 the government changed the onus to the owner to prove they have acted in good faith. Before these changes the tenant would need to prove the landlord hadn’t acted in good faith which can be very difficult.
Why were these changes made? The government makes changes to the Tenancy Act when “some” landlords try to find ways around the system. Evicting a tenant for landlord use then turning around and rerenting the unit allows landlords to raise the rent beyond the legal allowable limit defined by the government each year. Changing the law to increase the compensation for tenants is intended to encourage landlords to follow the rules of the Residential Tenancy Act. One other factor often missed understood and can affect these situations is the Limitation Act in BC. Section 96 of the Tenancy act provides a tenant two years to start a claim for a loss they may have incurred. What this means is if the tenant finds out a year and a half later, the person who moved in failed to meet the qualifications of the Act, a Landlord could still be held responsible for compensation to the past tenant.
Need assistance managing your rental property? contact us for an evaluation of your needs.
Cartref Properties specialises in managing rental units located within Strata Corporations.
www.cartrefproperties.com
Being a landlord is business ownership
Owning rental property has become a modern day vehicle for the average person to try and obtain wealth. Land or property ownership was originally the domain of the wealthy. The commoner rose up and said we want to own land as well, which became a normal part of society. Modern day society in most countries has a system that allows all people to own land and or property. The ownership of property now has emerged into a form for the average person to obtain wealth through the acquisition of property.
What many average people don’t understand about being a landlord is that, when you are a landlord you become a business owner. Managing a business is different than working as an employee. The biggest difference for a business owner is the emotional aspect of making decisions that affect other people. Often as an employee you are taking direction from someone and not making the decision.
Many average Landlords struggle with the emotions of making business decisions.
I hear many landlords saying things like the following:
- Have not raised the rent in the past three years because the tenants are very nice.
- The tenants appeared to be very nice when they looked at the property.
- My tenants submitted information that turned out to be false information.
- The tenants damaged the property
These are a few signs the “business” owner is making a decision based on emotions not based on facts. In BC there are restrictions on when and how much rent can be raised. As a business owner you need to evaluate the economic facts of operating your property, and base decisions on those facts alone. If your costs are going up and the market supports a rent increase, raise the rent every 12 months, which is the allowable time frame. If the market is in a downturn and you can’t re rent the property for the same price or more than it is currently rented for then don’t increase the rent.
Failing to do due diligence at the start of a tenancy when checking references for potential tenants creates a disaster for landlords. I have seen and heard many stories of landlords who thought the person was a good applicant, and when asking them how they came to that decision, it was mostly based on how they felt about the individual when they came to view the property. This is a decision based on emotion. I have met many potential tenants at viewings who come across as being very personable, yet the information on the application is inaccurate and references aren’t valid.
Don’t judge a book by it’s cover, read all the chapters when being a landlord.
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
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