Major Problems with Landlord

[ToewsFan]

hello,

I was wondering if anyone knew what to do in a situation I find myself in. I was renting a rooming house month-to-month as I have been trying to save money as of late. The problem is that in the third week of February when I had been living at the address for two months, a City of Calgary bylaw inspector came to the door, and asked to take a look around. It turns out that the lady who owns the house has no permit to rent the home, and rent me the room illegally.

Apparently, she is trying to circumvent fines by moving in the house herself with her husband, and at the beginning of March, announced that we had one month to leave. However, this is against the law, as the landlord needs to give the tenants 90 day written notice. She told me that her father had an extra room, but when I checked it out, it was somewhat of a dump, and politely refused. My main reason for refusing the room was later in the day, the father of the landlord tried to sell me a dresser for $50 that did not even belong to him. My roommate had told me he had lend it to the room, as he had nowhere to place it in his room.

From that point on, that landlord launched a campaign of harassment and intimidation, which included:

-constantly texting me, asking when I was moving out
-entering the premises without the 24 hour notice to tenants on half a dozen occasions, to leave notes on our doors threatening to withhold the damage deposit from us if we did not vacate the suite
-changing the locks on a roommate, even though she illegally entered his suite, and had no legal justification to do so
-refusing to provide receipts for March rent as requested
-refusing to install smoke alarms on all floors as requested
-leaving notices on my door that either stated that I was banned from the premises after March 31, or that she was going to charge $200/weekly if I continued to stay


On March 29, I came home to find the walls of the main floor completely knocked down. Apparently the international student living on the main floor had moved out the previous day, and was in the middle of exams. Th last thing he told us was that he could not stand the landlord, and needed peace of mind and is now staying with a friend. I am absolutely certain that they had no permit to do major renovations to th home, and even so, you cannot just tear apart the main floor without giving notice to tenants.

I swear that this whole situation feels like a Monty Python situation. I ended up moving out on the 31st, as I figured if they are going to demolish rooms and change locks on tenants, my room may suffer the same fate while at work. Besides, I was really getting stressed out about the situation, and was certain that staying there would probably not be that great for my mental health.

As of today, the Landlord has refused to return my damage deposit, and after a whole month of trying to get myself and the other tenants to leave by the 31 of March, informed me that I owe her April rent, which IMO is ridiculous. I called 311 and spoke to an agent, and they informed me there is a fairly serious investigation going on at the residence.

I was wondering how to proceed. It will cost me $75.00 to go to Landlord ans Tenants Dispute Resolution Service for a hearing, which will not take place until June. I'm not sure about civil court. I plan on asking for my damage deposit plus March rent (loss of peaceful enjoyment in a suite), and legal fees to file the dispute. If anyone is familiar with the bylaws, rental laws, or has been in this situation, any input would be greatly appreciated. Thank You.

[DuffMan]

You joined in 2007, and this is your first post?
Where have you been?

Oh, and, burn it down

[ToewsFan]

Originally Posted by DuffMan

You joined in 2007, and this is your first post?
Where have you been?

I was lost

Oh, and, burn it down

No thanks. The city is already investigating the acts of the landlord.

[photon]

Service Alberta has a line you can call and they can give you general information about the landlord tenant act and how the law might apply to your situation. They can't give legal advice though. http://www.servicealberta.ca/contact.cfm

I don't think the dispute resolution service would work in this situation, since sharing a living space with the landlord isn't covered by the Residential Tenancies Act (http://www.landlordandtenant.org/roo...nd-subletting/). The whole situation I don't think is covered by the RTA and you don't have the tenant protections afforded by the act.

Which is unfortunate as the dispute resolution service is definitely cheaper than court, and in my personal experience (as a landlord) is lenient towards tenants. EDIT: It's also binding like a court judgment (though remember getting a judgment doesn't mean you'll be able to collect, that can be harder than the judgment).

So in court it would boil down to the agreement that you signed when you moved in. If you didn't sign an agreement then you'd need a lawyer to give you an idea of what the court might think and if you'd have any chance of winning and how much.

When I'd just got my degree, the first place I'd rented on my own, the landlord stiffed me for the security deposit despite the place being in perfect shape. I was going to go to court and was quite upset, but ultimately I took it as a learning experience about how to protect myself in the future and decided that the amount of headache and stress it would create for months on end wasn't worth the amount of money.

[ToewsFan]

Originally Posted by photon

Service Alberta has a line you can call and they can give you general information about the landlord tenant act and how the law might apply to your situation. They can't give legal advice though. http://www.servicealberta.ca/contact.cfm

I don't think the dispute resolution service would work in this situation, since sharing a living space with the landlord isn't covered by the Residential Tenancies Act (http://www.landlordandtenant.org/roo...nd-subletting/). The whole situation I don't think is covered by the RTA and you don't have the tenant protections afforded by the act.

Which is unfortunate as the dispute resolution service is definitely cheaper than court, and in my personal experience (as a landlord) is lenient towards tenants. EDIT: It's also binding like a court judgment (though remember getting a judgment doesn't mean you'll be able to collect, that can be harder than the judgment).

So in court it would boil down to the agreement that you signed when you moved in. If you didn't sign an agreement then you'd need a lawyer to give you an idea of what the court might think and if you'd have any chance of winning and how much.

When I'd just got my degree, the first place I'd rented on my own, the landlord stiffed me for the security deposit despite the place being in perfect shape. I was going to go to court and was quite upset, but ultimately I took it as a learning experience about how to protect myself in the future and decided that the amount of headache and stress it would create for months on end wasn't worth the amount of money.

The Landlord was not living at the residence. I'm not sure to have a hearing at the DRS or at Small Claims court.

[PepsiFree]

What agreement did you sign?
Did you request the smoke alarms in writing?
Where you renting a room? or the whole house? (this is an important distinction)

There are some thing you listed that sound like legitimate grievances, but a few that are worth just using as a funny story down the line (since they don't really matter)

[ToewsFan]

Originally Posted by PepsiFree

What agreement did you sign?
Did you request the smoke alarms in writing?
Where you renting a room? or the whole house? (this is an important distinction)

There are some thing you listed that sound like legitimate grievances, but a few that are worth just using as a funny story down the line (since they don't really matter)

I texted the landlord, asking her to place smoke alarm in the main floor, as there was an incident of a roommate leaving food in the oven too long, and the kitchen filled with smoke. The 311 operator informed me that if anyone is living on a floor of a rooming house, a smoke alarm must be present.

I was renting a room from the landlord. She did not live at the address.

I signed an agreement which a have a copy of, initially minimum two months (January and February), but we both agreed to make it month to month after I had paid February rent.

My apologies, but I don't think I was being humorous in any of my points.

[troutman]

She used to be so nice
Lord, she was lovy-dovy

[photon]

Originally Posted by ToewsFan

The Landlord was not living at the residence. I'm not sure to have a hearing at the DRS or at Small Claims court.

Sorry I thought you'd meant they were already there, rather than them moving in during the tenancy.

As mentioned the RTDRS is going to be cheaper than court, and is just as binding. It's also simpler, you basically prepare all the information you have, you go into a room with the other party (if they show up) and a mediator and you each get to tell your side of the story and what you want.

Or that's the idea anyway, in my case the tenant used up almost the entire time and the mediator gave me almost no time. Still ruled mostly in my favour because the tenant was a crazy lady.

Anyway the mediator will hear both sides, ask some questions, and if I remember correctly may make a decision right there. EDIT: And your landlord sounds sketchy enough they might not even show up.

[ToewsFan]

Originally Posted by troutman

She used to be so nice
Lord, she was lovy-dovy

lol

I never listened to the lyrics of that song. Thanks, Troutman!

[ToewsFan]

Originally Posted by photon

Sorry I thought you'd meant they were already there, rather than them moving in during the tenancy.

As mentioned the RTDRS is going to be cheaper than court, and is just as binding. It's also simpler, you basically prepare all the information you have, you go into a room with the other party (if they show up) and a mediator and you each get to tell your side of the story and what you want.

Or that's the idea anyway, in my case the tenant used up almost the entire time and the mediator gave me almost no time. Still ruled mostly in my favour because the tenant was a crazy lady.

Anyway the mediator will hear both sides, ask some questions, and if I remember correctly may make a decision right there. EDIT: And your landlord sounds sketchy enough they might not even show up.

Then I will proceed to file a grievance with the RTDRS. They mentioned that it may be June before it will be heard. Cost is $75.00

[PepsiFree]

Originally Posted by ToewsFan

I texted the landlord, asking her to place smoke alarm in the main floor, as there was an incident of a roommate leaving food in the oven too long, and the kitchen filled with smoke. The 311 operator informed me that if anyone is living on a floor of a rooming house, a smoke alarm must be present.

I was renting a room from the landlord. She did not live at the address.

I signed an agreement which a have a copy of, initially minimum two months (January and February), but we both agreed to make it month to month after I had paid February rent.

My apologies, but I don't think I was being humorous in any of my points.

I meant you'll just have to laugh about it down the road, because some of these things (the permit for the wall construction) doesn't matter.

I would speak to a lawyer, because some of these things don't seem like they'd hold up on your end.

Yes, it's her responsibility to have a smoke alarm on every floor. But no, it doesn't matter if you mentioned it via text, requests for "service" need to be in actual writing (for legal purposes, most landlords would just do it I assume, oh well).

There are two major potential issues I see:
If you're renting a room and not a house, then there is no notice needed for the landlord to enter the house (just rented rooms) and they can essentially do whatever they want outside of your room.

If your agreement just said January and February, with no mention of month-to-month after the fact, that's also an issue that would leave you hanging. Is it written into your rental agreement that you'd be staying through March and beyond on a month-to-month basis?

What conditions were placed on the security deposit in the original agreement? and what conditions is it being withheld on?

[photon]

Originally Posted by ToewsFan

Then I will proceed to file a grievance with the RTDRS. They mentioned that it may be June before it will be heard. Cost is $75.00

They'll ask for a lot of information, so be prepared to put together all the info you can.

I also agree with PepsiFree your best bet would be to talk to a lawyer and they could tell you what things you would have a reasonable chance of getting, and what things you wouldn't. Even an hour talk with them might be super helpful to prepare you for your hearing and worth the $, might also bring things to your advantage to your attention.

[ToewsFan]

Originally Posted by PepsiFree

I meant you'll just have to laugh about it down the road, because some of these things (the permit for the wall construction) doesn't matter.

It certainly does. Download the Alberta Residential Tenancies Act:

http://www.qp.alberta.ca/documents/Acts/R17P1.pdf

I would speak to a lawyer, because some of these things don't seem like they'd hold up on your end.

Can you elaborate. Thanks.

Yes, it's her responsibility to have a smoke alarm on every floor. But no, it doesn't matter if you mentioned it via text, requests for "service" need to be in actual writing (for legal purposes, most landlords would just do it I assume, oh well).

It's the landlord's responsibility to abide by Alberta laws. There have been cases of landlords going to jail or paying six figure fines for not installing smoke alarms on floors that tenants occupy, when a real fire broke out, and people were injured or killed.. It's not my responsibility to police her.

There are two major potential issues I see:
If you're renting a room and not a house, then there is no notice needed for the landlord to enter the house (just rented rooms) and they can essentially do whatever they want outside of your room.

Not true:

"A landlord may enter the residential rental premises
at any time with the tenant’s consent. Consent can
be verbal or written. If the landlord has the tenant’s
consent, no notice is required."

"The landlord may enter the residential rental premises
without permission but only if the landlord has given
the tenant a written notice at least 24 hours before the
time of entry. The landlord can give notice to enter for
specific reasons outlined in the legislation which are:
• to do repairs
• to inspect the state of repair of the rental premises
• to take necessary steps to control pests
• to show the rental premises to prospective
purchasers, or mortgagees; or
• to show the rental premises to prospective tenants
after the landlord or tenant has given notice to end
a periodic tenancy"

source: http://www.servicealberta.gov.ab.ca/...or_tenants.pdf

If your agreement just said January and February, with no mention of month-to-month after the fact, that's also an issue that would leave you hanging. Is it written into your rental agreement that you'd be staying through March and beyond on a month-to-month basis?

"For week-to-week periodic tenancies, notice must be
given by either the landlord or the tenant on or before
the first day of the tenancy week to be effective on the
last day of the tenancy week.
For month-to-month periodic tenancies, notice must
be given by a tenant on or before the first day of the
tenancy month to be effective on the last day of the
tenancy month. Notice by a landlord must be given
on or before the first day of the three month notice
period.
If the date the notice is due falls on a holiday, (e.g.
January 1 or July 1) the next business day becomes
the due date according to the Interpretation Act."

If there happens to be a paper trail (which there is), a judge will assume that the money I gave her is for rent. I'm not sure how much experience you ahve with law, but judges are not stupid. The landlord cannot argue that "yes I received $500.00 on March 1, but that was just a loan." The judge determines ultimately what story is more believable. That is what they are paid to do. I also have three texts asking for a receipt, which she says she will bring to the house, then fails to do so.

What conditions were placed on the security deposit in the original agreement? and what conditions is it being withheld on?

She failed to give any conditions. That, in itself is illegal. You cannot demand that someone move out of a rented room without reason, unless it is 90-days, and there has to be a valid reason by the landlord to end the tenancy. You certainly cannot harass a tenant by phone, text, or put written eviction notices on your door, and then say "you did not give me proper notice so I demand April rent."

The only tie a landlord can evict a tenant is for non-payment of rent or damage to the property. That usually requires a legal document presented to the tenant, and may take up to a month. The only time a landlord can demand a tenant vacate the property within 24 hours, is when the tenant has been violent, or has threatened other tenants with death or physical harm.

[ToewsFan]

Originally Posted by photon

They'll ask for a lot of information, so be prepared to put together all the info you can.

I also agree with PepsiFree your best bet would be to talk to a lawyer and they could tell you what things you would have a reasonable chance of getting, and what things you wouldn't. Even an hour talk with them might be super helpful to prepare you for your hearing and worth the $, might also bring things to your advantage to your attention.

I am trying to retrieve:

Damage deposit $500.00
March rent $500.00 "Landlord must not disturb the tenant’s peaceful enjoyment of the rental premises (e.g. not bother the tenant beyond
what is necessary to do the landlord’s business).
RTDRS Hearing Fee $75.00

[CorsiHockeyLeague]

It definitely is not worth your time to talk to a lawyer over $1075. If you really want to try to get that money, go through the small claims process. Do it yourself. To the extent you need assistance, you can get some basic guidance at the courthouse through Calgary Legal Guidance or through the U of C law school via SLA. Both good services to point you in the right direction, but you're going to have to do the heavy lifting yourself.

If it was me I'd probably just call it a sunk cost and turn the page.

[photon]

Originally Posted by CorsiHockeyLeague

If you really want to try to get that money, go through the small claims process.

RTDRS is a bit cheaper and is intended for this so I think is simpler for people. I'd say it's less stressful as well, though my court experience I was one step removed from as I was using a service.

Originally Posted by CorsiHockeyLeague

If it was me I'd probably just call it a sunk cost and turn the page.

I agree with that.

Originally Posted by ToewsFan

I am trying to retrieve:

Damage deposit $500.00
March rent $500.00 "Landlord must not disturb the tenant’s peaceful enjoyment of the rental premises (e.g. not bother the tenant beyond
what is necessary to do the landlord’s business).
RTDRS Hearing Fee $75.00

For the March rent, based on what they did in my case rather than think of it in terms of being bothered for the month or not (i.e. all or nothing), think of it more in terms of specifically how were you impacted each day and how much. How many days of the month were you impacted, what percentage of enjoyment was lost, etc. You can ask for the $500, but be prepared to come up with 30 days worth of specifics to support it, otherwise they'll probably go down to a percentage. I'd wager they'll only do a portion of the rent.

[PepsiFree]

Originally Posted by ToewsFan

It certainly does. Download the Alberta Residential Tenancies Act

"Residential premises" is your room, since you live in a rooming house (that is what you said, right?). It's not the whole house unless you're specifically renting the whole house. Are you? or are you renting a room?

A landlord may enter common areas, so if everyone in the house is only renting a specific room, then I would be less confident if I were you. If you're renting a room you don't have full landlord-free autonomy over the whole house.

The smoke alarm thing is their responsibility, I'm just saying it's 100% legally irrelevant that you told your landlord about it if you did it via text.

If you're confident the judge will take your side though (I'm not entirely, but you know your situation better than anyone), then go to court. Isn't it that simple? Get your money.

Doesn't matter what anyone else here has to say. I'm interested in your landlord's position though. There is either more to the story or they're a crazy person (they said you owe for April because you didn't give notice after they booted you? lol), either of which fascinate me.

[nik-]

but is he putting plastic bags in your bathtub?

[ToewsFan]

Originally Posted by PepsiFree

"Residential premises" is your room, since you live in a rooming house (that is what you said, right?). It's not the whole house unless you're specifically renting the whole house. Are you? or are you renting a room?

It's the entire house. Premises = property. Don't tak my word for it. Why not click on the two official Government of Alberta links I provided for you?

A landlord may enter common areas, so if everyone in the house is only renting a specific room, then I would be less confident if I were you. If you're renting a room you don't have full landlord-free autonomy over the whole house.

I already provided you with the link, and discussed this with 311 and the Dispute Resolution Service. They informed me, in no uncertain terms, that the landlord cannot enter the property, unless the landlord gives the tenants 24 hour written notice, and it has to be a valid reason to be entering the suite (i.e. collection of rent on first of month, or doing repairs, etc.). It even says so in the link I provided to you. Do you just like to argue for the sake or arguing?

I'm just asking for advice on how to proceed, and thank you Photon and Corsi for the legitimate and helpful advice.