Quote:
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.