Realtor/lawyer missed tenant notification? Recourse?

[81MC]

Hi,
2nd hand, just info from a friend going through a #### scenario.

Bought house, left possession for like 6 months down the road explicitly to allow the tenants to finish their lease before possession.

Less than a month before possession, he finds out the one tenant was never actually notified of termination, and is exercising his right to 3 months notice.

Friend is moving him and his pregnant partner, and her daughter, from two houses into one. Tenant has two large dogs and there is just no way they can live together for a few months with this tenant in the house.

By law, it sounds like any friend is totally ####ed and the realtor he uses didn’t actually get written notice of the tenancy termination.

So...advice? Find somewhere for their family to life for the next three months? Can the realtor not be held accountable somehow? Like, shouldn’t there have been a very specified document that outlines the requirement for the current owner to end tenancy agreements?

[Cecil Terwilliger]

FTR I’m not a realtor.

Was there a vacant possession condition/clause in the offer that the tenant must be given notice? That’d be the key I think.

No idea on recourse. But if the buyer signed off on the offer without the right conditions, then that’s his incompetent realtors fault. No idea what could even be done now. File a complaint with whatever governing body the agents use. RECA maybe?

Either way it wasn’t given obviously. Good luck finding a short term rental. Might be able to find a fully furnished place for 3 months and put the stuff in storage. Long term Airbnb maybe?

Frankly, I don’t blame the tenant.

[Winsor_Pilates]

Is there just 1 realtor or buyers and sellers had different agents?

I can only speak for BC, but when acting for buyers I would give written direction to the seller's Realtor once the sale is firm and the sellers have to give the actual notice to the tenants. We have a specific form we use as the buyer's agent to ensure we've given that direction.

So in our cases, the mistake could be on the buyer's agent for not giving that initial document, the listing agent for not passing that to the seller or the seller for not acting on it as required.
Hard to know exactly who dropped the ball in your example.

[81MC]

Separate agents. I feel this is in the buyers (my friends) agent as well. I know in BC that the notice to terminate requirement can’t be a condition of sale, needs separate document.

I feel like his realtor (buyer) dropped the ball and my buddy is getting upset with the lawyers, who had the realtor done their job it would be a non issue.

It feels wrong that such a blatant oversight resulting in serious disruption and expense is just like ‘whoops, sorry’.

[Winsor_Pilates]

Originally Posted by 81MC

Separate agents. I feel this is in the buyers (my friends) agent as well. I know in BC that the notice to terminate requirement can’t be a condition of sale, needs separate document.

I feel like his realtor (buyer) dropped the ball and my buddy is getting upset with the lawyers, who had the realtor done their job it would be a non issue.

It feels wrong that such a blatant oversight resulting in serious disruption and expense is just like ‘whoops, sorry’.

Sounds like it to me.
You're correct on BC, we issue the document to give notice as soon as subject conditions are removed and it's a firm sale.

This feels like the buyers agent missed doing that.

[afc wimbledon]

talk privately with the tenant, let him know it was the realtors fault and ask him if there is a sum of money that could make it possible for him to move out, bribe him but be prepared for it to be very expensive

[calgarygeologist]

Isn't there a clause in the tenancy act that shortens the notice period required when the owner is moving into the property or has a family member moving into the property?

[Mr.Coffee]

Originally Posted by 81MC

Separate agents. I feel this is in the buyers (my friends) agent as well. I know in BC that the notice to terminate requirement can’t be a condition of sale, needs separate document.

I feel like his realtor (buyer) dropped the ball and my buddy is getting upset with the lawyers, who had the realtor done their job it would be a non issue.

It feels wrong that such a blatant oversight resulting in serious disruption and expense is just like ‘whoops, sorry’.

Take the buyer realtor to small claims if they won’t cover 3 month living expenses? This is getting off easy considering the other damages that are accruing to your friend for the realtor screw up. Is the buyer realtor getting paid by the seller realtor? I assume so as they split the commission so I’d be demanding some of that back as that is a pretty blatant failure on their part.

[Canadianman]

cash for keys is the only feasible solution to getting possession in time. Might be expensive, but also might be a cost you (he?) can pursue someone else for reimbursement.

[81MC]

Certainly I have no involvement other than feeling frustrated for my buddy and his family.

So sounds like he’s SOL, and the only potential recourse would be to pursue damages from the realtor in court, assuming he has evidence of communication explicitly stating the requirement to have the tenancy terminated by possession date.

My buddy is (obviously) pissed and really believes he should be able to renege on deal and get his deposits back, but I really don’t see that being the case.

Unreal. I knew realtors could be a pretty whack, predatory profession but even I’m shocked at this incompetence. And to be notified of this less than a month to go, yikes.

[powderjunkie]

Presumably the tenants were aware that it was listed? And sold?

If I were the tenant I’d have wanted clarity a lot sooner. Not saying they are at all wrong, but it seems a little weird?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[afc wimbledon]

Originally Posted by powderjunkie

Presumably the tenants were aware that it was listed? And sold?

If I were the tenant I’d have wanted clarity a lot sooner. Not saying they are at all wrong, but it seems a little weird?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

They may have assumed they were getting booted and were pleasantly surprised when they weren't that's pretty much how Vancouver works

[I_H8_Crawford]

Originally Posted by 81MC

Certainly I have no involvement other than feeling frustrated for my buddy and his family.

So sounds like he’s SOL, and the only potential recourse would be to pursue damages from the realtor in court, assuming he has evidence of communication explicitly stating the requirement to have the tenancy terminated by possession date.

My buddy is (obviously) pissed and really believes he should be able to renege on deal and get his deposits back, but I really don’t see that being the case.

Unreal. I knew realtors could be a pretty whack, predatory profession but even I’m shocked at this incompetence. And to be notified of this less than a month to go, yikes.

Not a lawyer, but if your buddy has documentation showing him giving his realtor direction to state that the tenant must be out, he could potentially sue the realtor for any expenses incurred while they wait for tenant to move out??

Probably want to check with one of the CP lawyers on this though.

[Hemi-Cuda]

Originally Posted by 81MC

Certainly I have no involvement other than feeling frustrated for my buddy and his family.

So sounds like he’s SOL, and the only potential recourse would be to pursue damages from the realtor in court, assuming he has evidence of communication explicitly stating the requirement to have the tenancy terminated by possession date.

My buddy is (obviously) pissed and really believes he should be able to renege on deal and get his deposits back, but I really don’t see that being the case.

Unreal. I knew realtors could be a pretty whack, predatory profession but even I’m shocked at this incompetence. And to be notified of this less than a month to go, yikes.

Just another reason not to even bother with a realtor when on the buying side, they're totally useless and a waste of money

[topfiverecords]

Originally Posted by Hemi-Cuda

Just another reason not to even bother with a realtor when on the buying side, they're totally useless and a waste of money

How is a buying realtor a waste of money when you don’t personally pay them?

[nfotiu]

Originally Posted by 81MC

Certainly I have no involvement other than feeling frustrated for my buddy and his family.

So sounds like he’s SOL, and the only potential recourse would be to pursue damages from the realtor in court, assuming he has evidence of communication explicitly stating the requirement to have the tenancy terminated by possession date.

My buddy is (obviously) pissed and really believes he should be able to renege on deal and get his deposits back, but I really don’t see that being the case.

Unreal. I knew realtors could be a pretty whack, predatory profession but even I’m shocked at this incompetence. And to be notified of this less than a month to go, yikes.

If your friend really wants to walk away, I think he probably could. It was many years ago, but when I was selling my house in Calgary, the buyer flaked on our deal for a very flimsy reason. I wanted to hold firm on not releasing the earnest money, but my agent advised that the other side indicated they weren't going to release it either and that I'd likely end up in court and it would cause a lot of problems trying to sell the house until it was settled. I'm not sure if that was good advice or not, but if he takes a hard ass approach and is really ok walking away, then I'm guessing he'll either get his deposit back or the seller will figure out a way to get rid of the tenant.

[afc wimbledon]

Originally Posted by topfiverecords

How is a buying realtor a waste of money when you don’t personally pay them?

because you do pay for them one way or another, you can get a way better discount on a house if you dont have one

[Hemi-Cuda]

Originally Posted by topfiverecords

How is a buying realtor a waste of money when you don’t personally pay them?

The selling realtor pays them, which means you pay more for the house. We got a significant discount when buying our house since we went through the selling realtor directly

[afc wimbledon]

Real Estate agents only really work for themselves, they will happily low ball your house if it means it sells quickly with minimal effort on their part, thinking that its in the agents best interest to get as high a price as possible is very foolish

[GGG]

Originally Posted by Hemi-Cuda

The selling realtor pays them, which means you pay more for the house. We got a significant discount when buying our house since we went through the selling realtor directly

Do you have the lawyer go over all the terms and conditions for offers or do you have the sellers realtor representing both?