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5 Common Mistakes to Avoid for Tenants and Landlords Before the Tenancy Starts

Prepared by Cem Bicer

· Property,Tenancy

In British Columbia, rising real estate prices drive more people to rent a residential property rather than investing in one. Due to this surge in tenants, the landlords have more options to choose from and the tenants are more desperate to sign a lease as soon as possible. As a result, residential tenancy contracts are often signed in haste, which may cause legal problems in the future.

There are few tips that you can follow to avoid a crucial mistake either as a tenant or landlord:

1. Be sure that your rights are protected under the Residential Tenancy Act (the “RTA”): Most rental residential properties will be covered under the RTA. However, there are some exceptions, which can be found under section 4 of the RTA. If your rental arrangement falls within these exceptions, the RTA will not protect your rights as a tenant. For example, accommodation provided to students by their schools is not covered by the RTA.

2. Be sure who is the landlord/tenant: According to the RTA, the landlord can be the owner of the rental unit, the owner’s agent, or another person who exercises powers and performs duties of the landlord on behalf of the landlord. Similarly, not every person who stays in a residential unit will be a tenant automatically. Depending on your arrangement, you might have a tenant, co-tenants, occupants, roommates, or a combination of any of these within your residential property. The difference will impact the rights of parties and their responsibilities to each other. For example, roommates cannot use the Residential Tenancy Branch’s dispute resolution system and have to go through the court or Civil Resolution Tribunal to defend their claims arising out of their roommate arrangement.

3. If it is possible, always use the sample Residential Tenancy Agreement form RTB-1, provided by the Government of British Columbia: This form includes all necessary standard terms, and it is easy to fill out the blank spaces as your arrangement requires. The risk of drafting a new agreement or using another sample agreement is mistakenly contracting out of the RTA. The RTA does not allow contracting out of the RTA. Using a different contract may cause unnecessary legal disputes between landlords and tenants. It is possible that corporate landlords to have their own draft agreements. Tenants should always check whether any of the suggested agreement terms effectively contracting them out of the RTA, and bring it to the attention of the landlord before tenancy starts.

4. Always do a thorough inspection and fill out Condition Inspection Report before move-in: Many legal disputes between landlords and tenants come down to one main question: what was the state of the residential property before the current tenants moved in and how much damage the current tenants caused during their tenancy. To prove or disprove any allegations, the most effective tool to possess is a Condition Inspection Report, RTB-27 form. This report could be obtained online for free. This report should be completed by both tenant and landlord while doing a walk-through before the move-in. If you want to be a step ahead, you can always take photos at the time of the condition inspection.

5. Know the legal fees you can and cannot be charged or ask: Due to the competitive nature of the rental market, it is tempting to ask or pay additional charges. For some tenants, it may feel as if there is no other choice than to accept these additional charges. However, some of these additional charges may be illegal to ask or beyond the limit that is allowed. The most common fees you may be asked for are security and pet damage deposit. These additional charges are allowed but can only be up to 50% of one month’s rent for each deposit. Another popular fee that you might be required to pay is a move-in fee, which is only allowed if the property is a strata property and the strata corporation charges this fee to your landlord. For all other acceptable fees, you can check section 6 and 7 of the RTA.

If you are facing a tenancy or property issue, our lawyers at Icon Law Group are here to help.

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