Douchebag house owner kicking my parents out

[Chronix]

So the story is my parents live upstairs while the owners daughter live by herself downstairs (Owners live in separate house). My parents and the daughter had a fallout a few months back. So since then, the daughter have been using passive aggressive tactics to piss my parents off (turning on running water throughout the night, late night laundry runs, slamming the doors, cooking weird and smelly shit and ventilate the stench to the upper level). We complained this to the daughter's parents (the owners) but all they said is the daughter doesn't listen to them so the owner can't do anything about it.

Recently, the hot water in the house didnt work upstairs and the owner who is obligated to fix it, didn't and kept saying they will soon. A week later, my dad got fed up and hired his own plumber to fix the problem.

The contract for the rent is ending at the end of June and now they wanted to bump the rent up which is bullshit considering they didnt take care of the house when they're supposed to. My parents were reluctant to pay for the extra but decided they want to sign a new contract with the new rent increase but then the owner CHANGED her mind and said they want the house back and pretty much told my parents to GTFO by the end of June.

Is this legal? I read somewhere the tenant should have three months to find a new place even if the contract expired.

From my few meetings with the owners, they were like mainland chinese fobs who are pretty damn cheap in repairs and shit.

[RevRav]

You're correct, tell them you have the right to have 3 months notice.
Print out something from the BC Tenancy Act and tell them you'll take legal action if they do not follow.

With the 3 months of time, you should be able to find plenty of places to rent.
There are many students & families moving in/out during the summer season,
as the finish their degree and return back to their native country or after they
obtained their Canadian citizenship.

[Chronix]

so as long if the owner didnt serve the 3 month notice on paper, my parents get to stay as long as possible right?

[lowda9]

Cheap ass landladies. My vietnamese/chinese landlady wanted to charge me extra for using her basket for laundry which i never even use, she jsut leaves it there. She also told my mom that i asked her for money for cigarettes, which is unbeleivable. I never once asked her for money. At least her husband is a little more reasonable and always apologizes for his cheap ass wife.

[parm104]

What Rev has stated is true and is the only remedy. Once the landlord gives you official notice, you have 3 months left in your place to reside. But really, it seems like the landlord will be exhausting every option you get your parents to leave. Is it really worth fighting for?

[Manic!]

http://www.rto.gov.bc.ca/

Call them up and talk to a lawyer for free.

Phone:

To speak to an Information Officer or to listen to our recorded information line call:

Lower Mainland: 604-660-1020
Victoria: 250-387-1602
Elsewhere in BC: 1-800-665-8779
E-mail:

If you prefer to communicate with us by email, please send a message to:

HSRTO@gov.bc.ca
Visit:

You can also visit a Residential Tenancy Branch office:

Lower Mainland
400 - 5021 Kingsway
Burnaby, BC V5H 4A5 Map

Office Hours: Monday to Friday 8:30 am - 4:30 pm

520 Richards Street *
Vancouver, BC V6B 3A2
Map

Office Hours: Monday to Friday 8:30 am - Noon

Four Corners *
390 Main Street
Vancouver, BC V6A 2T1
Map

Office Hours: Monday to Friday 1:00 pm - 4:00 pm

* Limited Services = Information services, assistance with completing application forms, fee waiver applications. Payment cannot be accepted.

Vancouver Island
Suite 101 - 3350 Douglas Street
Victoria, BC V8Z 3L1 Map

Office Hours: Monday to Friday 8:30 am - 4:30 pm

Interior
305 - 478 Bernard Avenue
Kelowna, BC V1Y 6N7 Map

Office Hours: Monday to Friday 8:30 am - 4:30 pm

All of our offices are closed on statutory holidays.

If there is no Residential Tenancy Branch office in your area, you can pick-up residential tenancy guides, fact sheets and forms at your local Service BC Office or BC Access Centre.

[Manic!]

Originally Posted by RevRav

You're correct, tell them you have the right to have 3 months notice.

Not if it is a lease.

[SkinnyPupp]

Yeah if it's a lease, and they owners don't want to renew, then I don't think they have a case.

[Chronix]

yea i think so. they just signed a rental agreement for 2 years and its expiring soon.

[SkinnyPupp]

Probably for the better anyway by the sounds of it. If they are having such a bad experience, why stay?

[TRDood]

Does the tenacy act also applies to reisential parking stall rentals? Say parking space in a condo downtown monthly.
Posted via RS Mobile

[Realtor]

Check what kind of a lease it is first.

There is a specific box that both parties have to initial on a standard lease that states that the lease ends specifically on a certain date. (I believe page 2 of the standard contract)

However, most leases are not of this nature and are usually a 1 year term that turns into a month to month lease afterwards. If this is the case, then the landlords would have to give you notice.

[RevRav]

^ I doubt OP's family and the landlord had an actual official lease sign.
Many of them just draft up a super simple one by themselves....

As Manic! have mention, its best to call that number up and talk to a
real lawyer about your exact situation.

Originally Posted by parm104

But really, it seems like the landlord will be exhausting every option you get your parents to leave. Is it really worth fighting for?

Originally Posted by SkinnyPupp

Probably for the better anyway by the sounds of it. If they are having such a bad experience, why stay?

It's not about staying...(for the long term), its more matter of OP's landlord giving them a super short notice to gtfo. Not everyone can find a new place to rent... pack up... arrange days off work ...transfer phone / internet lines ...all in 1 week time.

[Chronix]

Yea, they are planning to move but need more time to find a new place. End of this month is too fast and I can't move them into my apartment.

I will check their contract again later tonight and let you guys know what kind of lease it is. But I do know they pay month by month rent.

[TheNewGirl]

Call the tenancy board. They'll advocate for you and inform the rental owners of their obligations.

[Chronix]

so the form they used to sign a contract is called a residential tenancies rental agreement form. so its pretty official i guess. the contract term is for two years and the end day of the contract is the end of this month.

so they pretty much told my parents to gtfo during the renewing process.

[DaFonz]

First off, check the contract and look at the terms and conditions regarding the termination. Does it explicitly say that it's a fixed term that specifies that the tenant moves out at the end of the term?

If so, then I suggest to your parents that they squat. It's a huge pain in the ass to get a tenant out (see section 13.1) and your parents have a ton of rights.

If not, then here are your rights:

- At the end of a fixed term, the rental agreement automatically converts into month to month. The landlord cannot force you to sign a new lease. This is on pg 24.

When a tenant is not required to move out at the end of the tenancy
and wants to stay, the landlord and tenant may sign another fi xed-term
tenancy agreement, or the tenancy can continue on a month-to-month
basis under the existing terms of the tenancy agreement. Once the
tenancy is month-to-month, the landlord cannot force the tenant to go
back to another fi xed term or sign a new agreement.

- If the landlord wants to get you out of the place, then they need to have just cause.

They can provide one month notice if the tenant is basically an asshole (see page 27). I doubt your parents fall under that.

Given that the landlord offered to sign a new lease, then the landlord is asking them to leave because they want to use it for their personal use. This falls under section 12.8 - Two month notice. If that's the case, then the landlord must pay a full month's rent.

http://www.rto.gov.bc.ca/documents/G...CT_English.pdf

OH yah, max allowable rent increase is 2.3%.

http://www.rto.gov.bc.ca/content/news/default.aspx

[catalin]

tenants have more rights then the owners, i learned this first hand when I was trying to get rid of someone.

[Chronix]

^can an owner not renew/terminate a contract without just cause?

they served my parents the eviction notice on june 4th though its written on june 1st on the paper too. the notice did not explain the excuse for termination. fucking fags.

[SkinnyPupp]

Don't worry about the termination for now. Would they really want to stay if the landlords changed their minds again?

Just stay as long as it takes to find a new place.

[Matlock]

An acquaintance of mine who lived in Langley was being forced out by the owners... I think the law over there, because of whatever situation was they can't start renting it out to someone else for x amount of time for some reason or they would have to pay her rent (not sure how many months)
Posted via RS Mobile

[Chronix]

Originally Posted by SkinnyPupp

Don't worry about the termination for now. Would they really want to stay if the landlords changed their minds again?

Just stay as long as it takes to find a new place.

they're not. they just need more time to find a place. so if they fucked up something on their notice. we could find a loophole to stay longer.

anyways im going with my dad tmr to the tenancy branch

[DaFonz]

Originally Posted by Chronix

^can an owner not renew/terminate a contract without just cause?

they served my parents the eviction notice on june 4th though its written on june 1st on the paper too. the notice did not explain the excuse for termination. fucking fags.

No. They can't.

It's 1 month with cause (and it has to be a pretty strong case).

It's 2 months if landlord wants to use the property.

You don't need a loophole. Again, just squat. Tenants have way more rights than landlords.

[El Bastardo]

As a former landlord I can tell you DaFonz is absolutely right.

[Realtor]

You mentioned that this is a 2 year lease that expires at the end of this month.

However, you still haven't mentioned if page 2 of the lease has been initialed where it specifies what happens after this 2 year period. (There is a specific box that both parties have to initial if it's a fixed term lease where the tenant has to leave after this period.) Due to the fact that the tenant has to leave at the end of this lease, they make you initial those boxes to double check that you understand and are aware of this.

If this is a fixed term lease that specifies that the tenant must vacate, then there the tenant must vacate and notice is not even necessary. Also, the owner can offer to do a new lease with you, but they don't have to and there is no penalty to them for trying.

However, if this is not a fixed term lease that specifies that the tenant has to leave after the lease, then yes the landlord has to give your proper notice (and a valid reason) and giving you notice on the 4th is definitely not enough time and you would have cause to stay.

I've heard that the RTO does tend to favour tenants, but I also think a part of it is that they feel that the burden to know the rights should be placed with the landlord.

Now you can listen to above posts and squat and/or be the tenant from hell, but try to have a bit of communication and understanding when talking to either party and if it fails, just talk to RTO and do what they decide.

In summary, both landlords and tenants should learn their rights as problems arise when either party doesn't know what the rules are and thinks that they know. Please call or go see the Residential Tenancy Office and READ THE LEASE.