Vancouver's Real Estate Market

[AzNightmare]

Originally Posted by Traum

The next tenant was a more typical story someone who is just a PITA. Initially it was a younger nurse who came to see the unit, and everything looked good on paper. She was also very presentable, and I was happy to see that. Then an older and shady-looking bf came in, claiming to need to follow up and check on a few things showed up, and I knew I should have seen that as a red flag.

The older BF turned out to be a demanding PITA, and he was always in the picture, even though my rental contract was only signed with the nurse girl.

The only good thing out of that tenant was that her rent was always paid on time.

Thank god they wanted a bigger place and moved out after our 1 year rental contract was done.

Kind of reminds me of my story. I rented the unit to some younger guy. He seemed respectable and had a decent job. Payment was always on time. But occasionally during weeknights like on a Wed, he would have people over and have these loud hangouts well past midnight. I realized his gf was over and would end up sleeping over. His brother would come often to crash as well, as he was part of these hangouts.

A few times I would have to go over to their entrance and tell them to quiet down, and I noticed this fold out metal frame couch/bed that his brother would use for sleeping in the kitchen area. They would give me the excuse he has to wake up early for work and the site he has to work at is close by this time, so he's just crashing for the night. Ok... sure. Except it seemed like he was over quite frequently.

I started noticing mail coming to the place with his gf's name on it. Pretty obvious she basically moved in. And over time, I noticed his brother being there more and more, with the late hangouts happening more often as well.

One morning, my dad was over at my place just to help out with some yard work when my tenant's gf was leaving the place. They saw each other, and my dad knows about my tenant situation, so he confronted her with questions... Who are you??? You're not supposed to be here, etc. lol, just made her feel uncomfortable. Apparently this was already after my tenant left for work so she was just leaving the place alone.

Anyway, my tenant wasn't happy about the confrontation and later sent me a text with some attitude, kind of like a "if you have something to say, talk to me, not my gf" kind of tone. I'm thinking, gtfo buddy, she doesn't even live here. At this point, I decided this guy has to go. I was researching eviction policies since the tenant agreement does state the place is only for 1 person, not 2 (or even 3).

Fortunately it was only a month to month lease, and within that same month, he decided he was leaving cause the place was too small for both of them (+ bro), no shit. Saved me a ton of headache by leaving on his own.

[Traum]

Originally Posted by AzNightmare

Fortunately it was only a month to month lease, and within that same month, he decided he was leaving cause the place was too small for both of them (+ bro), no shit. Saved me a ton of headache by leaving on his own.

Always glad to see that a troublesome tenant leaves on their own.

In my case, I had no proof that the shady BF was living there, even though I would not at all be surprised by it. I preferred to collect rent in person, and use the opportunity as a quick inspection of the rental unit -- monthly inspections are a landlord entitlement in the RTA as long as advanced notice is provided. Every time when I go, the shady BF was there. In fact, there were at least a few times when the nurse girl was not there because she had to work. But the apartment itself was generally tidy, and there wasn't anything concrete to suggest that the bf was solidly settled in there.

As it was an apartment unit, mail goes into their dedicated mailbox in the foyer. I had an extra key to the mailbox, but it would have been a violation of their privacy to go through their mail without their permission, so I didn't do that. After they eventually moved out, there was a brief period when I didn't have a replacement tenant yet, and I noticed there were some occasional mail of the shady BF being sent to the rental apartment. But by and large that mail volume wasn't enough to suggest anything one way or another.

[rb]

The topic of rental horror stories is triggering my PTSD lol. My parents use to rent to nothing but ppl on welfare b/c they were told it was the best way to make sure you were going to get your rent money. They did this for 20+ yrs and for 20+yrs, I was at the RTB office with them over another tenancy issue.

When I had bought my own place, I rented to legal professionals from Brazil who were well educated, lived in a luxury compound with maids, etc. Great I thought... non shady ass ppl. However, I didn't know it was that big of transition for them

* They didn't know not to place/use a BBQ right up against the side of the house
* They didn't know that you shouldn't leave the window wide open in the bathroom in the winter 24/7 and not to disable the exhaust fan. The tenant called me 3 months into the tenancy wondering why the ceiling was turning black and if there was something wrong with my place



And this is just some of the things that occurred. Any prospective tenant can look great on paper...

[inv4zn]

Originally Posted by rb

* They didn't know not to place/use a BBQ right up against the side of the house
* They didn't know that you shouldn't leave the window wide open in the bathroom in the winter 24/7 and not to disable the exhaust fan. The tenant called me 3 months into the tenancy wondering why the ceiling was turning black and if there was something wrong with my place

lol, tbf, I had no idea you shouldn't put the BBQ right next to the house...I've never owned one haha

[Hondaracer]

Only with vinyl siding really

You don’t have to be from Brazil to not know that I’ve seen plenty of melted siding lol

[Gumby]

Originally Posted by inv4zn

lol, tbf, I had no idea you shouldn't put the BBQ right next to the house...I've never owned one haha

Never owned a BBQ or a house?

[Badhobz]

Originally Posted by blkgsr

i've rented my basement suite out twice now.

first time was a childhood classmate friend (not really close anymore) of my wife. she was there 2 years, quiet as a mouse, never really home, super clean and always had money on time. we also rented it to her for below market value. win win for everyone. she unfortunately moved out and in with her boyfriend.

along comes a new young chick who claims that she just broke up with a boyfriend. comes with her mom, seems good and her references check out. then within 2-3 weeks comes the "new girlfriend". ya she switched teams but that's not the problem. this new butch bitch was loud as fuck and stayed over almost every night. we had to talk to our tenant multiple times about making noise until 11pm on week nights etc. went on and on for a bit, talked to her, got some story the gf was having troubles at her apartment (can see why being such a cow) and needed a place to stay. they never asked me if this was ok. she goes away for a while then comes back even worse. there even more and all day when our tenant is gone etc. finally give her the ultimatum and we mutually agree to end the tenancy early.

- while it was made clear that the unit was for 1 person, can this be enforced? say someone moves in then gets a bf/gf, can you restrict them fully moving in? i want to know this for when i rent it out again. i know the act says the visitors are allowed but it also notes that it has to be within reason, which is our case above was well beyond that.

Not sure if it works but the wife put the following in the addendum

"Where the tenants anticipate an additional occupant in the rental unit not listed on the rental agreement, he shall promptly apply in writing for permission from the landlord for such person to become an occupant. If the landlord consents in writing to allow additional person to occupy the rental unit, the rent shall be increased by $600 for each additional person. The monthly rent will become $3000 for the three people or $3600 for four people. The maximum occupants allowed in this rental unit are four people."

Perhaps the additional rent will make the tenant think twice about having their friends move it. We are lucky that we never have this kind of issues ...

[bcrdukes]

Why not $888?

[Badhobz]

Originally Posted by radeonboy

^how about Ladner / Tsawwassen? It's not as far and has a similar vibe as Crescent Beach.

At one point, we did look and wanted to offer on a house in Tsawwassen. The wife did a test run over to this potential house in Tsawwassen to check out the neighbourhood around 7 pm and it was super foggy on the highway with no street lights. She can't see more than 1-2 car lengths and it scared the shit out of her. So, she said no Tsawwassen :-(

[Badhobz]

Originally Posted by bcrdukes

Why not $888?

none of the tenants are chinese, if i have some chinese tenants, I would up the rate and give them the "lucky rate"

[Hondaracer]

I’m pretty sure the tenancy agreement states a tenant can have someone basically stay within the unit who isn’t part of the agreement for something like 14 days in a month?

[yray]

Originally Posted by Badhobz

none of the tenants are chinese, if i have some chinese tenants, I would up the rate and give them the "lucky rate"

vansky

find a house in good catchement area, rent to fobs that want to go to said school with fake address

[Great68]

Originally Posted by Hondaracer

I’m pretty sure the tenancy agreement states a tenant can have someone basically stay within the unit who isn’t part of the agreement for something like 14 days in a month?

Specifying a guest "duration limit" has already been ruled an unconscionable term in past precedent, and would not be enforceable:

https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/h...ring-tenancies

"Arbitrators have ruled that guest clauses that only allow guests to stay in a rental unit for a certain number of days per year were unreasonable. Arbitrators have also ruled that policies requiring guests to ‘check in,’ or requiring guests to be accompanied by the tenant at all times infringe on the tenant’s right to privacy."

[Traum]

Originally Posted by Great68

Specifying a guest "duration limit" has already been ruled an unconscionable term in past precedent, and would not be enforceable:

https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/h...ring-tenancies

So does that mean there is nothing the landlord can do when the tenant packs another 5 "guests" into your rental suite on a recurring basis?

At a minimum, I think the landlord should be able to ask for a higher rent, since more occupants would at least mean higher wear and tear.

[supafamous]

Originally Posted by Traum

So does that mean there is nothing the landlord can do when the tenant packs another 5 "guests" into your rental suite on a recurring basis?

At a minimum, I think the landlord should be able to ask for a higher rent, since more occupants would at least mean higher wear and tear.

I believe there's already by-laws in place in most cities which specify how many people are allowed to live in a home per room - eg. 2 per bedroom - so I suppose if you have a tenant packing bodies into your rental it becomes a by-law violation and you, as landlord, could report them.

Someone who knows better than me can correct me as needed.

[Great68]

Your existing tenancy agreement has to state it, but you can certainly ask for more rent for more occupants, or require a new tenancy agreement that all occupants must sign.

But the onus is on you to prove the Guests have become occupants. If you make the assertion to your tenant that you believe their "5 guests" have become occupants, they can dispute and you'd have to prove it to an arbitrator.

[6thGear.]

Originally Posted by supafamous

I believe there's already by-laws in place in most cities which specify how many people are allowed to live in a home per room - eg. 2 per bedroom - so I suppose if you have a tenant packing bodies into your rental it becomes a by-law violation and you, as landlord, could report them.

Someone who knows better than me can correct me as needed.

2 people for 1 bed
4 people for 2 bed ( infants/toddlers also count towards 1 person)

[supafamous]

Originally Posted by 6thGear.

2 people for 1 bed
4 people for 2 bed ( infants/toddlers also count towards 1 person)

For what it's worth I think this is a bullshit by-law that reeks of privilege/discrimination - poor people often don't have this kind of choice. When my parents help immigrate my grandparents and my mom's siblings we were 10 people to a 3 bedroom house. Was it crowded? Yeah but it sure beat what they were living in back over in HK. Was it dangerous or unsafe? Nope.

This kind of by-law should be stricken from the books or modified upwards significantly especially considering the housing crisis.

[Hondaracer]

Promoting that type of thing doesn’t do anyone any good.

I wouldn’t want 10 people living in a 3 bedroom house next to me and everything that entails.

[Hondaracer]

Originally Posted by Great68

Your existing tenancy agreement has to state it, but you can certainly ask for more rent for more occupants, or require a new tenancy agreement that all occupants must sign.

But the onus is on you to prove the Guests have become occupants. If you make the assertion to your tenant that you believe their "5 guests" have become occupants, they can dispute and you'd have to prove it to an arbitrator.

Yea that’s kind of what I was getting at regarding the guest stay.

So in Aznightmares case when his dad was yelling at the GF, if that tenant wanted to he could have made a biggggg deal about that given what the tenancy board designates as a “guest”

[Great68]

I rather have 10 people in a 3 bedroom house next to me than 10 people in a 6 plex in that same property size towering over me.

My mom's family when they came to Canada in 1963 had 11 people in a 3 bed, 1 bath house (4 girls in one room, 5guys in the other and grandma/grandpa get the main).... But that house was on 50 acres in Richmond, so the "neighbour impact concern" wouldn't have really held up in those days.

[AzNightmare]

Originally Posted by Hondaracer

Yea that’s kind of what I was getting at regarding the guest stay.

So in Aznightmares case when his dad was yelling at the GF, if that tenant wanted to he could have made a biggggg deal about that given what the tenancy board designates as a “guest”

Well in my situation, I was getting mail with the gf's name on them, so I think that would give me some leverage if it came to that. I mean she basically changed her address at that point.

[Great68]

Yup, the tenant could have put you through the process, but that probably would have been a pretty open and shut case with the mail evidence.

I mean even that you can't outright make a condition such as "after 14 days your guest automatically becomes and occupant", if you were document of how many days a guest does stay in a period of time you could still use that as evidence to an arbtrator.

[supafamous]

Originally Posted by Great68

I rather have 10 people in a 3 bedroom house next to me than 10 people in a 6 plex in that same property size towering over me.

My mom's family when they came to Canada in 1963 had 11 people in a 3 bed, 1 bath house (4 girls in one room, 5guys in the other and grandma/grandpa get the main).... But that house was on 50 acres in Richmond, so the "neighbour impact concern" wouldn't have really held up in those days.

Were you my neighbor? I grew up on the farm side of Richmond - Blundell/5 Road area.

Originally Posted by Hondaracer

Promoting that type of thing doesn’t do anyone any good.

I wouldn’t want 10 people living in a 3 bedroom house next to me and everything that entails.

I'm not sure I would want that either BUT the by-law is still discriminatory - they should solve the actual problem of not having enough housing that's affordable. No one would willingly choose to live in a crowded house if they could avoid it - they live there b/c it's what they can afford.

[Great68]

Originally Posted by supafamous

Were you my neighbor? I grew up on the farm side of Richmond - Blundell/5 Road area.

Their property was kind of the square bordered by No3, Francis, Garden City, & Saunders and they farmed it. My grandpa sold the majority of the land in the 70's long before I was born, with just the house and yard remaining until the late 90's. Its long gone now. Could just imagine what that'd be worth today.

I grew up around 3 and Williams.