seek damages or take the loss?

[wuuhoo]

Hey RS,

Long story short, my tenant left today, and like all "bad" tenants he decided to make a HUGE mess in my apartment suite and fuck up all the doors. Its to the point where I am going to need a contractor to restore the apartment. I have been cleaning up the suite and changing the locks and doors with my parents the whole day today.

I never been through this before, and I am not sure what to do from this point. Would the Residential Tenancy branch help? Or if anyone has any suggestions or insights I am all ears.

PS: There might be some info missing, but I cant think of anything as of right now, I Will add if needed.

And yes there was a RTA contract between us and the tenant.

[BBMme]

Take the lost, unless you want to take legal action which may be $$$. Did they give you a damage deposit?
Posted via RS Mobile

[wuuhoo]

^he did. But he owes me in past rent as well.

[BBMme]

Wow, sounds like bad tenants. Ya, I don't know, how much are you looking at for the repair? Goodluck
Posted via RS Mobile

[6793026]

1) MOVE ON.
2) it's called the cost of doing business.
3) move on.

what you need to do is 1) document the damages
2) take pictures
3) write down the COST of how much it was to fix: cause in 5 months, he can sue you for not returning his damage deposit.
4) home repairs by yourself doesn't count so your mom and dad writing up a bill that's 100000 dollars won't work.
5) missing rent, you better have proof that you served him documents + court dates or else he'll take you to court (read pt 3).
6) IF you have his bank info, if you have his work schedule, and you know where he actually works, then you can
a) go garnish his salary. you would however need to go to RTB to file for missing rent + damage
b) you have to serve him the documents (with proof)
c) you have to wait 3 weeks for conference call ... and assume you win
d) then you can go to the bank and serve document to garnish his bank account assuming he has only 1 account with money in it)

Have I already lost you already? Most likely... cause it's a lot of work. and that's assuming you are able to serve him documents + he has money in ALL his bank accounts you're trying to garnish.

Long story short, if he owes you 3000 and you know ALL the info above, it's worth a shot. if not... suck it up, you learnt your lesson and it's the cost of doing business.

[dinosaur]

Don't take a loss! Why would you take the loss??

Go to the branch, or better yet, file online. Takes 5 mins


Did the tenant give you a forwarding address?

Yes: Go online and file to keep the security deposit. Add additional costs for loss of rent, cleaning, and damages. If the tenant gave you a forwarding address and did NOT sign over the deposit to you IN WRITING you MUST file with the tenancy branch to keep it. If you do not do this, you will owe double the amount back regardless of the loss in rent, cleaning, and damages.

No: Keep the deposit. Beware that he may try to get it from you, but unless he\she provides a forwarding address you are not obligated to give it back.

Personally, if you have an address, I'd file. Why take it in the ass from some dick who will just do it again.

[dinosaur]

Originally Posted by 6793026

1) MOVE ON.
2) it's called the cost of doing business.
3) move on.

what you need to do is 1) document the damages
2) take pictures
3) write down the COST of how much it was to fix: cause in 5 months, he can sue you for not returning his damage deposit. He can file after 15 days. It needs to be stamped by Canada post within 15 days from when he gives you his forwarding address and\or last day of tenancy. He has the right to double the amount back if you fail to do this.
4) home repairs by yourself doesn't count so your mom and dad writing up a bill that's 100000 dollars won't work. You can do and charge for home repairs yourself...but you can't charge stupid amounts. IE: repairing a hole in the wall could be something like $30-50. Mud, sanding, paint, etc. Broken doors, broken locks, damage to countertops, broken drawer, etc can all be charged. Basically, anything that is above wear and tear.
5) missing rent, you better have proof that you served him documents + court dates or else he'll take you to court (read pt 3). You don't necessarily NEED proof that he did not pay rent. It would help, but you can still file for it
6) IF you have his bank info, if you have his work schedule, and you know where he actually works, then you can
a) go garnish his salary. you would however need to go to RTB to file for missing rent + damage This can only be done once the RTB has ruled in your favor and he has failed to pay within a specified time. To garnish wages, you must file with small claims court. There are other options: having a payment hearing, etc.
b) you have to serve him the documents (with proof) To serve RTB papers, the only proof you need is the registered mail receipt. If you are serving small claims court documents, the only proof you need is a swore affidavit that you will present at the hearing. When serving papers in small claims, it needs to be in person (whether it be you, a family member, or a hired person). During the small claims hearing you will need to sign an affidavit swearing that to docs were served-that is your proof
c) you have to wait 3 weeks for conference call ... and assume you win For a case like this, the wait time is 2.5-3 months. The only way you get an earlier date is for an order of possession and this is not one of those cases. Small claims court is different and if you opt for a payment hearing it will usually be 4-6 weeks.
d) then you can go to the bank and serve document to garnish his bank account assuming he has only 1 account with money in it) Assuming he has not acknowledged the RTB ruling and you go to small claims. The RTB will not help you in obtaining payment but their rulings are final and hold up in small claims

Have I already lost you already? Most likely... cause it's a lot of work. and that's assuming you are able to serve him documents + he has money in ALL his bank accounts you're trying to garnish.

Long story short, if he owes you 3000 and you know ALL the info above, it's worth a shot. if not... suck it up, you learnt your lesson and it's the cost of doing business.

See my notes above in bold.

In regards to small claims, if you do not have banking info you will not be able to garnish wages. The option you will need to take is a "Payment hearing". When you fill out the paper work (literally 2 mins), you request things for the defendant to bring....this is where you request his banking\financial info. After the payment hearing, you will be able to garnish the bank account and get your money.

If the tenant does not show for the payment hearing, a warrant will be issued.

[6793026]

FYI, you are only able to garnish that 1 account. when the tenant has multiple accounts and the 1 account you have only has 10 bucks, you're fucked.

[Gridlock]

There are so many areas where you can get fucked out of payment.

First, you need a valid forwarding address-which if they know they are screwing you over, they won't provide.

Then you need to win the case with the branch(should be easy, but if you didn't fill out every form properly, even though you are 'right', you lose.

Then they won't pay you...because remember, the branch is toothless and they are righteous.

So then you go to small claims. At that point, your victory is assured, but you need to be able to serve the documents in person.

Then, you need to get them to pay. At least the court has some teeth this time.

THEN...you need them to actually have money.

BUT: If you decide that its not worth the effort, then you can't sit there and complain that you get stuck with shit tenants.

I just yesterday, finally received the last $500 owed to me for 10 months of chasing a tenant down on a $1000 settlement(she owed a remaining 700 after security deposit)

Think she's going to be more careful in the future after I wiped out her bank account and destroyed her relationship with her extended family?

If you don't teach these people, then it just gets passed off to someone else to deal with.

[GLOW]

all useful info. some of this stuff should be sticky'd somewhere.

when i read your stories grid...i'm picturing the process from beginning to end with these memes:

[Gridlock]

Honestly, both Dino and I are happy to help. There is just as many shit tenants as there are shit landlords.

I will be blunt though, I get damned frustrated when I hear false information presented as hardened fact. The system is frustrating to deal with as it is, we need to really be careful to not distribute false info.

I find the interesting part is the stupid bullshit that shit ass tenants and amateur landlords come up with.

[wuuhoo]

thanks dinosaur & Gridlock for the advice. its always great to hear from you two .

Unfortunately, the tenant didn't give me a forwarding address and has changed his number on the day he was supposed to move out.

As of right now, I am out 1 -2 grand on small renos and late rent. But without any information, I am sure Ill take the hit and learn my lesson.

[dinosaur]

Originally Posted by wuuhoo

thanks dinosaur & Gridlock for the advice. its always great to hear from you two .

Unfortunately, the tenant didn't give me a forwarding address and has changed his number on the day he was supposed to move out.

As of right now, I am out 1 -2 grand on small renos and late rent. But without any information, I am sure Ill take the hit and learn my lesson.

You are most welcome!

Sorry to see you don't have forwarding info. There are ways to get it, but at this point taking it as a life lesson is probably best.

Good luck with your future tenants