Landlord asking for money or face eviction

[geeknerd]

Posting to ask for my friends.

So my friends (3 persons) live together as roomates and they got a noise fine of $200 by the strata council. (no warnings).

Thats fine and they dont mind paying but now the landlord said that his previous tenants were being loud and got fined $700. He made a deal with the strata council that required him to get new tenants (my friends) and if the condo remained issue-free, he would be waived $700.

My friends were uninformed of this deal and was notified few days ago by email. The noise fine($200) was issued a few weeks ago which my friends were going to pay with next months rent.

One of the clauses in the lease addendum states that :

"any kind of Fine charging landlord's account for: noises, littering, garbage disposal, trash, move-in fee, extra resident, not to open door for alarm inspection or dryer duct cleaning or essential repairs will be paid by tenants."

but i doubt this includes the $700 fine deal he made with the strata council? he states that since our noise complaint spoiled his deal with the strata council we are responsible but this "deal" is nowhere to be found in our contract.

the lease addendum also states that

"the landlord will show copy of his account for fine charges"

so if that first clause includes the $700, we definitely did not see it in his account.

he didnt fill out a RTA form yet, just an informal email that says we can either take care of the 700$ + $200 or find a new place by end of march.
he also didnt state the lease addendums in the email but im just putting it up here incase he can use that against us.
What to do?

[Alby]

im gonna say its pretty black and white. if his account does not show any fine for noise, tenants are not obligated to pay. if the landlord pursues them to pay, make the landlord show his account being charged for the fine. that is what the tenants signed off to.

[geeknerd]

if he is able to produce an account of as such, are my friends in any way responsible in paying the $700?

i have 0 knowledge in RTA but it seems pretty shady to pass on a fine/deal from previous tenants?

[Spidey]

Maybe your friend should contact RTA... or you should since it seems your friends don't want to find out for themselves, and are asking you to find out from people on a car forum, rather directly from the RTA.

[geeknerd]

Originally Posted by Spidey

Maybe your friend should contact RTA... or you should since it seems your friends don't want to find out for themselves, and are asking you to find out from people on a car forum, rather directly from the RTA.

they are first time renters and since i am on the forum alot i "just" know there is more to it then just the landlord asking them to pay or leave. does the RTA give advice for such cases? anyone else experienced with such things?i wish dinosaur or gridlock was still here for this lolllll

[GLOW]

Yes if you call in they will help clarify things for you. They can also go online to read the rta as to when the landlord is able to terminate lease before the contract ends.

[6793026]

go talk to the strata and ask for the minutes. have it black and white

you should have signed a form K stating you're responsible, but you have the right to show black and white from the strata. you can't just say 700 out of no where and 700 seems like an odd number.

[tiger_handheld]

threads like these I wish Gridlock and Dino were around. despite their issues, they added a shit ton of value to all Rental/Housing related threads/sub-section.

[Alby]

Originally Posted by geeknerd

if he is able to produce an account of as such, are my friends in any way responsible in paying the $700?

i have 0 knowledge in RTA but it seems pretty shady to pass on a fine/deal from previous tenants?

i have 0 knowledge of the RTA too but if what your friends did sign off with this clause as part of their contract

"any kind of Fine charging landlord's account for: noises, littering, garbage disposal, trash, move-in fee, extra resident, not to open door for alarm inspection or dryer duct cleaning or essential repairs will be paid by tenants."

and if the landlord can produce such a charge on their account from the strata, im pretty sure they are obligated to pay. cross reference with the strata council as well as how much is the actual cost for the noise fine and if there is any sort of documentation of the deal your landlord made with them. dont' just take the landlord's word for it.

[stewie]

Originally Posted by tiger_handheld

threads like these I wish Gridlock and Dino were around. despite their issues, they added a shit ton of value to all Rental/Housing related threads/sub-section.

whered they go?

me and my cousin were thinking about a place and coulda used their input on some things

[GLOW]

They got banned a few months back
Posted via RS Mobile

[lowside67]

If the account shows the $700 fine at all, it will definitely show it effective as the date the fine was actually incurred, not the date of the $200 fine. The lease clearly says that any fines incurred are the responsibility of the tenant, the tenant did not incur that previous fine, the fact it's on the account doesn't mean they are responsible to pay it. Your friends need to get in touch with the tenancy board, stuff like this is the whole reason they exist, and they are extremely pro-renters and will be good advocates.

Mark

[SSM_DC5]

Originally Posted by lowside67

If the account shows the $700 fine at all, it will definitely show it effective as the date the fine was actually incurred, not the date of the $200 fine. The lease clearly says that any fines incurred are the responsibility of the tenant, the tenant did not incur that previous fine, the fact it's on the account doesn't mean they are responsible to pay it. Your friends need to get in touch with the tenancy board, stuff like this is the whole reason they exist, and they are extremely pro-renters and will be good advocates.

Mark

assuming that when you refer to the lease, you are referring to the one sentence quote that the OP provided, then no, the lease does not clearly say that the fine has to be incurred by the tenant.

The wording of that one statement provided by the OP is done poorly and is open for interpretation. If indeed the wording said that any fines incurred by the tenant due to noise, littering, etc is the responsibility of the tenant....THEN it's pretty clear cut that the landlord can take a hike about that $700.

The flaw in that clause, and what can really screw over the OP's friend is the fact that it says "any kind of Fine charging landlord's account ..... will be paid by tenants." it doesn't say fines caused by who, or fines that showed up during what period of time, or fines that come about as a result of the place that's being rented.

HOWEVER, because the word fine is written at "Fine" with a capital F, I predict that it's defined somewhere else in the lease.That definition may help clear up some things.

[6793026]

The lease does not have anything saying you have to pay anyting, it's usually the FORM K that you have to sign when you move in and that form K gets submitted to the prop. mgmt office.
* again, form K might differ depending which part of the province / country you live in.

[lowside67]

Originally Posted by SSM_DC5

assuming that when you refer to the lease, you are referring to the one sentence quote that the OP provided, then no, the lease does not clearly say that the fine has to be incurred by the tenant.

The wording of that one statement provided by the OP is done poorly and is open for interpretation. If indeed the wording said that any fines incurred by the tenant due to noise, littering, etc is the responsibility of the tenant....THEN it's pretty clear cut that the landlord can take a hike about that $700.

As I read it, it says any fine "appearing" which is present tense.

I don't know why we are all talking about this though, the OP needs to go to the RTB and I am very confident they are going to set this landlord straight in short order.

[SoNaRWaVe]

OP, this is wide open to different interpretations. you should tell your friends to get a copy of the minutes, their lease agreement, a copy of the account of the fine, and get them to make the call to find out whats the proper procedure and if there are grounds to pay $700 and/or eviction.

the way i see it, is that the landlord cannot just simply say pay up $700 or get evicted. eviction has to be with cause. a simple noise complaint should not do it unless its a recurring problem. look at link and read some of the pdfs

https://www.rto.gov.bc.ca/content/ri...es/ending.aspx

[6793026]

OP does not need to go to RTB. RTB will ask you to go fuck yourself cause they will NOT do anything unless the owner serves you "10 Day Notice to End Tenancy for Unpaid Rent or Utilities." Even then, the 10 days notice is for unpaid rent or utilties and not for penalties. You can dispute a Notice to End Tenancy but that's not until the owner serves you first. When that happens, the landlord has to provide to RTB "10 Day Notice - Proof of Service " or else they will have to prove to you it has been served.

[geeknerd]

"any kind of Fine charging landlord's account for: noises, littering, garbage disposal, trash, move-in fee, extra resident, not to open door for alarm inspection or dryer duct cleaning or essential repairs will be paid by tenants."

is a direct quote from the lease addendum , from what i read i think the two clauses i stated are the only things that matter in this issue. The capital F might just be a typo or something because i also saw that "emengercy" was spelled wrong on the lease addendum.

anyways, the plan of action i told my friends was to go to the RT office with their contract and the emails they received then see if the landlord has the proper basis for eviction then at which point they should request the landlord for the 'official' $700 bill and then my friends should confirm that with the strata council as well at which point (if the landlord has proper basis) they either pay $700 or move out?

is it true that the RT office won't help shit if they are actually not served proper eviction forms?

any thoughts on this plan of action?

[GLOW]

Originally Posted by geeknerd

is it true that the RT office won't help shit if they are actually not served proper eviction forms?

i don't know what you mean by that, but the landlord needs to submit the proper paperwork and go through the proper process to evict them. the landlord just can't get a bat or call or the RS beatdown crew to evict your friends.

RTA's website also has info on the eviction process for various situations. it's a good read and easy to search for.

[chinook79]

I'm very surprised that no one ever mentioned this. Strata council cannot fine you or your landlord like that. Well, actually even if they do, they cannot enforce it. There are strict rules that strata must follow before issuing fine, and first fine in your case cannot exceed $50. Go search strata bylaw regulation in regards to fines.

[SSM_DC5]

Originally Posted by lowside67

As I read it, it says any fine "appearing" which is present tense.

I don't know why we are all talking about this though, the OP needs to go to the RTB and I am very confident they are going to set this landlord straight in short order.

I'm not trying to offend you, but do you suffer from dyslexia? the word "appearing" or any other tense of it does not exist in the one clause that the OP quoted. It does however say "charging", is that what you were trying to refer to?

we are talking about this because I felt that your post gives the OP incorrect information. Your post makes it sound like the clause is clear cut, which it's not. In addition, Sonarwave has clearly agreed with me when he says "OP, this is wide open to different interpretations...."

I've seen you post on these forums before, and you try to correct people too when they're wrong about cars, so please don't be under the impression that i'm trying to attack you.

[geeknerd]

Originally Posted by GLOW

i don't know what you mean by that, but the landlord needs to submit the proper paperwork and go through the proper process to evict them. the landlord just can't get a bat or call or the RS beatdown crew to evict your friends.

RTA's website also has info on the eviction process for various situations. it's a good read and easy to search for.

was referring to this post by 6793026:

Originally Posted by 6793026

OP does not need to go to RTB. RTB will ask you to go fuck yourself cause they will NOT do anything unless the owner serves you "10 Day Notice to End Tenancy for Unpaid Rent or Utilities." Even then, the 10 days notice is for unpaid rent or utilties and not for penalties. You can dispute a Notice to End Tenancy but that's not until the owner serves you first. When that happens, the landlord has to provide to RTB "10 Day Notice - Proof of Service " or else they will have to prove to you it has been served.

Originally Posted by chinook79

I'm very surprised that no one ever mentioned this. Strata council cannot fine you or your landlord like that. Well, actually even if they do, they cannot enforce it. There are strict rules that strata must follow before issuing fine, and first fine in your case cannot exceed $50. Go search strata bylaw regulation in regards to fines.

Yeah i just looked it up and while the $200 fine is valid for the noise bylaw, the $700 exceeds the $200 bylaw limit as well as the $50 per strata rule infraction.

Originally Posted by SSM_DC5

... It does however say "charging", is that what you were trying to refer to?

we are talking about this because I felt that your post gives the OP incorrect information. Your post makes it sound like the clause is clear cut, which it's not. In addition, Sonarwave has clearly agreed with me when he says "OP, this is wide open to different interpretations...."

yes i think "charging" can be interpreted many ways. charging can definitely mean anything charged after they have signed the contract so they wouldnt be responsible for previous fines....?

anyways my friends went to the RT office and they basically said what i said which was to get the official bill, confirm with strata and go from there .

[Soundy]

Originally Posted by Spidey

Maybe your friend should contact RTA... or you should since it seems your friends don't want to find out for themselves, and are asking you to find out from people on a car forum, rather directly from the RTA.

You're right, it's crazy to expect anyone on a car forum to know about these sorts of things... isn't it? Oh, wait...

Originally Posted by tiger_handheld

threads like these I wish Gridlock and Dino were around. despite their issues, they added a shit ton of value to all Rental/Housing related threads/sub-section.