Rental Horror Stories

[Razor Ramon HG]

He said it's a rental apartment.

Key money = security deposit

Transferring ownership = some term I made up that sounded correct

But yeah, from what you said, I guess he's out of luck.

Thanks.

[SumAznGuy]

Originally Posted by parm104

Many professionals would take advantage of her too. Either way, chances are she's going to be played no matter what.

Saw an article in the Province newspaper last week, where this couple talked about their experiences with being a landlord and hiring property managers and how they ripped the couple off.
The managers rented out the units for more money than the couple was asking for and kept the extra for themselves, the couple also said the managers asked for money for repairs that were never completed.

We had similar issues with my condo. The landscaping company that was hired billed us for work, but they never showed up to do the work for weeks at a time. Now that we are on a month to month basis with them, they seem to be showing up for work on a more regular basis.

[dinosaur]

Originally Posted by Razor Ramon HG

He said it's a rental apartment.

Key money = security deposit

Transferring ownership = some term I made up that sounded correct

But yeah, from what you said, I guess he's out of luck.

Thanks.

I didn't mean that to come off bitchy, I have just seen some property management companies use some funny terminology to confuse tenants and was amused by it

[sonick]

Not rental, but horror story nonetheless:

Problematic Surrey condo owner could be forced to sell unit over strata complaints

A decision was reserved Thursday in the B.C. Court of Appeal about a potentially precedent-setting case of a Surrey strata trying to force a problematic owner into selling their unit.

Rose Jordison and her son Jordy complied with a court order and are no longer living in the unit in the 15200-block Guildford Drive, where residents alleged the Jordisons contravened the bylaws with excessive noise and refused to pay their fines.

But lawyer Phil Dougan, who is representing the strata council, said residents want the Jordison’s unit to be sold — so there is won’t be any chance the Jordisons could somehow return.

Although there have been similar court-ordered sales of strata-titled units for bylaw contravention in Alberta and Ontario, the Jordison case would be the first such sale in B.C.

“It’s totally irrational,” said Dougan of the situation. “It doesn’t make any sense at all.”

He cited more than 1,100 complaints about the Jordisons going back to 2006.

Among the complaints Dougan cited were Jordy Jordison buying a pair of construction boots and stomping on the floor of his mother’s 1,000-square foot unit, disturbing the peace of the residents below them.

“The strata thinks the joists have been cracked,” said Dougan.

There’s also in-floor heating where pipes may have been cracked by the jumping and stomping.

But it didn’t end there as residents claim to have been intimidated by the Jordisons.

“They might get spat at,” said Dougan. “They might get water thrown at them. They most certainly got called all sorts of names.”

Dougan said the situation escalated to the point where some residents were wearing video cameras to capture the alleged abuse.

Jordison was not in court Thursday and has only appeared sporadically during the legal proceedings.

A decision is expected in about a month.

[fishCak3s]

Originally Posted by sonick

Not rental, but horror story nonetheless:

Problematic Surrey condo owner could be forced to sell unit over strata complaints

...He cited more than 1,100 complaints about the Jordisons going back to 2006.

1,100 compliants for the past 7 years? Almost 1 complaint every other day, wow.

[punkwax]

lol Jordy Jordison

[dinosaur]

Buy a condo, they said. Home ownership is superiour to renting, they said. Owners are better than renters, they said.

[Gridlock]

At my mom's complex, they had this woman that was kind of a bully that got into an altercation with another resident, and ended up pushing her down in the parking lot.

I'm now going to mention that it was a 55+ complex.

Golden age ladies fighting golden age ladies. I smell a successful youtube channel !

[Mr.C]

Originally Posted by Gridlock

At my mom's complex, they had this woman that was kind of a bully that got into an altercation with another resident, and ended up pushing her down in the parking lot.

I'm now going to mention that it was a 55+ complex.

Golden age ladies fighting golden age ladies. I smell a successful youtube channel !

WORLDSTAR!!!

[Purely]

Have a quick question about landlord rights.

For example, tenant refuses to pay rent (on purpose, a fraud). Landlord gives tenant notice to vacate, and goes to tribunal/court for arbitration. Tenant appeals, and continues to stay for another month or two. Tenant finally gets evicted, and trashes the property.

My question is, what can the landlord legally do to get back the rent/compensation for trashed property.

Is the landlord's only way to mitigate damages through re-renting? Is it possible to sue for tort (such as fraud/misrepresentation/trespass)?

[dinosaur]

Take tenant back to court and fry the lil bitch.

You will most likely need to do so through small claims.

Please explain what you mean by fraud/misrepresentation/trespass.

[Purely]

e.g., purposely rent homes and not pay (fraud) cheating the system.

[Gumby]

Originally Posted by gYU

e.g., purposely rent homes and not pay (fraud) cheating the system.

Wouldn't a reference check uncover this kind of crappy behaviour?

[Gridlock]

Originally Posted by Gumby

Wouldn't a reference check uncover this kind of crappy behaviour?

Should you call references every time? Yes.

Should you depend on them? No.

In fact, if you are standing there saying, "well, I need a reference check to make my decision"...its too late. You're screwed.

I had a pot smoking asshole that dealt drugs out of my building. His reference was golden. Why? Because his landlord that couldn't stand him wanted nothing to impede his exit from THAT building.

Your gut instinct should be a hard yes. Your gut instinct should be at least a hard "good enough".

[dinosaur]

Nobody ever provides a reference who is going to tell you the person is bad. Yes, it can happen...but it is rare.

[Purely]

Ending a Tenancy : RTB : Government of British Columbia

If Landlord gives a 10-day notice to end to tenant (for not paying rent), how easy it is for a tenant to dispute and perform a court-hearing?

[dinosaur]

When you issue a 10-day notice, the tenant has either 5 days to pay OR 5 days to dispute. Should the tenant not do either within those 5 days, it indicates that they have accepted the notice.

If they want to dispute, they can file with the branch either online or in person. It will cost $50.

They will need to prove that they have paid (the only way they can stay) to the judge. If they have not paid, the judge will issue you an order of possession and tell the tenant to move. You can file as well under the same case number and request a monetary order for outstanding money owed.

Court is easy, but you need to be organized and know your shit.

I suggest you take a look at the House and Home Renovations Forum. I have contributed a few Sticky posts that will help. There are also several threads with similar questions that many have contributed to.

[Gumby]

Originally Posted by Gridlock

Should you call references every time? Yes.

Should you depend on them? No.

In fact, if you are standing there saying, "well, I need a reference check to make my decision"...its too late. You're screwed.

Originally Posted by dinosaur

Nobody ever provides a reference who is going to tell you the person is bad. Yes, it can happen...but it is rare.

Good point - now that I think about it, reference checks are used to reassure your "gut feeling", not to help you make the decision itself. Just thought of the scenario of hiring somebody for a job.

[dinosaur]

Originally Posted by Gumby

Good point - now that I think about it, reference checks are used to reassure your "gut feeling", not to help you make the decision itself. Just thought of the scenario of hiring somebody for a job.

Exactly.

You need to just look at the whole picture and go with your gut. You would never rent to someone who gave you a bad feeling but had a good reference. The more you do it, the easier it can be to pick out the bad ones....although, the odd time, one or two will sneak by

I can only think of one time when the reference provide literally yelled, "nooooooooooooo don't do it!!!" before I even got the full name off my tongue, lol.

[Gridlock]

I got a great reference for a guy that gave me the heebs last night.

You might ask, "well, why did you even bother calling for a reference if you were a no?"

Oh. He had his wackjob landlord call me. Unsolicited reference. I didn't even have his name. He didn't fill out an application(as I was rushing him out the door). He called me 3 times in a row at: 4:58, 5:02 and 5:05 to discuss it.

Ironically, I suspect he may actually be a good(ish) tenant, but I have to go with my gut, and there was *something* fucking off...

[sh0n]

Need some help regarding tenant issue

Coles Notes
- Signed 1 year lease ending Feb 28, 2014 with 3 Tenants (under 3 roommate names)
- One roommate has went AWOL and left overnight somewhere in September.
- Remaining 2 roommmates found an extra roommate as they claim they are having trouble paying the rent and with the 3rd roommate they found, rent can be paid be on time(3rd roommate was without my permission)
- Remaining 2 roommates tenants are requesting to end the tenancy early by Dec 31, 2013 (2 months early) claiming the financial situation doesn't make sense for them anymore (even though they have the 3rd roommate in place)

What can i do?

I know by law they are on the hook for the remaining 2 months, but them finding the extra roommate (without my approval is quite sticky) and going after them might be difficult.

Thanks in advance

[dinosaur]

They are on the hook for "Loss of Rental Revenue". You should explain this to them and let them decide what to do.

It is amazing how people can come up with money when there is the threat of garnished bank accounts. Its only 2 months....I'm sure they will figure something out.

[Gridlock]

Move 'em and start fresh.

You can't get money out of people that don't have it.

AND, you don't want desperate people making desperate decisions. They start finding anyone possible to take the room, and that causes drama. They start finding people to take the whole place and then THAT causes drama.

If you are renting a 2 or 3 bedroom place, you will come across room mate situations that cause drama. It's inevitable. I had a room mate once years ago, and we caused drama.

If I was faced with full rent with room mates, or a family that is on the fence based on money, I'd lower the rent, no questions asked for the family.

[sh0n]

I suspect they do have the money however given that they like the change of environment and with the extra roommate they prefer to move into a new/bigger apartment for a change of scenery.

[dinosaur]

Oh man....don't let them get away with it then. People need to know that when they sign a 1 year lease, there are repercussions when they break it...like any contract.

Its one thing to have a tenant who lost their job, have a sick family member, or have another reason to move....but to simply be all, "hmmm...I want different paint"....that ain't cool.