Owners want to take back apartment after lease signed. What are my options?
 

What a major pain in the ass.

FUCK. Just got word the great new apartment my roommate and I signed a lease on a few days ago for Sep 1st through a realtor, the owners now decided they want to move into it themselves.

We'd like to start a dispute claim against them via the RTA, but if they were to enforce the 1 year lease it would just be awkward for all parties.

There are other units available in the building but with a much shittier floorplan or on a lower floor with poorer view, and we have already wasted a week expecting to get this place when we could've been looking for another place.

Anybody have any advice on what we can do or perhaps what outcome the dispute resolution would have and try to settle it outside of the dispute process?

Thanks

pics of owner + RS beat down crew.

You should talk to the tenancy board, the owners may be on the hook to cover your moving and relocation costs to find a new place if you are on the hook to get out of your place by the 1st.

Owners CAN reneg on a lease so they can occupy a property themselves. Usually it's 2 months notice (from the first of the month) and they have to cover some of your moving costs IIRC.

Read your lease, and read the BC tenancy rules. Sounds like breach of contract.

sounds like he needs to compensate some $

Wow, that sucks man. I know it's a long ass read, but just read the tenancy act. Also, ask your realtor you used, I'm sure they know what the proper protocol is. But, don't take their word for it and read up on the tenancy act.

I would ask for some money to cover moving and time
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I wouldn't go to the RTA just yet. Call them, and find out what happens in this case, but your best action is to talk to the guy.

If that goes badly, then sue.

The standard is 2 months notice, with one of them free. I'd call the guy up and say I'm happy to tear the lease up...for a month's rent.

I can't see you being compensated any more as you didn't move in. And really, a month's rent just for signing the paper? Not bad.

If they say no dice to that, tell them they can give you notice to end tenancy on the 1st, meaning you'll be moving out on october 31st...and they'll still have to give you a free month-plus couch surf themselves for 2 months.

I'm sure you can work this out without the banches involvement. Keep my wait times down please...I've got people needin ' evictin'.
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buy bag of instant concrete. use creatively on the day you move out.

The OP hasn't moved in. Why would he move in just to move out a few months later. That idea makes no sense. It's a bitch to pack and move even for one person.

It's not "for just signing the paper". Whoever said that have zero idea how annoying it is when you have to look for rental. You could have a few places you want to rent but you can only sign with one. Imagine a few days later, they flake so you're out 1-2 weeks, the other places are all rented out, it's the end of the month and you have to move out of your old place. See the hassle?

Waiting for a response from Taylor192 :D

I currently own my place, and I need more space. Problem is that if I move to a bigger place, I might need to rent part of it out, in order to afford it.

All of the recent struggles between owners & tenants being discussed here on RS freak me out!

Then again, you only hear about the bad cases...

Gridlock summed it up nicely.

My last landlord want to move back in, with only a month's notice. We politely told them that's not legal (I still cannot believe they tried, with a written notice no less) yet we would accommodate them on the condition that they refund our last month's rent, and give us an additional 1/2 month's rent to cover the hassle of organizing to move out with only a month's notice. They agreed and life was good, we had 1.5 months free rent!

Yet... and this explains why I dislike amateur landlords, they thanked us for this by nit picking every detail when we moved out. They were obviously unhappy about having to eat 1.5 month's rent and trying to make us pay to return their condo to pristine condition so they could move in right away.

They even sent us a bill for using the elevator when moving out (a strata rule)! I figured they should be nice and eat it since we saved them the hassle of finding somewhere to live for a month and moving twice. Needless to say we never paid that bill, and have never heard from them again.

This is why I commented in the other thread that even "meh" attitudes can land you on a bad amateur landlord's "fuck off" list if you don't bend over backwards to meet their demands. There's too many bad amateur landlords in this city.

If you live in the house with someone you're renting to you have the most power as a land lord (as you're allowed to discriminate to a greater degree as to who you'll rent to and you're more able to evict them if you have issues).

That said. You have to live with the person.

I've rented for years and years and my best experiences have always been in buildings with a professional land lord. That aside my best experiences have been when I've rented from someone I know through someone else. Having a social connection, how ever small, seems to make people far more inclined to behave civilly towards each other.

If you end up renting a room in your own place, understand you're more than a landlord. Fuck, I felt like Dr Phil at times trying to keep the peace.

A trick is you cannot treat it as "your place". It becomes a shared apartment where your roommate gets an almost equal say in things. If you start telling them "no, its my place, you cannot do that" you'll quickly not have a roommate, or an angry one plotting revenge. This can be really bad if you've not budgeted for surprise vacancies (I always had a slush fund, I expected at least one roommate to be a flake).

If you're used to "my way or the highway", like most people who live alone, don't rent one of your rooms. I currently live with someone who used to live alone and its annoying, I'm looking for a new place.

x2 Companies tend to be professional, individual landlords not.

I was going to comment on the exact opposite. Strangers tend to tread lightly as they don't know the person, while friends and acquaintances tend to think the other person might be OK with something without asking based on a social norm that may not be true.

what is all this shit you go on about being "amateur" landlords?

I'm all pro baby...

LOL

You might be pro with 90 units, yet there's a lot of single/basement unit amateur landlords in this city.

I currently have a basement I could easily suite and rent out paying the majority of my mortgage. It's not worth the headache for me because of all the bullshit, I'd rather just do without and not have to worry about having some idiot living with me.

I might end up with the perfect tenant but I'd rather not risk it.

So I did some more reading and it looks like if we were to force them to go through with the agreement, they have to do it for a full 1 year as we signed a fixed-term lease agreement, regardless of their own use.

Maybe if you offered to buy out your 12 month lease for cash they could move back in sooner and you would have a wallet full of $$$$$$. If they want it bad enough then that may be your way to accomodate their wish to come back 'Home" right away?

Standard procedure is a 2 month notice on Sept 1st, and you move out Oct 1st with pocket full of 1 month's rent or Nov 1st with the Oct 2nd - Oct 31st live for free. plus leeway for notice receiving time (but you already received it)

It should not be possible to force you out otherwise, unless you and the owner agreed to void the contract you have at hand, which means they at least have to give you 2 months to live in one way or another...

If you signed a 1 year lease then they cannot move in unless eviction agreed by both you and the owner, even if the owner wants it back for their own purposes...

Info brought to you by REALTOR(R) k.

Thanks. This is the situation now, we have a 1 year fixed term lease agreement. Hopefully they will pay us off.

Fuck what a pain, it was a damn nice apartment too.

just take the money and get a diff unit with telus. telus4lyfebro
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Dude! read my shit before you comment on it.

I said call the guy up, and negotiate. You have all the power. I'd ask for a month rent to tear up the lease. I've never been in the situation, but I can't imagine the branch getting you more.

IF...IF they are like fuck that, THEN, tell them, ok, your condo is gonna be so pimp for 2 months and you STILL owe me a free month.

I finished up by saying that there is no reason this needs to take up precious time at the branch in an arbitration, when there are so many of Taylor's amateur landlords fucking up the situation for us all ;)

btw question: seems that its against the law to do this. but can theease agreement have a clause in it that specifies u can, which can make it legal? ie can the lease agreement say "we can kick u out anytime with one month notice"? or is it pretty set in stone?
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