home office tranquility vs. landlord

April 1, 2009 2:37 PM

how can I restrict my landlord's access to my suite, which is also my home office. i'm leaving a month from now. he wants to be able to show it between 9 and 5 every day, and call a couple of hours in advance.

here's the relevant section of the BC residential tenancy act:

Landlord's right to enter rental unit restricted

29 (1) A landlord must not enter a rental unit that is subject to a tenancy agreement for any purpose unless one of the following applies:

(a) the tenant gives permission at the time of the entry or not more than 30 days before the entry;

(b) at least 24 hours and not more than 30 days before the entry, the landlord gives the tenant written notice that includes the following information:

(i) the purpose for entering, which must be reasonable;

(ii) the date and the time of the entry, which must be between 8 a.m. and 9 p.m. unless the tenant otherwise agrees;

(c) the landlord provides housekeeping or related services under the terms of a written tenancy agreement and the entry is for that purpose and in accordance with those terms;

(d) the landlord has an order of the director authorizing the entry;

(e) the tenant has abandoned the rental unit;

(f) an emergency exists and the entry is necessary to protect life or property.

(2) A landlord may inspect a rental unit monthly in accordance with subsection (1) (b).

i'd like to be able to limit the landlord's window of entry to a particular time of day so that i don't have to put up with intrusions at irregular times, and i sure as hell don't want to give blanket permission for him enter whenever he wants over the next 30 days. am i within my rights tell him when he can enter?

as i understand it, he needs to notify my at least 24 hours in advance of each intrusion, but i don't know if i have any control over when he enters.

posted by klanawa to law & government (20 comments total)

He needs to tell you at least 24 hrs in advance, and is limited to 8am to 9pm but besides that i'd up to him. According to the above you can't control things much more than that. You could ask him to only show the place in the morning, or similar, but he's under no legal obligation to comply. OTOH he can show up and ask to come in, but you can reasonably refuse entry.
posted by furtive at 2:44 PM on April 1

He's already notified you in advance. The 2 hour phone call is just a polite warning; legally he doesn't even owe you that.

I suspect the answer to your question is "Not a damned thing."
posted by Chocolate Pickle at 2:44 PM on April 1

key words: "quiet enjoyment"

You leased the place, and having to show it is interfering with your quiet enjoyment of your tenancy.

While you don't own the property, you do have the right to use it without undue interference from the LL.

/IANA(RE)L.
posted by mrt at 2:46 PM on April 1

chocolate pickle: actually the act is explicit. i can refuse him entry if he calls less than 24 hours in advance.

the question is, in light of the fact that it's also my office, can i force him to basically make an appointment? that's not provided in the act, and I can't find anything about others' experiences with this.

just hoping someone has been there.

note: this landlord is a pathologically dishonest, bullying asshole and has been making my life suck for over a year. not that it matters, legally, but the stress of letting him enter my house makes it hard to do business. i'd rather know when to dissapear for an hour.
posted by klanawa at 2:59 PM on April 1

He's already notified you in advance. The 2 hour phone call is just a polite warning; legally he doesn't even owe you that.

The notification is required per entry, surely?
posted by We had a deal, Kyle at 3:02 PM on April 1

S 1.5.2 A landlord can give notice setting out a reasonable schedule of viewing times for an upcoming period. The tenant's rights to reasonable privacy and freedom from unreasonable disturbance must be taken into consideration in establishing a viewing schedule.

He can set up a reasonable viewing schedule over the next month, which gives him blanket permission to enter at only those times that you have already agreed to. Otherwise, he needs to inform you, in writing, 24 hours in advance every single time. You can refuse some of those, but need to be reasonable about them.

More info also here:
http://www.rto.gov.bc.ca/documents/RTB-125.pdf
posted by jeather at 3:08 PM on April 1

Actually, I'd argue that the lease DOES require him to make an appointment:

" at least 24 hours and not more than 30 days before the entry, the landlord gives the tenant written notice that includes the following information:
(ii) the date and the time of the entry, which must be between 8 a.m. and 9 p.m. unless the tenant otherwise agrees;"

"Time" suggests a specific hour, not a window (especially since that time must be within the already designated window of 8a to 9p). I'd say that a 2 hour heads-up phone call is two hours notice of the time, and the lease requires a min. 24 hour warning of both date AND time.

In short, he has to tell you exactly when he's coming at least 24 hours beforehand. I don't think there's anything stopping him from creating a viewing schedule between Day One and Day 30, as long as that schedule specifies DATE and TIME and doesn't interfere with your right to quiet enjoyment of the leased property.
posted by swilkerson at 4:02 PM on April 1 [1 favorite]

Just be sure to tell any potential future tenants he brings over about any and all problems with the unit/house, including the fact that you have an insufferable asshole as a landlord. That should keep him away until after you leave.
posted by Civil_Disobedient at 4:04 PM on April 1 [2 favorites]

I'm going through this in Ontario right now and at least here there's very little I can do about it on a legal level, and they don't even have to give 24 hours notice. They can pretty much just bust in at their convenience in the last month as you're leaving and they're looking for a new tenant.

That said, it doesn't help them to rent the place to have a hostile tenant in the place (as Civil_Disobedient just said). I would expect that you can come to a civil understanding if you talk to your landlord because it's in their best interest.
posted by glider at 4:25 PM on April 1

Wait: I don't get it. Did he say explicitly that he won't back down on his schedule? Seems like the first (and easiest) recourse is to say, "hey, I work at home; can you just show it in the afternoon please?"
posted by koeselitz at 4:38 PM on April 1

yeah, that's what i'm going for koeselitz. i'm looking for guidance on the inevitable next step when he conjures up some bullshit about my (non-existent) rights as a tenant. or as a simple human being, for that matter.

Just be sure to tell any potential future tenants he brings over about any and all problems with the unit/house, including the fact that you have an insufferable asshole as a landlord. That should keep him away until after you leave.

it's funny you should mention that...
posted by klanawa at 6:20 PM on April 1

Be sure to let your LL KNOW that you will be there when he shows it. He is not stupid. He will get the hint.
posted by JohnnyGunn at 8:23 PM on April 1

What does your lease say?
posted by curie at 10:06 PM on April 1

it doesn't matter what the lease says (which is nothing). the law superceeds it.
posted by klanawa at 10:43 PM on April 1

wait, scratch that. in places the law does say, "except where tenant agrees...."
posted by klanawa at 10:46 PM on April 1

Be sure to let your LL KNOW that you will be there when he shows it. He is not stupid. He will get the hint.

And if he is stupid, also tell him that you work in the nude or some other possibly unpleasant but still legal fabrication that would open the doors to a negotiated schedule.
posted by the christopher hundreds at 1:07 AM on April 2 [1 favorite]

Technological solution:

Let landlord know that since you are not always around, you have decided to install a home monitoring system, and that the system will send you alert and/or pictures whenever it detects entry or movement. This may limit his activities to the stated one of showing the space.

The monitoring system could be an internet camera that revs up when it notes motion or a general purpose sensor based monitoring system such as Motorola's Homesight, available here.

Obviously you will need broadband turned on in your home/office, and a way to receive alerts.
posted by Kevin S at 5:50 AM on April 2

if i suspected him of something, i'd be working the surveillance angle, but i don't. he's an asshole, not a thief. i want him to come when i'm not here. that's the point of the scheduling. good idea though.
posted by klanawa at 8:35 AM on April 2

I'm going through this in Ontario right now and at least here there's very little I can do about it on a legal level, and they don't even have to give 24 hours notice. They can pretty much just bust in at their convenience in the last month as you're leaving and they're looking for a new tenant.

The requirement that 24 hours notice be given also exists in Ontario.
posted by oaf at 3:09 PM on April 2

update: i've heard back from the RTB and this is their take:

1) the landlord must give 24 hours notice and state a reasonably precise time of entry.
2) #1 can be circumvented if we agree on a schedule, otherwise we fall back to #1.
3) landlord can not give blanket notice for the whole month, nor for an unreasonably large window of time during a day. every visit is subject to notification.
4) if no schedule is agreed and notice is not given, i can refuse entry.

section 29 of the act reads as if every visit requires notice, but i wasn't sure about it. now i am.

i've made what i think is a reasonable proposal re. scheduling. maybe he'll back off and i can get some work done!
posted by klanawa at 2:11 PM on April 3 [1 favorite]