!Help us deal with this troublesome renter!

February 28, 2013 3:22 PM

In British Columbia - my mother has a tenant that regularly withholds rent for non-essential repairs (shower heads, faucets) and then charges us exuberant amounts of money for service. My mother asked me to speak with her and I did. The tenant wants to take us to court now and I want to be prepared. How do I do this?

In the past, my mom has overlooked withheld rent. It is getting exhausting and annoying so she finally wanted to do something about this month in particular.

The repair in question is a shower head. We didn't know it was broken until after it was fixed. The tenant purchased a shower head for 40 dollars and my mom agreed even though she wasn't alerted until after the fact. Then, the tenant charged us $125 for 'repairs' which is ridiculous because I'm fairly certain installing a new shower head consists of screwing it on and I'm pretty sure no one would charge $125 for that.

Anyway, the tenant is trying to withhold rent for that. My mom doesn't speak the greatest of English, so I took on the negotiation as the tenant was getting particularly nasty with my mother. I tried to tell her that there's a process for repairs that she consistently ignores. I couldn't find the actual law so if anyone could point me there, it would be nice. Basically, I told her that she couldn't impose a charge on us without letting us know beforehand and that we were more than happy to fix any repairs within a reasonable amount of time as long as we are notified of it. The RTB website seems to suggest this as well, but again, there's no explicit law so I can't be sure. I explained that we have our own handy man and we would prefer to do our work through him as opposed to using her husband (who she claims is currently doing all the repairs and billing us for it).

The tenant says that in the past, they have done a lot of free work which again, we were not notified of. I don't think this is relevant to this particular event but let me know if it is important.

The tenant refused to listen to me and she said, 'see you in court.' I don't know if this is her bluffing but I have a few questions:

1. Would it be beneficial for us to file for a dispute resolution before they do?
2. Are they allowed to charge us for work that we weren't notified of considering it is a non-essential repair in the unit? The work is already done, so how can we go about solving this? Any idea how RTB would solve this?
3. What should I do to be prepared for the dispute resolution?

posted by anonymous to law & government (12 answers total)

Anonymize this, and speak with a lawyer. You need formal legal advice here.
posted by ellF at 3:28 PM on February 28 [3 favorites]

Agreed with ellF. Lawyer. Anonymize.

The same reason that you need to speak with a lawyer is the same reason your tenant is doing this and getting away with it: This tenant knows you do not know your business, and is taking advantage of your ignorance.

You might not need an attorney on retainer for this, but a $200 to $600 investment will get you (a) a consult advising you of procedures you should be following (b) a letter to the tenant from the lawyer telling them to get stuffed (but in legal terms, so it'll be cool!) and (c) a relationship with someone familiar with your business that you can phone in the future for other hassles, should any arise.
posted by jbenben at 3:44 PM on February 28 [1 favorite]

Read the government residential tenancy office on repairs and dispute resolution. Know your rights and responsibilities before you go any further.
posted by no regrets, coyote at 3:50 PM on February 28

Here is a wonderful guide that is written by a tenant's advocacy group in BC.

From the guide:

Landlords must repair or replace such things as appliances owned by the landlord and electrical and plumbing systems as they wear out or age. Tenants are responsible for repairing any damage they cause.

When doing repairs, landlords should be careful and hire only qualified people — especially for repairs such as electrical and plumbing. They should not carry out repairs or maintenance procedures for which they are not qualified. If landlords or their relatives or friends do electrical repairs without being qualified, this is in violation of building codes
and municipal bylaws. If tenants or their families or guests are injured as a result of bad repairs done by unqualified persons, landlords could be legally liable. Also, the insurance company that insures the rental unit and property usually requires repairs done by qualified people. Landlords must be careful in dealing with repairs that may affect the life and safety of their tenants, so they do not leave themselves at risk of a lawsuit.

##

Based on that description, it does seem questionable that the tenant really has any legal cause to charge your mother for the repairs her husband does. The fact that they are both withholding rent for repairs and charging for [unnecessary] repairs without them being viewed by your repair-person might also be in violation. You will need to find out if the tenant doing work without your company's knowledge is a building code violation, as there may be civil penalties. If there are, you might be able to recoup this from the tenant. My best advice is that if you win or the case is dismissed that you file a case for eviction immediately.
posted by parmanparman at 3:52 PM on February 28

If you're in or around Vancouver you could go in and talk to these guys for advice. Or even if not, it sounds like you could call them for general BC tenancy advice.
posted by mannequito at 4:11 PM on February 28

2. Are they allowed to charge us for work that we weren't notified of considering it is a non-essential repair in the unit? The work is already done, so how can we go about solving this? Any idea how RTB would solve this?

The burden is on them, the tenant, to prove they notified you that it was broken before having it fixed. I assume they cannot produce a paper trail.

Legally, even if they are not satisfied with the repair, they're not allowed to withhold rent. If they have not paid the full rent for the month, you can start the eviction process, as this kind of behaviour is not likely to stop.
posted by Rodrigo Lamaitre at 4:37 PM on February 28

What does your lease say? All the boilerplate leases I've signed/used in the US specifically have a clause about the circumstances under which the tenant may withhold rent, and basically the house has to be unlivable due to negligence or error on the landlord's part. There is some recourse after formal notification.

You are very likely in the right here, and that won't change what a major pain in the ass it's going to be to deal with. But it likely will not cost you more than a few hours of a lawyer's time, if you don't find a government agency to help you.

Your tenant is just pissed that their scam isn't working anymore.
posted by Lyn Never at 4:38 PM on February 28 [2 favorites]

The tenant says that in the past, they have done a lot of free work which again, we were not notified of. I don't think this is relevant to this particular event but let me know if it is important.

I'm sure it is important, in the sense that you probably want to follow your province's proper procedure for entering the unit to inspect for damages, which is what amateur repairs might turn out to be.

Your mother is getting conned. Property management companies are not cheap but they would certainly offer a better outcome than what's on the table right now. She "overlooked" the missing rent...?

"extorbitant," not "exuberant," is the word there
posted by kmennie at 5:39 PM on February 28

Is your mother a member of ROMS BC? They are at http://www.romsbc.com/ and offer excellent help, advice and guidance through the Tenancy Act.
posted by Savannah at 8:13 PM on February 28

The landlord is responsible for maintaining the "health, safety and housing standards" of the unit. The issue may be whether the repair is an "emergency" or not. Having no water or heat would be considered an emergency. For an emergency repair, the tenant is responsible for notifying the landlord and they must prove they tried to notify the landlord twice – and only if that was unsuccessful, can they can proceed with repairs. The tenant would have to prove that they tried to reach the landlord (so, they would need facts - a witness, email copy etc...). The landlord can choose to pay the bill or reduce the next month's rent.
The Residential Tenancy Branch has fact sheets available in several languages, on several subjects, including repairs. Check under Publications/Guides/Fact Sheets.
I hope you had a Tenancy Agreement and a Condition Inspection completed when the unit was rented. Whether these are completed, and how well they are completed, could be a matter in a dispute.
I would advise asking the tenant in writing, to submit their repair requests - in writing, by a certain date. Review the request and deal with what would be deemed an emergency. Respond in writing what repairs will be done and by what date. Document everything - time, location etc...of any discussions/delivery of letters.
posted by what's her name at 7:58 AM on March 1

I agree that you should contact the Residential Tenancy Branch and a lawyer.

IANAL and this is based solely on my experience as a BC renter for 17 years, but my understanding of how withholding rent for repairs works is that you can only do so for important things like fridge, stove, water, heat and only do so if you have contacted your landlord to let them know about the damage and they haven't made the necessary repairs in a timely fashion. If you scroll down here, the law seems to back my interpretation.

May the tenant withhold rent for repairs?

Withholding rent for repairs is not allowed unless the RTB gives an order to do so. Tenants can deduct the cost of emergency repairs from rent owing. The tenant can also recover the amount through dispute resolution if they tried on 2 occasions to notify the landlord within a reasonable period about the emergency and were unsuccessful. Also, the landlord may take over the completion of emergency repairs at any time.

To my (non lawyerly) mind, the tenants are effectively behind on their rent and should be given a notice that they have to pay up or be evicted, using the steps outlined in the law, which is also outlined in the link above.
posted by looli at 9:04 AM on March 1

This backs my assertion that they are not paying rent and can be evicted.

When must a landlord reimburse the tenant for emergency repairs?

If an emergency arises and the tenant has tried to contact the landlord or the emergency contact number at least twice and allowed a reasonable amount of time for the contact to respond, the tenant may have the repairs done without obtaining a Residential Tenancy Branch order. If the tenant does contact the landlord before the repairs are completed, the landlord may either take over the repairs and pay for work done up to that point or allow the repairs to continue and reimburse the tenant for the full cost incurred.

A landlord must reimburse a tenant for the costs of emergency repairs unless the Residential Tenancy Branch orders otherwise. The tenant must provide all receipts for repairs and a written account of what happened. If, after receiving the receipts and account from the tenant, the landlord does not offer to reimburse the tenant, the tenant can deduct the repair costs from the rent payments. The landlord cannot try to end the tenancy because the tenant deducted the costs. However, if the landlord believes that the costs were too high, or the repairs were unnecessary or were required because the tenant didn't take proper care of the site, the landlord can:

• file a monetary claim against the tenant, or
• issue a Notice to End Tenancy for non-payment of rent.

Also, to be more specific, they can't withhold rent on any repairs, even if they were totally legitimate emergency repairs. Even in those cases--which this isn't--they have to pay the full amount and then be re-imbursed by your mom for the amount they can prove they spent. Your mom is being scammed, big time.
posted by looli at 9:07 AM on March 1