Q. A few months ago I rented my unit to a nice young couple. There have been no problems until last weekend when I received complaints from two neighbours about screaming and yelling that went on most of the night. I went to talk to them, and a stranger met me at the door. He said he was one of my renter’s cousins and he and his girlfriend were staying with his cousin – “just until we find a place.” From glancing at all the furniture and other things inside the unit, I don’t think they are there temporarily, plus I spoke to one of the neighbours who said they had been there for several weeks. What can I do?
A. If you used the ROMS BC Tenancy Agreement, there is a very strong clause that states no additional persons can occupy the unit without your prior written consent and further that after 14 cumulative days in a calendar year, a “guest” becomes an occupant. You can give your renters a letter requiring the “cousin” and his girlfriend to leave. If they don't, you can issue a Notice to End Tenancy for breach of a material term of the tenancy agreement.
However, if you are using the government tenancy agreement form or some other agreement that doesn’t contain an “unauthorized occupants” clause, there’s very little you can do – you might be able to establish that four people is an unreasonable number of occupants (if the unit is a small, one bedroom suite) or persuade your renters to require the occupants to move, but if they don’t agree, you might be stuck with all four of them for the long term!
-- LandlordMentor
