Provincial Rental Housing Conference - Photos

ROMS BC hosted the first ever Provincial Rental Housing Conference on November 22nd and 23rd, and it was a great success. Over two days, delegates participated in workshops geared to the rental housing industry, attended an industry exhibition and ROMS BC 42^nd AGM all at the beautiful Westin Bear Mountain Golf Resort and Spa. 

 

Lisa Pynn from BC Assesment conducting her workshop: Your Rental Property Assesment - Digging Deeper.

Daryn Martiniuk from the Residential Tenancy Branch giving a presentation: What's New at the RTB.

 Mike Bush feeding a live colony of bedbugs provided by Victoria Pest Control after their workshop: Bedbugs - Stigma, Anatomy and Control.

 Carly Ludwar-Jellis - Member Service Manager at ROMS BC addressing the delegates at ROMS BC's 42nd AGM.

Scott Souder from the conference's platinum sponsor, RONA, speaking at the ROMS BC's 42nd AGM.

Why Some Shortcuts Are Not Worth It!

Landlords, like everyone else, are on the look out for the most efficient way to deal with their affairs. And in a perfect world, all of our shortcuts would lead directly to our destination. However we don’t live in a perfect work, so sometimes it is necessary to do extra work to avoid what could turn into a disaster.
 
When renting out a building - usually a house or multiplex - that has more than one unit where utilities are not included, it would seem efficient to have one of the tenants put the utilities in their own name, and have them collect the other share from the other tenants in the building. This would mean you would only have to deal with collecting the rent and no other money each month. This sounds great, but it opens you up for many other issues.
 
One potential disaster is that the utilities do not get paid by the tenant who is responsible for them, though the other tenants have been paying their share to the tenant who should be paying the bill. The end result is the utilities being cut off - and the tenants who paid their bills on time coming after you.
 
Or the opposite; the tenant who is responsible for utilities pays the full bill, but the other tenants decide that they’d rather not pay. Again, the tenant who paid the full utilities - or could only pay part of them seeing as they don’t have enough money - will be looking to you to fix the issue.
The warning to heed? Unless the utilities are billed for one specific unit only, do not require any of your tenants to have the utility bills in their name.

Are You a Rental Housing Professional?

ROMS BC is very excited to announce the long- awaited arrival of an accreditation program for landlords in BC. Members currently have access to workshops on more than 25 topics ranging from tenant selection to enforcing orders, but until now there was nothing physical to show for the time you spent improving your knowledge. You will now be able to show that you are more than just an average landlord; you are a Rental Housing Professional. Many members take as many workshops as they can, and accreditation will be a wonderful way to recognize this dedication to landlords improving their professional and managerial skills.

The ROMS BC Rental Housing Professional accreditation program is open to all members and members’ staff, including but not limited to office staff, on-site managers and caretakers. Participation is as easy as attending workshops and collecting credits. Five credits are required for accreditation, which lasts three years and can be extended. Workshops of four hours or less are worth one credit, while workshops over four hours are worth two credits. And as a bonus; once you acquire four credits, your fifth workshop is free (up to a $49 value).

Credits will be offered for any workshop presented by ROMS BC!that has a cost of $29 or more [before any applicable discount]; workshops presented by Associate members are not eligible for credits.

But what about all the workshops members have already taken? ROMS BC is willing to award credits for any workshop attended after January 1st, 2011.

ROMS BC recognizes that many members act as landlords with their spouses or business partners, and that their combined knowledge contributes to their success. Because of this, in addition to individual accreditation, joint accreditation can be achieved. (Joint accreditation is not applicable for property managers or staff.)

--Hunter Boucher

The "H" Word; Is Your Tenant A Hoarder? - A Two Part Blog Series

Part Two

The Issue
In our industry, whether or not someone has this mental illness is not the issue; what landlords need to worry about is the potential for harm when someone accumulates a large amount of clutter in his or her rental unit.

If another tenant or neighbour complains and accuses one of your tenants of being a hoarder, how should you respond?  Your first step is to do a routine inspection of the rental unit. Once inside, answer two questions; a) would emergency responders be able to get into and move around in the rental unit, and/or does the clutter represent a fire hazard, and b) is there the potential for (or are there already) sanitary, hygiene and/or insect or rodent infestation issues?

If the door to the unit won't fully open without the assistance of someone on the other side, or there is no way to move from room to room once inside, then the tenant is jeopardizing his or her own safety and potentially the safety of other occupants of the property. As an example, a 79-year-old woman died in a fire at her Washington row house when her hoarding held back firefighters from reaching her in time.

If the rental unit could not be considered to meet reasonable health, cleanliness and sanitary standards, this is a breach of both a material term of the tenancy agreement and the Residential Tenancy Act by the tenant. A rental unit in this condition could also lead to a pest infestation, putting the interests of other occupants at risk as their units could also become infested - especially if the amount of possessions in the infested rental unit is such that a pest control operator could not successfully apply treatments.

In the end, the issue is not whether or not your tenant is a capital-H hoarder or has or doesn’t have a mental illness; what you need to establish is whether or not there is potential for the quiet enjoyment or safety of the tenant and other residents to be affected.

-- Carly Ludwar

The "H" Word; Is Your Tenant A Hoarder? - A Two Part Blog Series

Part One

The subject of ongoing curiosity, at least two reality TV shows, and the character of Oscar the Grouch, hoarders are again in the spotlight after a recent article in the Globe and Mail about a BC landlord who evicted a hoarding tenant.

Members often call into the office, identifying their tenants as hoarders. But, unless that landlord's day job is to diagnose mental illnesses, how does s/he know that the tenant has this disorder?    The term "hoarder" has become yet another word that is now commonplace in our industry, such as "renoviction" and "slumlord." So how do you assess whether or not your tenant is a real life hoarder, or a simple, every-day collector of stuff?

The Definition

While there is no clear definition of compulsive hoarding in diagnostic criteria, the most suitable description would be "the excessive acquisition of possessions (and failure to use or discard them), even if the items are worthless, hazardous, or unsanitary." There is emerging evidence from mental health professionals that compulsive hoarding is, in fact, a mental illness. Having said that, it would still be difficult to establish whether your tenant could actually have this mental illness, or simply has a large amount of possessions. Dr. Front, a Smith College psychology professor, made a good observation: "When the accumulation of stuff interferes with their ability to live, or causes significant distress; that's the breaking point between hoarding as a [chosen] behavior, and hoarding as a disorder."

Quoted in the above article, Dr. Frost describes several varieties of hoarders: there’s the info junkie who stockpiles documents, the guilt-ridden collector who hates to waste anything, and another who feels an intense, emotional attachment to possessions. Objects are of great value to hoarders - even when they appear to be junk, and they fear losing a part of themselves along with a discarded item.

--Carly Ludwar

Strike Alert - RTB Closure September 5th

BCGEU will be staging a one day strike on September 5th; this job action will include Information Officers at the Residential Tenancy Branch. Dispute resolution hearings scheduled for September 5th will not be affected by this one day strike though evidence packages or applications will not be able to be submitted in person - online options for dispute resolution applications will still be available.  

-- Hunter Boucher

Hydro Tip

There are often gaps in time between the end of one tenancy and the beginning of another.    Or tenants may decide to leave early and contact BC Hydro to close their account. The property owner then gets a surprise invoice for the period of vacancy that often can be corrected, but it takes time and effort and the ability to connect with the right person at BC Hydro.

One of our property management members arranges to set up Hydro, water and cable accounts on behalf of new tenants. He has the appropriate forms and gets the tenants to sign them, ensuring the accounts are established at the right time. With the BC Hydro application, he also includes the meter reading at the time the application is submitted. If there is a significant gap between that reading and the last reading (or estimate) in Hydro’s files, the company avoids being charged for the usage that should have been paid by the previous tenants.

-- Carly Ludwar

What's That Noise

Not a lot surprises us here at the ROMS BC office. We get countless questions about some incredibly bizarre situations, however they are our everyday norm. Though from time to time, we hear something so strange, we just can’t help but share it. 

In early November, June, a manager who never ceases to astound us with her sensational stories and ability to cope, called to ask for advice. This time, her story started out with a simple noise complaint. Edie and Gerald, tenants in the basement suite of the fourplex June manages, wrote a very polite complaint about the noise coming from the unit above them (Susan and her two young children occupy the suite above). Because Susan had always been a wonderful tenant, we recommended that June speak with her about the issue. When Susan got home that day, June went up to her unit and asked if she could come in. June entered the unit and before she even had the chance to say why she was there, she saw the culprit. Susan had set up a trampoline in the living room for her children to play on. June could not help but laugh; she explained the complaint to Susan, who had figured the mat under the trampoline would absorb all of the noise. June resolved the issue with Susan very easily, but this was definitely one for the book every landlord should write.

-- Hunter Boucher

Mixing Words

The Residential Tenancy Act is full of terms that have definitions specific to our industry. Because the RTA has its own vocabulary, it can be difficult to follow the right processes if you are not aware of the correct definition. Below is a list of six of the most commonly used and misused terms.

Assignment: A tenant with a fixed term tenancy agreement leaves permanently before the end of the term and transfers the remainder of the tenancy agreement to another person, who then becomes the tenant.

Sublet: A tenant with a fixed term tenancy agreement leaves for a period of time, returning before the end of the term and someone else lives in the rental unit while s/he is away.

Fixed Term Tenancy Agreement: A tenancy agreement that both parties agree is for a defined period of time (often twelve months). It may terminate at the end of the term or may be renewable.

Lease: A fixed term tenancy agreement. The word “lease” doesn’t appear anywhere in the Residential Tenancy Act!    Its legal meaning is a commercial tenancy agreement, however our industry commonly refers to a fixed term residential tenancy agreement as a lease.

Occupant: A person living in a rental unit who has not signed the tenancy agreement as a tenant. An occupant includes a person to whom the unit has been subletted (a “subletee”).

Tenant: A person who has signed a tenancy agreement as a tenant; tenants are legally responsible for the tenancy. 

-- Al Kemp and Hunter Boucher

Landscaping Smaller Properties Attracts Tenants

Reprinted and adapted with kind permission from LPMAnews, news magazine of the London Property Management Association.

Curb appeal isn’t limited to multi-residential complexes. The same principles can be applied to smaller complexes and houses.
 
Ann Pavlic, who owns three rental houses in Old North London, pays extra attention to her landscaping in spring and fall to ensure her properties are in top shape when students are shopping for accommodations in mid- to late-summer. The grass is kept short and bushes are neatly trimmed. Chipped paint, tired porches and windows are also repaired during the summer.
 
“I do it for the business component and curb appeal, but I also do it for my own sense of pride and satisfaction,” she says. “I live in the neighbourhood and I want my properties to mirror the neighbourhood’s level of living. I’ m conscious that there are residents mingling with the rentals and I want to bring that quality up.”
 
When Pavlic bought her houses 10 years ago, she landscaped in a similar way to other homeowners. She planted ground covers that turn colour from spring to fall, as well as ivies that change from green to burgundy.
 
“It looks wonderful. It frames the house beautifully and it kind of puts it in an Old English kind of setting,” she says.
Pavlic advises small landlords to choose low-maintenance plants that require less care. That practice is particularly important in high-traffic areas, such as along walkways.
 
“Choosing carefully, yet attractively is the key. You want to have enough to be appealing, but not too much to have high maintenance and costs,” she adds.

Minimum Wage - Resident Caretakers

Since May 1st of 2011, BC's minimum wage has been increased every 6 months, with the final increase coming into effect on May 1st of this year. What does this mean to you as a landlord? If you own a building that has a 9 or more suites and have a resident manager or caretaker, their wage will need to be increased if you haven't already raised it.

The final increase on May 1st brought the minimum wage for managers/caretakers of buildings with 9 to 60 suites to $615 plus $24.65 per suite. If your building has more than 60 suites, the minimum salary is now $2,094.84.

Remember these amounts are the minimum; they are not necessarily what you should pay your on-site staff. Good managers and caretakers can be difficult to find - and minimum wage may not be the best way to attract the good ones. 

-- Carly Ludwar and Hunter Boucher

Fill Your Vacancies

Vacancy rates have gone up in many communities across the province, and landlords have had to deal with this in interesting ways. The easiest way to fill your empty units - with little effort - is to have your existing tenants refer their friends and colleagues. If you have a great building in a fantastic location, your vacancy should rent itself and your tenants should want to refer people they know.

But no matter how amazing your building is, in this market a little incentive can certainly help. Some landlords have incentive referral programs where the person who makes the referral receives something small like a gift card to a nearby coffee shop. Most buildings that have this kind of program have simple rules about what qualifies as a referral; for example, the referred applicant has to actually be accepted and move into the building.

A referral incentive program is not just a great way to fill your vacancies; it is a way to make your apartment building a community that people want to live in and stay in - further reducing your vacancies. Remember to make it fun!

 -- Carly Ludwar and Hunter Boucher

Rent Increase

The cost of living keeps going up and a big factor in that is the cost of maintaining rental units. The cost of the services required to maintain your rental unit are subject to change with very little notice and there is no way of passing your increased cost of doing business to your existing tenants, the only exception being an annual rent increase.

As a landlord you are able to raise your tenants' rent once a year (12 months from the last increase or the date the tenancy began), but as BC has government imposed rent controls, the maximum amount of increase is limited.  The limit is tied in part to the consumer price index, resulting in a maximum increase of 4.3% for any rent increase effective in 2012.  In early September, the government will announce the limit for 2013.

Despite your cost increases, you need to consider the market in your area when deciding whether to increase rents for existing tenants.  Higher vacancy rates give tenants more flexibility to move if they think their rent is too high. 

-- Al Kemp and Hunter Boucher

Which Agreement is the Best?

Why don’t I just use the residential tenancy agreement provided by the “government” (the Residential Tenancy Branch [RTB])?

The RTB’s tenancy agreement is, of course, an acceptable form to use for tenancies in British Columbia. Unfortunately, it is very basic and does not achieve much in the way of protecting the landlord’s interest.

Why would I use the residential tenancy agreement provided by the “landlord association” (the Rental Owners and Managers Society of BC [ROMS BC]) over the RTB’s version?

ROMS BC has been in existence – with five different names – since 1970. In this time, we have gained experience from thousands of members and hundreds of thousands of different situations. Our collective knowledge has allowed us to successfully create our own comprehensive residential tenancy agreement – approved for use by the BC government. Each clause that our agreement contains has been appropriately vetted to ensure enforceability in all levels of the judicial process. To compare the two agreements: RTB’s version has a total of 16 clauses, while the ROMS BC agreement has 43.

If you make your own agreement, why can’t I?

Theoretically, you could make your own agreement however most “homemade” agreements are found to be invalid. What most people don’t know is that there are many, many rules in the law about how you make your agreement – everything from unconscionable material terms to the size of the font, and everything in between. Creating an agreement that is fully enforceable under the Residential Tenancy Act is a time consuming and difficult task – which we have already done for you!

But your agreement does not have some things I want covered in my agreement…

When we created our tenancy agreement we worked very hard to make it apply to every tenancy (whether it be an apartment, basement suite or single-family home), but we recognize that there are always exceptions to the norm. Your tenancy agreement may need some extra clauses that relate very specifically to your rental unit or property, and we are here to help you with those additional terms. Because adding additional terms is just as dangerous as writing your own agreement, we recommend that you write up what you want to see added, and we will work with you to make it fit.

-- Hunter Boucher and Carly Ludwar

Interest Rates on Deposits

As we covered in our series on deposits there is interest on both pet damage deposits and security deposits and it is very easy to figure out how much the interest is using the Residential Tenancy Branch interest calculator on their site. The real question here is how do they figure out the percentage each year?

We have to search in the Residential Tenancy Regulations for this answer. Regulation 4 in part 1 states that the interest paid on deposits is 4.5% below the prime lending rate of the principal banker to the Province on the first day of each calendar year, compounded annually. What does this mean for you? Unless the prime rate exceeds 4.5%, there will continue to be no interest payable on security deposits for tenancies that began after January 1, 2009.


-- Hunter Boucher and Al Kemp

More Rental Housing Needed

The Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) recently released a report that suggested Canada’s economic recovery hinged on the need for more rental housing. The FCM report suggested the federal government lower barriers to investing in order to sustain the country’s economic recovery.

Berry Vrbanovic, FCM President said, “To keep our economy growing when fewer Canadians are able to buy new homes, we need to make it easier to invest in and expand the rental housing market. New rental construction will give cash-strapped young families, new immigrants, and an aging population housing options they can afford, and protect construction jobs as governments turn off the stimulus taps.”

According to the report, Canadians are facing high personal debt loans, tighter mortgage rules and an uncertain economic future, which impedes the ability for Canadians to buy new homes. As a result, new home starts in Canada have declined and Canada’s housing sector is producing 50,000 fewer construction jobs than in 2007. 

Investing in housing is one of the most effective ways to create jobs and boost economic activity, according to the federal Department of Finance. In order to experience growth, the renal market must overcome systematic barriers. The condo-building and home-buying boom has increased land prices so high that new residential construction has been pushed out. Rental housing only accounts for 10 per cent of new residential construction in the past 15 years, despite one-third of Canadians being renters. The number of rental units across the country decreased between 2001 and 2006, namely due to the demolition and conversion of rental properties. 

“Municipalities are doing their part to increase and preserve the supply of rental and affordable housing, providing tax exemptions, streamlining approvals and exploring alternative development standards, but we can’t do it alone,” notes Brampton mayor and co-Chair of the Big Cities Mayors Caucus (BCMC) Advocacy Working Group on Housing, Susan Fennell. 

The report, The Housing Market and Canada’s Economic Recovery, calls on the federal government to provide low-interest loans to finance new rental construction; provide incentives to lower rental costs through energy efficiency and reform the tax system to prevent the demolition of existing rental housing.

Short Cuts?

Landlords, like everyone else, are on the look out for the most efficient way to deal with their affairs. And in a perfect world, all of our shortcuts would lead directly to our destination. However, we don’t live in a perfect world, so sometimes it is necessary to do extra work to avoid what could turn into a disaster.

When renting out a building - usually a house or multiplex - that has more than one unit where utilities are not included, it would seem efficient to have one of the tenants put the utilities in their own name, and have them collect a share from the other tenants in the building. This would mean you would only have to deal with collecting the rent and no other money each month. This sounds great, but it opens you up for many other issues.

One potential disaster is that the utilities do not get paid by the tenant who is responsible for them, though the other tenants have been paying their share to the tenant who should be paying the bill. The end result is the utilities being cut off - and the tenants who paid their bills on time coming after you.

Or the opposite; the tenant who is responsible for utilities pays the full bill, but the other tenants decide that they’d rather not pay. Again, the tenant who paid the full amount of the utilities - or could only pay part of them seeing as s/he didn’t have enough money - will be looking to you to fix the issue.

The warning to heed? Unless the utilities are billed for one specific unit only, do not require any of your tenants to have the utility bills in their own name.

-- Hunter Boucher and Carly Ludwar

Part Three: Deducting From and Returning Deposits

Welcome to the final installment in our three part series on security deposits. (See the prior two weeks posts on Security and Pet Damage Deposits.)

Most issues for landlords surrounding deposits happen at the end of the tenancy, after the condition inspection has been completed. Many people do not know how to properly deduct from or return deposits and if either is not done properly, it can mean increased costs for the landlord. The landlord has 15 days from the end of the tenancy and/or the date you received the forwarding address (whichever is later) to do one of three things; your first option is to return all of the deposit(s). This does not mean that it has to be in the tenants hands within 15 days; just that it has to have left your hands in that time.

The next two options are used when you'd like to deduct any amount from the deposit(s). Once you know how much you'd like to keep, you can have the tenant agree in writing to the specific deductions and return the remainder, if any. Both the ROMS BC and Residential Tenancy Branch (RTB) Condition Inspection Reports contain "Security Deposit Statements;" you could use this section to record the amount of the deposit(s), any interest payable and whatever deductions you'd like to make. If the tenant agrees, they can sign authorizing the deductions.

Your last option for making deductions from the deposit(s) is to apply for dispute resolution at the RTB to retain all or part of either deposit. If your tenant owes you more than the deposit(s) will cover, you can include a request for an additional monetary order at the same time.

What do I do if my tenant does not give me a forwarding address?

Tenants are required to provide their forwarding address at the end of a tenancy. If they fail to do so, they are not entitled to claim their deposit back. Tenants have one year from the end of tenancy date to provide you with the address. After that time, they have lost their right to claim the deposit(s) back.

What if my tenant does not take part in the condition inspection?

The Residential Tenancy Act states that a tenant that does not take part in either condition inspection waves his or her right to the return of the deposit(s). That being said, if your tenant provides you with a forwarding address - even if he or she misses either or both inspection opportunities, you should still apply for dispute resolution to retain the deposit(s).

Do I have to pay interest on the deposit?

Yes; interest is payable on all security and pet damage deposits in BC. Each year, the Residential Tenancy Branch calculates the rate for that year. For 2012, the rate remains at 0.00% (which it has been since January 1, 2009). The RTB has an interest calculator available on their website, but just remember that you calculate interest from the date you receive the deposit to the date you return it (not from the start of the tenancy to the end).

Remember that every situation is different and the ROMS BC staff are here to help you work through any situation - deposit-related or otherwise.


-- Hunter Boucher and Carly Ludwar

Part Two: Pet Damage Deposits

Welcome to the second installment of our three part series on deposits.

You already talked about security deposits; what’s the difference between security and pet damage deposits?

Security deposits can be requested for any residential tenancy in BC, where pet damage deposits can only be requested when a pet (or pets) are present in the rental unit. The maximum amount a pet damage deposit can be is also half a months rent – despite the number of pets in the unit.

When do I take a pet damage deposit?

A pet damage deposit is generally paid at one of two times in a tenancy; the first being at the beginning of the tenancy when the tenant applies with a pet, and the second being when the tenant gets a pet for the first time during a tenancy. If your tenant is getting a pet part way through a tenancy, remember that if they moved in prior to January 1^st, 2004 and you did not complete a move-in condition inspection report, you must complete one now. Just as with the security deposit, the tenant has 30 days to pay this from the date it is requested.

What can I deduct from the pet damage deposit?

That one’s easy; pet damage! This deposit is meant to cover only damage caused by a pet. At times, this can be a tricky thing to determine, as some damage could be considered ambiguous. When you complete the move-out inspection, be sure to mark down what damage you can be sure was made by a pet. Then, when filling out the Security/Pet damage deposit statement, be sure to use the correct line for pet damage.

Remember again that every situation is different and the ROMS BC staff are here to help you work through any situation.

Be sure to come back next week for the final chapter of the series; deducting from and returning deposits.

-- Hunter Boucher and Carly Ludwar

A Three Part Series on Deposits

Part One: Security Deposits
Welcome to the first in a three part series on deposits in residential rentals in BC.

Contrary to popular opinion, you cannot take a “damage deposit” in BC. This is because the Residential Tenancy Act allows you to take a security deposit of a maximum of half a months rent instead.

But what’s the difference?
The answer is: everything! A “damage deposit” is a deposit (in other provinces) that applies only to damage done to the unit. With a security deposit, you are able to claim any amount owing by the tenant whether it be damage, rent, fees (like the $25 administration fee for late rent in the ROMS BC Residential Tenancy Agreement), cleaning, liquidated damages – you name it!

When do you take a security deposit?

Generally this is done before the tenancy begins, but remember that the tenant does have 30 days to pay it from the date it is requested. Most tenants will pay the security deposit before they move in. But if you have a tenant who refuses to do so, this could potentially be a red flag about what could happen with other payments during the tenancy.

Remember that every situation is different and the ROMS BC staff are here to help you work through any situation.

Check back here next Friday for part two of the series: Pet Damage Deposits.

-- Hunter Boucher and Carly Ludwar