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

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

Deposit for rent?

Q. A few weeks ago my renters gave written notice they are leaving the end of this month. Yesterday they came with a cheque for half this month’s rent, saying I could keep the security deposit against the other half. This doesn’t seem right; now I have no security against anything they might owe me once they move out. Should I have taken the half month’s rent?

A. Yes, you should have taken the half month’s rent, however that’s not all of the answer... The Residential Tenancy Act specifically prohibits a renter from applying the security deposit to the last month’s rent, unless the landlord agrees. So let your renters know that fact; hopefully the rest of the rent will quickly be paid. If they don’t pay it you can issue a 10 day Notice to End Tenancy for Non Payment of Rent, and even apply for an Order of Possession. However, at best that Order would be effective close to the end of the month, so you wouldn’t gain much. Unfortunately, there’s no "quicker" answer to this question.

-- LandlordMentor

Lower Rent?

It’s not something you hear about in the news, but Landlords have hearts too! With the current economic downturn, people are facing a scary world that threatens our basic needs. People are forced to choose between shelter and food or paying the gas bill, and landlords are not immune to this either. Most have normal day jobs that are just as fragile as everyone else's, but some are in a position to help where they can. Tenants are asking for rent reductions, generally for a couple of months while they get back on their feet. It is not expected that every landlord should reduce their rents, but there are some who can and will. The question is not whether or not you should do this; it's up to each individual landlord. This is something that only you can decide, but how to properly help these people without permanently affecting your income is something to be cautious of.

Should you find that you are willing and able to do what you can to help, be sure to adhere to these rules. In a perfect world, you could just tell your tenant that they can pay $100 less for three months, shake hands, and in three months you would have your standard rent again, but unfortunately this isn’t the case. Its not a perfect world; it’s a paper world that has correct procedures and regulations, but its surprisingly easy and quick to help out your tenants. The easiest method is to offer a "rent rebate." In this case, the tenant pays you the whole amount of their rent, and you pay them back the amount you choose. By using this method the rent paid is still the original amount, thus eliminating you being stuck with low rent in the future.

-- Staff and AdviserToTheAdvisers

Think You Can Top These?

Following are actual excuses that landlords have received for not paying the rent.

"I apologize; in an absent minded moment (and I have had plenty lately), I mailed 3/4 of my bills last month without stamps. I'm not even sure if they're the correct stamps. I hope I can get my act together next month! I'm also sorry I haven't called you. I don't get home from work until after 8 and it’s usually closer to 11."

"I can't even sleep. My dogs are keeping half the neighborhood up every night. How am I supposed to keep a job if I can't sleep?"

"I just found out you own this house free and clear! You've been profiting off me all this time?!"

"My previous landlord found me. He made me make a payment towards my balance."

"Do you co-operate with credit counseling to lower my monthly payment?"

"Carl got arrested and moved out. I hope you don't expect me to pay his share too."

"I had this nightmare... This house is giving me a bad feeling. I think it's haunted."

"I've been trying to call you all day so you can come and pick up the rent monies, but there was no answer so I spent it."

"My husband accidentally dropped a lotion bottle in the toilet. He and the plumber had the toilet on the front lawn until my husband, who is a chef, got out the bottle with his long fork. So we paid a plumber $135 to have a chef fix the toilet."

"We ran out of blue envelopes."

"I don't have the rent money, but I ordered a pizza to be delivered to your family."

"I didn't get my child support check and I think your former tenant stole it. I would like to have the mailboxes moved inside the building."

"My wife's mother is sick, and if she dies, I'll have it all next week."

"A car hit the house and made our food go bad."

"The mailbox is broken."

Even if this not-so-wonderful situation has occurred in your life, I still hope you can have a chuckle at these. Do you think you can top these? Post, and we'll find out!

--AdviserToTheAdvisers