Landlording in Canada

Michael Drouillard

Description

As the cost of real estate rises across Canada, more and more homeowners are looking to become landlords. “Secondary suites” are becoming an increasingly common way for homeowners to subsidize their mortgages and supplement their incomes. This book is unique in that it places emphasis on the rental of secondary suites, and how to avoid a potentially negative landlord-tenant relationship by steering clear of “bad tenants.” Drouillard tells the reader how to determine what constitutes an “acceptable risk,” and provides insight into how to market rental space in order to attract good tenants. Sample rental ads will teach the reader how to make the most of short newspaper classified ads, as well as how to write longer online ads. Practical advice from this experienced realtor and property manager will make the process of finding and securing a tenant feel much less daunting.
INTRODUCTION xiii
PART 1: BEFORE PLACING THE “FOR RENT” AD 1
1 Preparing for a New Tenancy 3
Is Your Rental Ready for Viewing? 3
What are Some Common Basics Tenants Expect out of a Rental? 3
Renovations that Pay for Themselves 5
2 Secondary Suites: Preventing Problems Before They Start 8
Excessive Sound Transfer 9
Sharing Laundry 10
Ambiguous Boundaries Between Exclusive-Use and Common Areas 10
Property Maintenance and Secondary Suites 11
Payment of Utilities 11
Overwhelmed? You Don’t Need to Be! 13
CONTENTS
iv Landlording in Canada
3 How to Determine Rental Value 15
How Do Pet or Smoking Restrictions Affect Rental Value? 16
I’ve Determined Market Value for My Rental Property, but What Do I Do in a
Weak Rental Market? 16
Furnished Rentals 18
4 Landlording Essential: Membership in a Landlord Association 20
5 Insurance 23
Types of Insurance 23
Liability Insurance 23
6 Know the Law — At Least Know the Basics 25
Never Accept Tenancy Law Advice from Your Tenant 26
7 Start Your Tenancy on the Right Foot with the Right Forms 28
The Application Form 28
Receipt Book 30
Other Forms Required by Your Strata/Condominium Corporation 35
Other Legal Forms Required by Your Province 35
Move-In/Move-Out Inspection Form 35
Proof of Authority to Rent the Property 36
The Rental Agreement 36
Rental Agreements and Secondary Suites 41
Month-To-Month Agreements Versus Fixed-Term Leases 41
PART 2: HOW TO FIND A GREAT TENANT 45
8 Placing the“For Rent” Ad 47
The Newspaper Classified Ad 47
What Should Be In the Ad? 48
Placing Your “For Rent” Ad Online 50
9 An Introduction to Telephone Screening 52
How to Prevent No-Show Appointments 54
Contents v
10 Showing the Home and Closing the Deal 57
Stay Safe! 61
Getting the Application Signed 61
What if the Applicant Refuses to Give His or Her Social Insurance Number? 62
Stop Good Tenants From Looking Elsewhere After Filling Out Your Application 63
11 Minimizing Your Risk: Effective Tenant Application Analysis 65
The Initial Review of the Application Form 65
The Credit Report and Why It Means so Much 66
Secondary Screening Measures 72
Tenant Archetypes That are Difficult to Assess 74
Let’s Put Theory into Practice! 77
Case Study #1: Renting Out a Basement Suite 77
Case Study #2: Renting Out a New Townhouse 83
12 What Do You Do if You Can’t Find a Tenant that Meets Your Requirements? 87
How Does Your Rental Show? 87
Is It Overpriced? 87
Never Lower Your Standards 89
13 How to Reject a Tenant Application 91
Learn From the Master of Rejection: The Bank 91
My Final Word on Discrimination 93
14 How to Accept a Tenant — What to Do from the First Meeting to
Move-In Day 94
What to Do When You Call the Accepted Applicant, a Step-By-Step Guide 94
What to Do at the Meeting with Your Newly Accepted Tenant 95
Move-In Day 96
PART 3: AFTER THE TENANT MOVES IN 103
15 Property Maintenance Made Easy 105
Property Maintenance for Small Rental Properties 106
Preventive Maintenance 107
vi Landlording in Canada
What if the Tenant Wants to Renovate the Home, or Offers to Perform Repairs
(with the Landlord Paying the Cost of Labour and Materials)? 107
What About Emergency Repairs? 109
What if the Tenant is Locked Out of the Home? Is This an Emergency? 110
What if the Tenant is Unreasonable About Repairs? 110
Want a Good Tenant to Stay for Many Years? 111
16 Everything You Need to Know About Vacating Tenants 112
Insist on a Legal Notice to Vacate 112
Don’t Apply the Security Deposit to the Last Month’s Rent 112
Move-Out Procedures You Need to Know 113
The Move-Out Inspection Report and Returning the Security Deposit 116
Abandoned Property 118
PART 4: HOW TO PROTECT YOURSELF 121
17 What You Need to Know About Serving Documents 123
Are You Using the Correct Legal Document? 123
Did You Fill Out the Form Correctly? 124
How Should You Serve the Document? 124
How Will You Prove the Document was Served? 125
18 How to Enforce Timely Rent Payments Each and Every Month 126
Common Misconceptions About Rent 127
Accepting a Partial Rent Payment 129
Your Tenant Didn’t Pay the Rent by the Deadline Specified in the
Eviction Notice. Now He or She is Offering to Pay the Rent in Full.
Should You Accept? 129
When In Doubt About a Rent Cheque, Get It Certified! 130
Repeated Late Rent Payments — A Cause for Eviction 130
19 Make Your Tenant Play by the Rules (of Your Rental Agreement) 132
Anatomy of a Warning Letter 133
Unauthorized Pets 135
Unauthorized Occupants 135
Assignments and Subletting 138
Contents vii
Noisy and Disruptive Tenants 138
If the Tenant Seriously Damages the Property 142
Expedited Eviction for Causing Substantial Damage 143
Illegal Activity 143
Marijuana Grow Operations 143
20 I Served an Eviction Notice and Nothing Happened. What Now? 145
Should You Retain a Lawyer? 146
Strategies That Could Compel a Tenant to Leave While You Continue to Pursue
Eviction through the Legal System 146
Common Mistakes Landlords Make in Court and How to Avoid Them 149
21 When All Else Fails — Bringing in the Bailiff 152
“Soft” Evictions 153
Executing the Writ 153
PART 5: MORE ESSENTIALS FOR LANDLORDS 155
22 Good Property Manager, Bad Property Manager … 157
What to Look for 158
23 The Necessity of Rent Increases 163
24 Selling Tenant-Occupied Property 165
Choose your Real Estate Agent Wisely 165
Avoid Having to Serve Legal Notice for Each and Every Showing 166
Getting the Ball Rolling With the Sale of Your Rental 166
What if the Tenant Starts to Become Uncooperative? 167
What if the Tenant makes False and Misleading Statements about the
Property to Turn Off Prospective Buyers? 171
What Happens When You Receive Your First Offer? 171
APPENDIX 1: Websites of Interest By Province and Territory 173
APPENDIX 2: Websites of Interest Nationwide 177
DL CONTENTS 178
viii Landlording in Canada
SAMPLES
1 Notice to Tenant re: Utilities 14
2 Residential Tenancy Application 31
3 Inspection Checklist 37
4 Reference Sheet for Calls from Prospective Tenants 56
5 Repairs to be Completed by Landlord at Start of Rental/Lease 98
6 Welcome Letter to New Tenant 99
7 Notice of Entry 108
8 Letter to Departing Tenants 114
9 End of Tenancy 117
10 Letter re: Late Payment of Rent 128
11 Letter re: Repeated Late Payment of Rent 131
12 Letter re: Unauthorized Lock Change 134
13 Pet Agreement 136
14 Letter re: Unauthorized Occupant 139
15 Application for Occupancy 140
16 Agreement to End Tenancy 147
17 Letter to Tenants re: Property Sale 168
18 Real Estate Agent and Tenant Understanding Agreement 169
TABLE
1 Neighbourhood Comparison 17

Sujets

• General
• Real estate
• General officer

Informations

• Publié par: Self-Counsel Press
• Date de parution: 01 septembre 2020
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781770407725
• Langue: English

Extrait

Landlording in Canada Kit
Michael Drouillard, JD
Self-Counsel Press (a division of) International Self-Counsel Press Ltd. USA Canada

Copyright © 2020

International Self-Counsel Press All rights reserved.
Contents

Cover

Title Page

INTRODUCTION

PART 1: BEFORE PLACING THE “FOR RENT” AD


Chapter 1: PREPARING FOR A NEW TENANCY

Is Your Rental Ready for Viewing?

What are Some Common Basics Tenants Expect out of a Rental?

Renovations That Pay for Themselves

Chapter 2: SECONDARY SUITES: PREVENTING PROBLEMS BEFORE THEY START

Excessive Sound Transfer

Sharing Laundry

Ambiguous Boundaries Between Exclusive-Use and Common Areas

Property Maintenance and Secondary Suites

Payment of Utilities

Overwhelmed? You Don’t Need to Be!

Chapter 3: HOW TO DETERMINE RENTAL VALUE

TABLE 1: NEIGHBOURHOOD COMPARISON

How Do Pet or Smoking Restrictions Affect Rental Value?

I’ve Determined Market Value for My Rental Property, but What Do I Do in a Weak Rental Market?

Furnished Rentals

Chapter 4: LANDLORDING ESSENTIAL: MEMBERSHIP IN A LANDLORD ASSOCIATION

Chapter 5: INSURANCE

Types of Insurance

Liability Insurance

Chapter 6: KNOW THE LAW — AT LEAST KNOW THE BASICS

Human Rights Legislation

Privacy Law

Never Accept Tenancy Law Advice from Your Tenant

Chapter 7: START YOUR TENANCY ON THE RIGHT FOOT WITH THE RIGHT FORMS

The Application Form

SAMPLE 1: RESIDENTIAL TENANCY APPLICATION

Receipt Book

Other Forms Required by Your Strata/Condominium Corporation

Other Legal Forms Required by Your Province

Move-In/Move-Out Inspection Form

Proof of Authority to Rent the Property

The Rental Agreement

Rental Agreements and Secondary Suites

Month-to-Month Agreements versus Fixed-Term Leases

Other Important Clauses

PART 2: HOW TO FIND A GREAT TENANT

Chapter 8: PLACING THE “FOR RENT” AD

The Newspaper Classified Ad

What Should Be in the Ad?

Placing Your “For Rent” Ad Online

Chapter 9: AN INTRODUCTION TO TELEPHONE SCREENING

How to Prevent No-Show Appointments

Chapter 10: SHOWING THE HOME AND CLOSING THE DEAL

Stay Safe!

Getting the Application Signed

What if the Applicant Refuses to Give His or Her Social Insurance Number?

Stop Good Tenants from Looking Elsewhere after Filling Out Your Application

Chapter 11: MINIMIZING YOUR RISK: EFFECTIVE TENANT APPLICATION ANALYSIS

The Initial Review of the Application Form

The Credit Report and Why It Means So Much

Secondary Screening Measures

Tenant Applications That Are Difficult to Assess

Let’s Put Theory into Practice!

Case Study #1: Renting Out a Basement Suite

Case Study #2: Renting Out a New Townhouse

Chapter 12: WHAT DO YOU DO IF YOU CAN’T FIND A TENANT THAT MEETS YOUR REQUIREMENTS?

How Does Your Rental Show?

Is It Overpriced?

Incentives, Marketing, and Other Potential Issues

Never Lower Your Standards

Chapter 13: HOW TO REJECT A TENANT APPLICATION

Learn from the Master of Rejection: The Bank

Rejected Applications and Application Deposits

My Final Word on Discrimination

Chapter 14: HOW TO ACCEPT A TENANT: WHAT TO DO FROM THE FIRST MEETING TO MOVE-IN DAY

What to Do When You Call the Accepted Applicant

What to Do at the Meeting with Your Newly Accepted Tenant

Move-In Day

Success!

PART 3: AFTER THE TENANT MOVES IN

Chapter 15: PROPERTY MAINTENANCE MADE EASY

Property Maintenance for Small Rental Properties

Preventive Maintenance

What If the Tenant Wants to Renovate the Home, or Offers to Perform Repairs (with the Landlord Paying the Cost of Labour and Materials)?

What about Emergency Repairs?

What If the Tenant Is Locked out of the Home? Is This an Emergency?

What If the Tenant Is Unreasonable about Repairs?

Want a Good Tenant to Stay for Many Years?

Chapter 16: EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT VACATING TENANTS

Insist on a Legal Notice to Vacate

Move-Out Procedures You Need to Know

The Move-Out Inspection Report and Returning the Security Deposit

Abandoned Property

PART 4: HOW TO PROTECT YOURSELF

Chapter 17: WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT SERVING DOCUMENTS

Are You Using the Correct Legal Document?

Did You Fill Out the Form Correctly?

How Should You Serve the Document?

How Will You Prove the Document Was Served?

Chapter 18: HOW TO ENFORCE TIMELY RENT PAYMENTS EACH AND EVERY MONTH

Common Misconceptions about Rent

Accepting a Partial Rent Payment

Your Tenant Didn’t Pay the Rent by the Deadline Specified in the Eviction Notice. Now He or She Is Offering to Pay the Rent in Full. Should You Accept?

When In Doubt about a Rent Cheque, Get It Certified!

Repeated Late Rent Payments: A Cause for Eviction

Chapter 19: MAKE YOUR TENANT PLAY BY THE RULES (OF YOUR RENTAL AGREEMENT)

Anatomy of a Warning Letter

Unauthorized Pets

Unauthorized Occupants

SAMPLE 2: APPLICATION FOR OCCUPANCY

Assignments and Subletting

Noisy and Disruptive Tenants

If the Tenant Seriously Damages the Property

Expedited Eviction for Causing Substantial Damage

Illegal Activity

Marijuana Grow Operations

Chapter 20: I SERVED AN EVICTION NOTICE AND NOTHING HAPPENED. WHAT NOW?

Should You Retain a Lawyer?

Strategies That Could Compel a Tenant to Leave While You Continue to Pursue Eviction through the Legal System

Common Mistakes Landlords Make in Court and How to Avoid Them

Chapter 21: WHEN ALL ELSE FAILS: BRINGING IN THE BAILIFF

“Soft” Evictions

Executing the Writ

PART 5: MORE ESSENTIALS FOR LANDLORDS

Chapter 22: GOOD PROPERTY MANAGER, BAD PROPERTY MANAGER …

What to Look for

Chapter 23: THE NECESSITY OF RENT INCREASES

Chapter 24: SELLING TENANT-OCCUPIED PROPERTY

Choose Your Real Estate Agent Wisely

Avoid Having to Serve Legal Notice for Each and Every Showing

Getting the Ball Rolling with the Sale of Your Rental

What if the Tenant Starts to Become Uncooperative?

What if the Tenant Makes False and Misleading Statements about the Property to Turn Off Prospective Buyers?

What Happens When You Receive Your First Offer?

DOWNLOAD KIT

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

NOTICE TO READERS

Self-Counsel Press thanks you for purchasing this ebook.
INTRODUCTION

A key premise of Landlording in Canada is that correct tenant screening means almost everything to the small landlord. Much of this book is dedicated to successful tenant selection and teaching you how to assess a tenancy application. For instance, many of us have heard that “credit checks are a must.” But how do we access credit information? How do we interpret it? Can you simply rely on the credit score? These questions, and many others, will be answered here.
It is one thing to learn the theory behind successful tenant screening and another to put it into practice. To make your learning curve a little less steep, included are sample case study tenant applications based on actual applications I have received as a property manager. You’ll be challenged to find as many problems with the applications as you can, and to make a decision to reject or accept the prospective tenant. Ultimately, you will learn how to make an informed decision without even meeting the applicant face-to-face.
Some inexperienced landlords pick good tenants on their first or second try without any real screening. These landlords may claim their gut feelings led them to make the right decision. In fact, they got lucky. This book shows you how to take luck out of the equation, by systematically evaluating a prospective tenant’s financial qualifications. No tenant screening system is risk-free, but the right system can lower your risk of selecting a bad tenant.
You won’t find chapters and chapters of discussion about subjects such as insurance and bookkeeping here. Maintaining adequate insurance on your rental and keeping good financial records is important, but what is far more important right now is that you learn how to objectively analyze a tenant application in order to minimize your risk. After all, what good is an efficient accounting system when there is zero income coming in because you have a poorly screened tenant not paying rent?
Tenancy laws change constantly, and they can vary quite significantly province-by-province, but t