Know Your Rights and Duties
It is important for a landlord to know what his or her rights and responsibilities are under the law. This section outlines the most common areas where landlords find it necessary to have legal advice.
Lease agreement
The lease agreement always controls the agreements between the landlord and tenant so it is important to make sure all contingencies are covered. The lease agreement should set out exactly what the landlord is responsible to maintain, check with local ordinances to determine if there are additional rights the tenant has by statute. The landlord needs to understand their obligations and when they need to call a professional to handle certain issues.
Drawings and filing of a complaint against the tenant
A landlord has a right to have rent paid. If the tenant does not pay the rent when it is due the landlord has the right to evict the tenant. It is recommended to file for an eviction as soon as possible . When the matter is in court a good judge will run through all the defenses the tenant has against the landlord. Many tenants do not understand that the lease agreement is a contract and that they must abide by the terms of the contract or suffer the consequences. Depending on the judge, many tenants can actually negotiate with the landlord to avoid eviction and allow for them to continue living on in the premises.
Rent Control
In jurisdictions where rent control exists the controls on the landlords right to raise the rent is governed by the ordinance. So if there is no right to raise the rent, the landlord must abide by the ordinance. Keeping track of the dates listed in the ordinance is key to keeping a rental unit legal. Many landlords fail to keep up with the ordinance and forget to keep upgrading the rental unit to meet code and therefore are in violation of the city ordinance. Failure to comply with the ordinance may give the tenant the right to sue the landlord for damages.
Locate Free Legal Aid
There are a number of sources where landlords can obtain free legal advice. Legal aid organizations, which provide free legal counsel to individuals who meet certain low-income requirements, are available at both the state and national level. Online forums and chat groups provide a place for landlords to connect and discuss common issues. These forums are especially useful for those who require quick legal advice for urgent issues. Many local landlord associations provide access to free legal counsel to association members as part of their membership benefits. Similar to legal aid, these associations may require individuals to meet income qualifications.
Understand Eviction Laws
When evicting a tenant for nonpayment of rent or other alleged violations of the lease, many landlords are unaware that mistakes in the eviction process can result in future liability. If you word an eviction notice incorrectly or do not wait the proper amount of time before starting a formal court action, you may be required to give the tenant more time under the lease to cure the violation – which may leave you without a legal remedy even if the tenant is in breach of the lease.
With so many forms available on the Internet, some landlords may simply copy and paste a notice or court document and serve it on the tenant. This practice, itself without penalty, can result in significant headaches for a landlord when the tenant seeks dismissal of the eviction action based on improper notice. For example, if the eviction notice fails to tell the tenant how much rent is due, the tenant can easily argue that he or she is not in default and should not be evicted. Even if the landlord waited the required amount of time between sending the notice and filing a court action, the court may dismiss the case for improper notice.
Free legal advisors can assist landlords by:
Landlords who take advantage of free legal services and consult with a free legal advisor before starting an eviction action reduce their risk of a lengthy delay and make it less likely that they will have to begin the eviction process over again.
Remedy Rent and Lease Concerns
One of the most critical aspects of renting out a property is ensuring that the rent is paid on time, and other agreements concerning the lease agreement are maintained. When it comes to paying rent, many landlords think that they could do without a lease entirely as long as the tenant knows they must pay rent by a specific day. However, many costs associated with lawsuits could be rendered unnecessary if rent were paid at the beginning of every month.
What happens when a tenant doesn’t pay rent on time? Or what if you need to terminate a lease? Your free legal aid channels can help you determine what you should do to uphold the contracts between you and your tenants.
Late Rent
If your tenant is late on rent, depending on your state, you should be able to charge them a late fee. Many states have monthly maximum fees, and this should be stated in your lease agreement. The same is true of early termination fees, which usually will not exceed the amount of rent for one more month.
Lease Termination
Terminating a lease involves many possible complications. First, there are two types of leases: fixed-term and an indefinite lease, or one that does not specify the end date. A fixed-term lease does not have to be renewed as long as the terms are upheld until the date specified. Indefinite leases are, by all practical standards, ongoing and indefinite. Again, a lease must be upheld in order for it to be carried out efficiently. Although the duration of a lease is important, it’s not the only factor. A lease also outlines the responsibilities of both the landlord and the tenant. If either party violates the terms of the lease, such as the landlord not providing water to the premises or the tenant playing music after midnight, the party in violation of the lease is in breach of contract. In the case of a lease violation by the tenant, the landlord has the right to terminate the lease. In the case of a landlord breach, the tenant may not be satisfied with the violation(s) and may claim constructive eviction, terminate the lease and seek damages for the breaches.
Rent Increase
Raising rent is another sticky situation. Tenants are often nervous about a rent increase, even if the increase is legitimate due to inflation and a rise in living costs. Increasing your rent will likely depend on whether or not you have a lease in place. If you do, it is best to consult with your state landlords’ organization for the regulations in your area.
Resolve Damage to Property and Repairs
The law provides for guidelines concerning property damage, repairs, compensation, and insurance coverage for damages caused by the tenant to the owner. The lease governs the tenant’s responsibilities and often contains restrictions on pets, guests, etc. and also discusses the balance of responsibilities between landlord and tenant. If the tenant creates a situation in which they are responsible for repairs, such as bringing a pet without the landlord’s knowledge, and/or fail to compensate the landlord for the property damage, then the landlord may have a couple remedies. A demand for payment for the damages should be sent to the tenant by the landlord setting a thirty-day deadline to pay the amount of the damages. If the tenant fails to pay, then the landlord can sue the tenant for the damages , plus interest.
If the tenant damages the property without having the permission of the landlord, the landlord also has the right to take an action for possession based on breach of the lease terms. The landlord may serve a notice on the tenant demanding that the tenant remove the pet and also provide a rent abatement as the apartment cannot be occupied due to the tenant’s unreasonable interference.
A more detailed explanation of all of these issues, including an analysis of whether the tenant can be suspended for the time the apartment cannot be occupied, how a tenant can be evicted for causing a disturbance, as well as advice regarding applications for money judgments, forcible entry and detainer judgments for breach of lease, will be discussed in a separate article.
Negotiate Security Deposit Regulations
A security deposit is money that tenants will commonly pay to a landlord to compensate the landlord for any damages or unpaid rent. In Saskatchewan, landlords are required to pay interest on security deposits following the rate set out by the Ministry of Justice, which is currently 0.02% per month (0.25% per year). Tenants can also ask their landlord to place the security deposit into a separate interest-bearing account. Some important considerations related to security deposits include:
If a tenant pays a security deposit, but then falls behind in their rent, the landlord must pay the tenant interest on the amount. However, if a tenant has fallen behind on rent, a landlord is allowed to keep a tenant’s security deposit.
It’s important to note that a landlord cannot collect more than one month’s rent for a damage deposit and only one month’s rent for an advance rent deposit (aka last month’s rent deposit). Many landlords will charge two different deposits when a tenant moves in to a rental unit, one for damage and one for rent. In order for this two-deposit system to work, the tenant must give permission. We often see that this permission is included in the standard lease agreement.
When a tenant vacates a rental unit and they have paid a security deposit, the landlord must ask the tenant in writing to either replace their security deposit with interest or repay them the interest and deduct it from the security deposit.
If the landlord refuses to return the security deposit plus interest, the tenant may file a complaint with a rental mediation office (for example, in Regina, Saskatchewan, there is a rental mediation office in the basement of City Hall). A mediation officer will decide if the money should be repaid to the tenant and whether any amount can be deducted from the security deposit. The mediator will check if there are receipts showing the cost of the repair items and that the items were not broken due to normal wear. The mediator may recommend a binding arbitration meeting to settle the dispute. A mediator can only find against the tenant for half of the security deposit claimed. If the maximum amount of the security deposit is claimed, the tenant may request another hearing date with the mediator to settle the matter, either through another mediation or an arbitrator.
In order to protect your rights in these types of disputes, we recommend using free legal advice through Legal Aid’s civil and family law telephone advice lines.
Manage Tenants’ Privacy, Entry and Access Entitlements
Another significant challenge that landlords often face is dealing with tenant privacy and access rights. When a tenant moves into a rental property, they are often under the assumption that the landlord cannot enter their home without express permission, and that their rights to privacy will be respected. While this is true to some extent, it grants them a false sense of security, since landlords are permitted to enter the premises for a variety of reasons, sometimes without even giving the tenant 24 hours’ notice.
For example, your rights as a landlord allow you to enter the property when:
Under the Ontario Residential Tenancies Act, landlords can’t abuse their right of entry by knocking on the door and insisting on entering the moment they have some "business" to attend to . It helps to work out a fairly specific schedule with your tenants, rather than just trying to call or text them at the last minute and hoping for the best. Give them a friendly heads-up.
Landlords are also expected to give tenants written notice every year that rental dates are coming up for renewal, a fact that may come as a surprise to many new property owners. Tenants must be notified of any rent increase 90 days in advance of renewal. For other major changes, landlords must serve a notice of at least 30 days. New laws are coming into place regarding blanket smoking bans that will be part of the lease, which can be more difficult to implement.
Fortunately, free legal counsel can often provide valuable assistance in providing property owners with sound advice on how to appropriately navigate these sometimes-sensitive issues.
