Landlording in Canada

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