Eviction Notice Alberta
A tenancy agreement is the most important safeguard against long-term difficulties with renters and the law. This is the landlords’ duty to take the time and sit down with their prospective tenants to go over the lease agreement. In order to avoid false impressions, a landlord mustn’t presume that the renter has read the contract.
The landlord needs to ensure that the tenant fully comprehends the legal contract that they are entering into. Doing this, having each renter sign the contract, prevents anyone staying on the property from with the ability to refuse to know about or understand the conditions of the lease agreement. If you are confused about things to use in your tenant agreement, read 5 Things For An Iron Clad Rental Agreement here.
Common lease agreements are popular, but you may wish to include optional conditions that may also be beneficial. Alberta’s Residential Tenancies Act (RTA) does not give you the ability to evict tenants because of smoking or pets, however, a condition prohibiting smoking or pets can be included in the lease agreement. In the event the added clause is violated, the tenancy may be ended by applying to the Residential Tenancy Dispute Resolution Service (RTDTS), which is a quasi-judicial body that deals precisely with residential tenancy matters and is authorized to make binding decisions on claims up to $25,000.
If you do decide to allow smoking and/or pets inside your property, the Alberta government does permit landlords to charge a non-refundable charge the same as one month’s rent along with the damage down payment, which is also equivalent to one month’s rent.
If any segments are put into the agreement ensure you include a term stating, “The tenancy created by this agreement is governed by the Residential Tenancies Act and if there is a conflict between the agreement and the act, the act prevails.” And as with any province, it is advisable to get each renter to sign the lease agreement, in order that absolutely everyone residing in the exact property can be legally evicted if there is a problem.
When a tenant seriously damages the house and property or physically assaults you or someone else, you can promptly serve the tenant with a 24-hour eviction notice. The notice has to be in writing, be authorized by you or the agent, give the cause for eviction and state the time and date the tenancy ends. If the tenant breaches a condition in the contract by smoking or having a pet inside the property, for example, there’s a more complex legal process to comply with. In cases like this, you’ll be able to apply to the court or to the RTDTS to serve the tenant with a 14-day eviction notice.
The 14-day notice
The notice must include all of the same information that’s essential for the 24-hour notice. A 14-day notice, however, can be appealed by the tenant to the RTDTS. You, as the landlord, are not expected to state this directly on the notice, nor are you expected to inform the tenant concerning this.
If the tenant does appeal to the RTDTS, for instance, you ought to have an in-depth report outlining whatever breaches have actually been made, which includes a list of any situations or issues over the tenancy, together with a copy of the lease agreement and the affidavit.
To ensure that the eviction process goes easily for you it is recommended that landlords record incidents. If warnings have been provided, those ought to be documented. If they have grievances from other tenants, they should keep those on record and be presented as evidence. The judge or dispute officer handling the case will then either rule in favour of the tenant’s appeal or refuse it – in which case you’ll need to move to phase 2.
Moving forward
In many cases, a notice is all that’s required to solve the situation, but that’s not necessarily the case. The best-case situation is when the landlord issues the notice and the tenant decides to move. However, on many occasions, tenants know that the notice means there are another 14 days of free rent. They know that the landlord can’t do anything during the 14 days.
In the event the tenant has not appealed the notice and is still living in the unit, it is possible to go back to the court to obtain an order of possession. During this step, obtaining a judgment for any outstanding monies the tenant owes you, in addition to any costs incurred by the legal process is in the landlord’s interest. The problem is, however, that it can at times take a week to have your case heard in the courtroom, thereby giving the tenant another week of 100 % free rent.
Get Them Out
When the order of possession is granted, then you’re able to serve the tenant with it and direct him or her to leave by a selected day, which is normally 14 days from the time the order was served. In case the tenant still does not comply, then you can file the order with the clerk at the Court of Queen’s Bench, Alberta’s provincial court, and appeal for a writ of possession. As soon as the writ is issued, you’re able to employ a civil enforcement agency to remove the tenant.
The bailiff usually will change the locks on the units while the tenant may be out of the home. The bailiff will then allow any tenants residing on the property to gather their personal belongings if they agree to vacate the premises. Tenants normally should be aware that when a judgment is filed, it stays on the books for 10 years and can be renewed, thereby hurting their credit history and, of course, their capability to buy a home.
Non-payment of rent is almost identical to the eviction process followed by a 14-day notice. The main difference is this notice should also include the amount of rent due, any other rent which will become due throughout the notice period and a declaration proclaiming that the tenancy agreement isn’t going to be terminated if the tenant pays any outstanding amounts. Eliminating a step
In Alberta, a writ of possession still is necessary whenever a tenant has failed to obey an order of possession issued by the court. But that may soon change.
During the time of writing, a bill reforming the eviction process was in second reading at the Legislative Assembly of Alberta. The proposed law would eliminate the very last step of obtaining a writ of possession and enables landlords to employ a civil enforcement agency to evict tenants if they do not comply with the order of possession.
Edmonton Eviction Services is responsible and expert in all features of the eviction process in Alberta. Call us at 780-974-8427 and let us start the process today!