Rental agreements

7. Landlords' responsibilities

You have certain responsibilities to your tenants. Some of them are so important that the rental officer can terminate the tenancy or award damages against you if you don’t do them. If you are having trouble meeting your responsibilities to your tenant, it is best to talk to him or her about the situation. Usually, the problems can be worked out.

• You have to treat the tenant’s deposits as trust money and pay interest when the deposit is returned. (s.16 and 17)

• You have to do an inspection at the start and at the end of the tenancy and give the tenant an opportunity to participate. (s.15 and 17.1)

• You have to return all of the tenant’s deposits unless you are making a claim for damage or unpaid rent. (s.18(3), (4), (7), (8), (9) and (10))

• You can’t claim any of the security deposit or pet security deposit to cover damage to the unit unless you do an entry inspection report and an exit inspection report and give a copy of the inspection reports to the tenant. You can use the entry and exit inspection report forms that are available at the rental office or online.

• You have to allow political canvassing in the building. (s.29)

• You have to keep the building in a good state of repair and follow all health, safety, maintenance and occupancy standards required by law (s.30)

• You cannot interfere with “vital services”; things like heat, fuel, electricity, gas, hot and cold water and any other public utility. This is the case even if the vital services are not included in the rent. (s.33)

• You can’t unreasonably disturb the tenant. (s.34)

• You can’t seize the tenant’s personal property. (s.3)

• You have to give your contact information to the tenant. (s.36)

• You have to provide a copy of the Residential Tenancies Act to the tenant if he or she wants to see it. (s.37)

• If the residential complex has more than five rental units, you have to post a directory with information on any tenants who might need special help in an emergency. (s.38)

• You have to make sure the building and rental premises are reasonably secure. (s.40)

• If the tenant tells you another tenant is disruptive, you have to deal with the problem. (s.44)

• You can’t change the locks unless the tenant agrees to it. (s.25 (1) and (2))

• If you need to enter a unit to do your work as the landlord, you have to obtain the tenant’s permission or give the tenant 24 hours’ written notice unless there is an emergency. You also have to do the work during reasonable hours between 8:00AM and 8:00PM. (s.26 and 27)

• If the unit is a single building, like a house, you and the tenant can agree that the tenant will be responsible for maintenance and making sure that there are no health or safety problems. (s.31(1))

If you are having trouble meeting your responsibilities to your tenant, it is best to talk to him or her about the situation. Usually, the problems can be worked out.