When Good Landlords Go Bad…

We’ve all heard of terrible landlords. Whether it’s refusing to make repairs, a passive aggressive way of communication (or just aggressive), or blatantly obnoxious unannounced visits to your apartment, you decide that something needs to be done. So what options are there?

Communicate with Your Landlord

The first thing you should do is call or email your landlord/property manager to try and schedule a meeting. This meeting will allow both parties to understand how the actions of 1 party may be impacting the other. Most issues can be worked through amicably.

Organising Your Own Repairs

The Residential Tenancies Act does allow you to organise urgent repairs if they are not organised by your property manager or landlord within a reasonable time. If your hot water system is broken and you reported it months ago, you may have the right to repair it, and seek compensation from the owner.

Issue a Breach Notice

Taking it to the extreme, you can issue a 14 day breach notice to the landlord to rectify the issue at hand. A judge can order your landlord to make urgent repairs, pay you money if you’ve suffered any harm, appoint a person to clean up your apartment and make the repairs as needed and even fine the landlord if the landlord has breached the Residential Tenancies Act.

Again, keep in mind that the best and easiest course is to settle the matter personally with the property manager/landlord. If they continually make unannounced visits to your property, don’t be afraid to confront them about it. Typically, landlords check in 3-4 times annually, any more than this, and you have the right to complain. If they refuse to make repairs, ask nicely before warning them that you’re willing to take additional measures to get your property up to standard. It’s best to be diplomatic, but if that fails, you do have options to solve the situation.