Terrible landlord

[Ellen Cardinal]

I found out today my landlord has probably been entering my studio apartment without my permission. I'm leaving at the end of the month and I understand he has to show my apartment but legally he does have to give notice. My work meeting was cancelled and I happened to be home today for a longer lunch when he knocked just once then began to unlock the door. He looked surprised to see me and mentioned something about the receptionist not being able to talk to me in the morning about a last minute showing. My door has two locks. One of them automatically locks when you leave but the top lock needs to be turned with a key. I usually lock it on my way out but I noticed a couple times earlier this week that it hadn't been locked when I came home but had brushed it off as me being forgetful. I left later in the afternoon today to meet up with a friend for coffee and I had left a light on. When I came back the light had been turned off. It is illegal and so frustrating that he thinks he can just waltz into my apartment. What if something had been stolen? I think I just have to use my old laptop and set it to record the apartment door while I'm away. This is not something I should have to deal with but if I catch him pulling this again I'm going straight to the police and tenant board.

[walkonby]

@Ellen Cardinal that whole scenario is too creepy! I hope you catch him on surveillance!

[dyalect]

Time to get a web cam with motion detector. That is creep AF.

[bhlombardy]

@Ellen Cardinal that whole scenario is too creepy! I hope you catch him on surveillance!

...and post it on YouTube and social media.

It might make it a bit harder for him to rent the place after you're gone if prospective tenants know that he comes and goes as he sees fit.

(that's the passive-aggressive in me, coming out)

[ashp]

You can let him know that something went missing in your apartment and you then installed cameras. He will ensure that he gives you 24 hour notice every time he enters your apartment.

[alex78]

Sections 26 and 27 of the Residential Tenancies Act lay out the parameters for a landlord to enter a unit 'without notice'. '...if the landlord and the tenant have agreed the tenancy will be terminated or one of them has given notice of termination to the other, the landlord may enter the unit to show it to prospective tenants between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. and, before entering, the landlord informs or makes a reasonable effort to inform the tenant of the landlord's intention to enter. A landlord must make reasonable efforts, depending upon the facts and circumstances of each case, to give the tenant advance notice in order to permit the tenant to be prepared for entry into the unit by the landlord to show the unit to prospective tenants.'

In short--'reasonable' has been deemed to be your landlord saying 'I will be showing the property', in the past, according to RTA decisions. While you may not like it, your landlord has every right to rent the premises and if you want to firm up what you consider notice--I would suggest you provide enough contacts so that your landlord would be able to reach you.

[francine1985]

Sections 26 and 27 of the Residential Tenancies Act lay out the parameters for a landlord to enter a unit 'without notice'. '...if the landlord and the tenant have agreed the tenancy will be terminated or one of them has given notice of termination to the other, the landlord may enter the unit to show it to prospective tenants between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. and, before entering, the landlord informs or makes a reasonable effort to inform the tenant of the landlord's intention to enter. A landlord must make reasonable efforts, depending upon the facts and circumstances of each case, to give the tenant advance notice in order to permit the tenant to be prepared for entry into the unit by the landlord to show the unit to prospective tenants.'

In short--'reasonable' has been deemed to be your landlord saying 'I will be showing the property', in the past, according to RTA decisions. While you may not like it, your landlord has every right to rent the premises and if you want to firm up what you consider notice--I would suggest you provide enough contacts so that your landlord would be able to reach you.

That really depends ends on what province you live in. Some provinces you still have to be given 24 hours notice unless it is an emergency situation for example fire damage, flooding... we once rented from a place where one of the units had a minor fire that singed the walls of that unit and the landlord had to let the fire department into our unit to check. Our place was completely fine and we were able to stay in the building as the damage was some wall singing but no structural damage at all. The he landlord told us as soon as we got home even though we wouldn’t have even know if they hadn’t mentioned it to us.

[bhlombardy]

I would suggest you provide enough contacts so that your landlord would be able to reach you.

I dont know this specifically about Ellen's experience, but it doesnt sound like a reasonable effort was made. The fact that he said "my assistant wasnt able to talk to you." Tough. Either your receptionist, or you have to talk to the tenant. ...and for a "last minute showing" ?? -- there should be no such thing as a "last minute showing" because that doesnt allow for reasonable notice. Regardless that you gave your notice to leave, if you are still paying for rent you havent waived your right to your privacy. He may have the right to show it, but not anytime he damn well pleases, and not without notice. As Francine mentions, the rules regarding how much notice is given might vary from province to province, but entering without notice is never acceptable.

That said, (and again, without the ability to speak for Ellen's scenario) MOST people in 2019 have a mobile phone that they have with them 24/7. Even if they cant answer it, then a high volume of those same people also have voice mail... and I'd wager that close to 99.94% of those same people can receive text messages... and ALL using the same phone #. When I am expecting an important contact, that's the ONE number I give them. Then there's no confusion as to what # they should be contacting me on. If you give them too many options for points of contact and then you allow them to have additional excuses "oh, i texted you at this #"... or "I left a message with someone at your work #...you didnt get the message?" etc.

Call, voice mail, or text... That should be sufficient enough opportunity to advise the tenant: ... all using the same phone number and you remove any excuses that they tried to contact you at an alternate number. Simple.


As the landlord implies that they didnt ahve time to contact her... I say, that if you can take the time to answer a phone call from a prosective tenant, then you have time to call your current one. The new tenant will respect the fact if you go back and say "I cant contact the current tenant, but as soon as I can, I'll let you know"
.

[Ellen Cardinal]

@alex78, @francine1985 @bhlombardy

My landlord and the receptionist have my email, cell number and drop a paper notice at my door for general notices. I had texted them two days prior asking about a parcel that had been dropped off so it's not like they didn't have my contact information. Furthermore, I walk past the receptionist every morning when I leave. There was no mention that he would be showing my apartment at any time/ in any of our past communications.

[abbasgirl]

Come to think of it, I remember being told when I was looking for an apartment that they could only show me one of the available units in the complex that day because they hadn't given notice to the other tenant. So I think that's pretty standard.

[crisparkle]

I think you should immideately change the apartment.

[Shwa Girl]

https://sytereitz.com/wp-content/upl...12/05/Pail.jpg

[Ellen Cardinal]

Shwa Girl that is hilarious.

Update: Fortunately, my landlord has decided to keep me in the loop this time. Unfortunately, he/his staff just send an email on weekdays saying they will be showing the apartment 10AM - 5PM the next weekday. And. they. have. I was home all day yesterday and 8 potential renters dropped by every 30-45 minutes or so. It's been pretty much the same other days as well. They unfortunately don't re-lock the apartment in between showings. I've kept my old laptop recording just in case something goes missing but really at this point legally my hands are tied. At this point I'm just done with this nonsense and I'll just have to put up with it for another week or so. The problem (on their end) is mostly students are renting at this time of year and the new rent price is ridiculous. It's $950/month for basic wifi, utilities and rent for one person, $1050 monthly for 2 people for an apartment that is less than 200 sq ft. It is located in a small city (far outside the GTA area) and other places downtown are renting for $600-850/month for larger rooms with utilities.

[Shwa Girl]

Shwa Girl that is hilarious.

Update: Fortunately, my landlord has decided to keep me in the loop this time. Unfortunately, he/his staff just send an email on weekdays saying they will be showing the apartment 10AM - 5PM the next weekday. And. they. have. I was home all day yesterday and 8 potential renters dropped by every 30-45 minutes or so. It's been pretty much the same other days as well. They unfortunately don't re-lock the apartment in between showings. I've kept my old laptop recording just in case something goes missing but really at this point legally my hands are tied. At this point I'm just done with this nonsense and I'll just have to put up with it for another week or so. The problem (on their end) is mostly students are renting at this time of year and the new rent price is ridiculous. It's $950/month for basic wifi, utilities and rent for one person, $1050 monthly for 2 people for an apartment that is less than 200 sq ft. It is located in a small city (far outside the GTA area) and other places downtown are renting for $600-850/month for larger rooms with utilities.

glad to hear the positive update