Landlord rights: What to do if a tenant trashes the place

Landlords concerned about trashed properties Landlords have certain rights when tenants leave them with hefty repair bills. Colton Wiens reports.

A realtor in Saskatchewan is raising questions about what rights landlords have when dealing with bad tenants after his client was forced to foot the $5,000 bill to repair a damaged unit.

Craig Adam, a realtor in Regina, Sask., recently posted a video to Facebook where he takes viewers through the home of one of his clients. The video shows doors and cupboard doors had been completely ripped off, the washing machine had been broken, and one of the rooms had “F--- you b----” written on the wall.

His clients, who live in Australia, are now looking to sell the home because they’re fed up with tenants trashing the place.

"Tenants aren't exactly what you might think they might end up being and so that becomes a part of the problem,” Adam told CTV Regina.

Adam is still waiting on a quote for how much the damage will cost his clients, but he estimates it will be approximately $5,000. He says a lot of times landlords have to pay for the majority of the bill.

"Their only recourse a lot of times is the damage deposit,” he said. “When the damage deposit is much less than what the damage occurs, that becomes very frustrating.”

If the damage costs more than the deposit, landlords either have to foot the bill or head to a provincial tenancy board. The tenancy laws vary in each province and landlords often complain that the rules favour the tenant.

"Landlords just have to eat the cost…and costs are going up,” Adam said.

If landlords are left to cover the repair costs, it often means higher rent for their next tenant or a decision to leave the rental business entirely.

In Saskatchewan, provincial mediation with the Office of Residential Tenancies can award a landlord up to $30,000. If the issue is still not resolved, it can then go to Court of Queen's Bench for Saskatchewan.

Nadine Johnson, manager of programs and operations with the Provincial Mediation Board, said even after a court decision, issues can arise in getting a tenant to cover costs.

"Does the tenant have a means of income or assets for the sheriff’s office to seize?” she asked.

In Ontario, landlords with troublesome tenants--specifically ones not paying rent-- can apply to terminate a lease with the Landlord and Tenant Board, but if the eviction order is granted, the tenant has an automatic right to appeal, which has sometimes allowed tenants to live rent-free for months.

In Alberta, the Residential Tenancy Dispute Resolution Service bills itself as a “faster, less formal and less expensive” way of resolving tenant issues. It is capable of accepting court-binding applications up to $50,000.

In 2016 the Tenant Verification Service launched a database of bad tenants. The program works to show high and low-risk tenants and allows landlords to report any issues they’ve had with certain renters.

To avoid renting to a bad tenant, some tips include conducting thorough background checks, making sure all important communication has a paper trail and to have a move-in inspection to set a baseline of the unit’s condition.

With a report from CTV Regina’s Colton Wiens