1 yr Lease - $$$ Back at end of term

[Merriora]

Hello

We are taking possession of our new home at the end of the month which will contain a suite. I am considering the idea of allowing 1 small pet and therefore want to help ensure the person stays for the term of their lease to negate any possible pet damage. I do not believe that an additional Pet Deposit is allowed in BC, but please correct me if I am wrong.

I am planning to offer the following on a 1-year lease....$600 cash back

Does anyone see any legal issues with the following? Would you add any additional terms or conditions?

Sign a 1 year lease; receive $600 (six hundred dollars) back at the end of the lease. Upon completion of a 1-year lease, lease will default to a month-to-month agreement.

Terms and conditions apply including, but not limited to:
- No late rent payments for 1 year
- No significant damage caused to suite.
(Example: pet stained carpets, broken windows, and broken doors)
- No loud parties, music or disturbances requiring police attendance
- Remove all pet feces on a weekly basis from your designating outside area
(if you own a pet)
- Park within specified parking areas outside of cul-de-sac *
- Ensure friends park outside of cul-de-sac *

* Parking terms will require 5 written warnings before taking affect.

If any of the above terms are not met, the $600 cash back will not be paid out.

Cash back will be paid out:
- The day you move out and receive your damage deposit
OR
- Applied on a monthly basis ($100/month rent reduction for 6 months) starting on the 13th Month

Additional Terms and Conditions may apply at time of signing.


Thanks for any feedback you may have.

 

[randy]

QUOTE (Merriora @ Mar 8 2008, 03:03 PM) Hello

We are taking possession of our new home at the end of the month which will contain a suite. I am considering the idea of allowing 1 small pet and therefore want to help ensure the person stays for the term of their lease to negate any possible pet damage. I do not believe that an additional Pet Deposit is allowed in BC, but please correct me if I am wrong.

I am planning to offer the following on a 1-year lease....$600 cash back

Does anyone see any legal issues with the following? Would you add any additional terms or conditions?

Sign a 1 year lease; receive $600 (six hundred dollars) back at the end of the lease. Upon completion of a 1-year lease, lease will default to a month-to-month agreement.

Terms and conditions apply including, but not limited to:
- No late rent payments for 1 year
- No significant damage caused to suite.
(Example: pet stained carpets, broken windows, and broken doors)
- No loud parties, music or disturbances requiring police attendance
- Remove all pet feces on a weekly basis from your designating outside area
(if you own a pet)
- Park within specified parking areas outside of cul-de-sac *
- Ensure friends park outside of cul-de-sac *

* Parking terms will require 5 written warnings before taking affect.

If any of the above terms are not met, the $600 cash back will not be paid out.

Cash back will be paid out:
- The day you move out and receive your damage deposit
OR
- Applied on a monthly basis ($100/month rent reduction for 6 months) starting on the 13th Month

Additional Terms and Conditions may apply at time of signing.


Thanks for any feedback you may have.


The only problem I see is with your $100 dollar discount if they stay. If you give them this $600 credit and give them a rent increase the next year they may feel riped off.

To tennant Thanks so much for staying the year here is your discount of $100 per month oh by the way the rent has to go up $100 or more

 

[Thomas Beyer]

check BC landlord-tenant act ..

rent control at end of year one may force you into s.th. you do not wish ..

tenants can complain to rentalsman in BC and you may be asked to relax some of your rules ..

in general though: I see nothing wrong here !

often we use a lease (in BC, AB and SK) where the rent states $900 and we give tenant a $100 rebate per month they pay on time, so they pay $800. if they are late, they pay late fees AND the lease stays at $900 .. forever going forward .. and rent control 4% increase is based on $900 (not $800) ... a VERY powerful tool to collect rents on time !!!

 

[Merriora]

QUOTE (thomasbeyer2000 @ Mar 8 2008, 04:19 PM) check BC landlord-tenant act ..

rent control at end of year one may force you into s.th. you do not wish ..

tenants can complain to rentalsman in BC and you may be asked to relax some of your rules ..

in general though: I see nothing wrong here !

often we use a lease (in BC, AB and SK) where the rent states $900 and we give tenant a $100 rebate per month they pay on time, so they pay $800. if they are late, they pay late fees AND the lease stays at $900 .. forever going forward .. and rent control 4% increase is based on $900 (not $800) ... a VERY powerful tool to collect rents on time !!!

Thanks for the replies.

Thomas: Would you be willing to share your lease that outlines the rebate?

Thank you

 

[invst4profit]

I don`t understand why you are concerned about your tenant breaking the 1 year lease. In BC are tenants allowed to do that.
I also do not understand why a incentive is necessary to keep tenants. They do not expect this and although a 2 tier system is good to incourage rent on time a cash back at the end is simply giving your money away for no reason.
Remember you are doing them a favour by renting to them in the first place and you will not likley get any favours in return. In the event they decide to break the lease the 600 will not be an incentive to stay somewhere they do not want to be.
Keep your money, don`t complicate your life by renting to people with pets (renters with pets can be a huge PITA) and screen your tenants really well.

 

[Merriora]

QUOTE (invst4profit @ Mar 9 2008, 05:54 AM) I don`t understand why you are concerned about your tenant breaking the 1 year lease. In BC are tenants allowed to do that.
I also do not understand why a incentive is necessary to keep tenants. They do not expect this and although a 2 tier system is good to incourage rent on time a cash back at the end is simply giving your money away for no reason.
Remember you are doing them a favour by renting to them in the first place and you will not likley get any favours in return. In the event they decide to break the lease the 600 will not be an incentive to stay somewhere they do not want to be.
Keep your money, don`t complicate your life by renting to people with pets (renters with pets can be a huge PITA) and screen your tenants really well.

Hello

Thanks for your feedback. From my experience, leases in the hot BC market are basically useless given the low vacancy rates. It is very easy to break a lease leaving it up to the landlord to prove financial hardship and inability to replace the tenant. Only if you can prove that you have been unable to re-rent the suite, can you request re-imbursement from the tenant after going through arbitration

As far as $50 back per month, it seems like a small price to pay (5-6%) to help ensure you have no issues or problems. I would think of it as cutting out the Property Manager fee for those tenants that don’t need to be managed. I would think that it would be a lot easier to give back money then to attempt to get late payment fee’s from someone that has already missed a payment.

And its true that I am doing them a favour by providing them with a nice and clean rental suite, but its also true that I have to live above them and potentially share part of the backyard with them. It’s also true that if they are great tenants and cause no issues, then they are helping to pay my mortgage while allowing me to be less stressed about renting and financials.

I agree with the pet comment. Chances are, I won’t rent to a person with pets, but I am keeping an open mind as it does truly depend on the person and pet. Luckily, I am renting a suite in a nicer area with results in people that care about their home and property. One person that I am considering has a small dog which she always takes with her and drops off at doggy daycare on days that she works.

In the end, we may not go for the rebate as we liked a young couple who is getting married and asked to simply pay $850 as that is what they are able to budget for. But others have liked the rebate idea and therefore has allowed us to ask a bit higher for rent with the potential of it being cheaper in the long run.

Once again, thank you for your responses. I truly value the advice and experience on this forum.