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Adfitional tenant - what can I do?

Jason Tomassini

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Dec 7, 2016
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Recently a new tenant signed a lease with me and moved in. The next day a second person moved in with her. Do I have any recourse to ask the person to leave or raise the rent to cover additional costs?

The lease asks for all people living in the unit and the second person wasn't mentioned.

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Tina Myrvang

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All person's living in the unit need to be on the lease. They have broken their existing lease already.

Not a good start as a new tenant......
 

Sherilynn

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It's always a good idea to post the province in which the property is located, as the rules vary.

No, you cannot raise the rent for a second person because there are rules governing when and how rents can be raised. However, you may be able to increase your utility billing if your utilities are on a separate agreement as an addendum to the lease.

As Tina mentioned, the tenant has likely violated her lease. How you handle the situation depends on the province. In Alberta, you would issue an eviction notice to the unauthorized occupant. If she doesn't leave by the eviction date, then you would file for termination of the tenancy at the RTDRS.

When you present your tenant with the eviction notice for the unauthorized occupant, you could give her the option of having the occupant submit an application form, and agree that you would allow the occupant if a) the application shows she is a suitable tenant, b) the lease is redrafted to include her, and c) they agree to a different rate (rent or utilities).

Again, the 'different rate' would depend on what is allowed in your province. One could argue it is a new tenancy with a new lease and therefore should be allowed to be at a new rent, but I doubt many adjudicators would see it that way. That being said, if the tenant's option is for her to sign a different lease at a different rate or be evicted, then she might choose the former.
 

Tina Myrvang

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Great!!! I'm very happy to hear this, no action required!
 
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