Is eviction part of breaking a lease?

[NathalieLiuHiller]

I have a tenant who I evicted for non-payment of rent. The judgement on RTDRS ruled that she has to leave the place on Nov 30, 2010 even though she pays all the rents due, which she did. It also said I am entitle to the RTDRS filing fee of $75. My lease agreement stipulates that late rents are fined $100 plus $25 for bounced checks. In addition to that, when she breaks the lease, we are entitle to $450.

My questions are:
1. Can I charge the $125 late fines to cover the $75 I am entitled to based on the judgement?
2. Since she got evicted and didn`t finish the term of the lease, is that the same as breaking the lease and can I charge her the $450 that is in the lease agreement?

Hope to get some advice as I do not want to be on hook for something that I shouldn`t have done. So far, the tenant doesn`t owe any rents anymore as I charged her first and last month`s rent in addition to damage deposit. That`s why when she tried to not pay rent, my immediately filing with RTDRS for eviction was not a worry for me since I had another one month`s rent left to cover the month she vacated.

Nathalie

 

[JimWhitelaw]

You can charge the late fines/fees, but they aren`t enforceable and RTDRS won`t give you a judgement for them. The $75 fee is enforceable and is part of your judgement. You can deduct it from the security deposit refund (if any).

Yes, an eviction is a breech of the lease agreement and you`re entitled to the $450 specified in your contract. I would just deduct those fees from the security deposit also. Make a fair accounting of the deposit, fines, damage etc, and refund the difference.

 

[kir]

Interesting,
I never had a ruling by a RTDRS Judge for the 75 dollar filing fees. The court clerk states it is very rare to be awarded the 75 dollar filing fee.
I never heard of a lease in Alberta charging first and last months rent. Am I missing something here???

Also, if the renter paid up, why force them out?

Kir.

 

[NathalieLiuHiller]

Thanks Jim!

Kir, when you file with RTDRS, there is a box there where you can check if you want to charge for the filing fee. I usually do and I always get them back. I have only filed 3 times by myself, including this case. If you have a strong case, then you do get them back.

There is nothing in RTA of Alberta that states you cannot charge first and last month`s rent, or how many months` rent upfront. Sometimes, when we have tenants who are high risk (e.g. new immigrants who just started looking for a job but looks like they have savings for next couple months, or young people who just graduated and never had any other landlords, etc.) we charge couple months` rent upfront or do a first and last month`s rent. It`s not on the lease but on a separate agreement stating that they have paid it. It makes it safer for us in case the tenants starts skipping out on rents. In this case, she bounced her check and never returned my calls on her 3rd month. So I filed with RTDR after one week of constantly trying to reach her.

I had to force her out because she was avoiding all my calls, lying, and making all sorts of excuses. She was very rude. I requested to the judge to just terminate her tenancy even if she paid everything as I do not want to deal with her anymore. She finally paid up everything the following month, after the hearing. When it comes to tenants, we evict them right away if we sense they will be giving us problems every month collecting rent. It`s not a problem with me with they are kind enough to tell us they will be late a few days or they are honest but trying to remedy the situation. A lot of times, we give consideration.



QUOTE (kir @ Dec 3 2010, 09:11 AM) Interesting,
I never had a ruling by a RTDRS Judge for the 75 dollar filing fees. The court clerk states it is very rare to be awarded the 75 dollar filing fee.
I never heard of a lease in Alberta charging first and last months rent. Am I missing something here???

Also, if the renter paid up, why force them out?

Kir.

 

[kfort]

I don`t know if AB has a good form for accounting when keeping portions of the deposit but if they don`t SK has a very clear one you can download and change to suit your needs. I`ve used it and never had any issues with tenants questioning the numbers as they are all in front of them. Cheers.

Kris

 

[kir]

Well, in the future, I`m going to have to try to collect first months rent, last months rent, and the SD. The last month rent is supported with a separate agreement, outside of the lease.

Well, thanks for the tip.

Kir.