Questionable tenants...

[jonathanb]

Hello,



Friends of mine are closing soon on a property in Kitchener ON. They are wondering what the best way to get rid of some questionable tenants that seem to know the LTA. They should have requested vacant possession i guess, but want to know where to go from here.



If they want to move into the property, what is the minimum length of time they need to occupy the home? Is this recommended? Is there an easier way?



Thanks gang,



Jon

 

[invst4profit]

It is not recommended that a new owner in Ontario move into the property to evict unless they actually intended to do so at time of purchase. However if these tenants are what you say they will likely be a very difficult tenant not worth the trouble of keeping.

I strongly advise they not make the mistake of trying to be friendly or lenient with them. They will manipulate you to their advantage.



Having said that an experienced landlord may be successful taking the approach of evicting for personal use in which case it is advisable to remain in the home for a minimum of 1 year. The reason being that a tenant may file an application with the board up to one year after moving out of a unit.



Depending on the actions of the tenant it may be safer to simply live with the tenant but at the same time being sure to follow all RTA regulations to the letter. In the case of a tenant that knows there "rights" being tough, issuing every notice immediately, especially N4s, 5s,6s etc is often the best method to drive out a troublesome tenant. You need to make sure there lives are as miserable as possible while at the same time maintaining your own sanity. If the tenant is knowledgeable on how to take advantage of and abuse the system expect a difficult battle especially when dealing with the LTB and tenant duty council. It could take a very long time depending on how belligerent the tenant is. There is no easy, quick method to evict in Ontario even with cause due to the intent of the board to protect tenants. Aside from non payment of rent issues most other landlord applications are rejected.



Unfortunately in Ontario getting rid of unwanted tenants is near impossible and will not be accomplished with the support of the LTB. The mandate of the LTB is to protect the rights of tenants to the detriment of the landlord and all other tenants.



Bull headed persistence along with a very high level of understanding of the RTA and philosophy of the LTB are your best weapons. Or as some less professional landlords often attempt you may offer a bribe to encourage the tenant to leave but this has the potential to backfire on the landlord. What it turns into is extortion on the part of the tenant.

 

[jonathanb]

Thank you very much for your reply Greg. I'll pass it on to them.



jon

 

[housingrental]

Unless some basis for eviction, get them to agree to sign off on n11 form and move out. Negotiate payment contract for move out. Use REIN philosophy of leaving something on the table for everyone you deal with and creating a win win situation.... which depending on tenant might be X or might be $3000 etc..

Not sure what is issue is but they might be OK tenants and the landlords perception of them is the problem.



[quote user=jonathanb] Hello,



Friends of mine are closing soon on a property in Kitchener ON. They are wondering what the best way to get rid of some questionable tenants that seem to know the LTA. They should have requested vacant possession i guess, but want to know where to go from here.



If they want to move into the property, what is the minimum length of time they need to occupy the home? Is this recommended? Is there an easier way?



Thanks gang,



Jon

 

[housingrental]

Of note re Greg's post - Although it is prudent to protect your interests and act professionally not everything in life is a battle... and very few things will be if you treat your tenants well.... Negotiating payment for move out in certain cases is often a great path to take... here's one example....single family home, dated inside + very messy tenants with ugly decor + smelly animals, you want to do significant renovations for aesthetics and then stage property and then sell to owner occupier....

 

[invst4profit]

Come on Adam don't be so naive.



There are of course different possible out comes however I assumed when the OP stated "they know the LTA (RTA)" that means only one thing to me. They are professional, or semi professional, tenants that likely have a sense of entitlement, resent authority and generally go out of there way to make it very clear to landlords as to who is in control. IN addition I would guess one or more is living off of some form of government hand out.



The outcome is always one of several scenarios: Tenant extorts money from the landlord

Tenant derives pleasure from making landlords life a living hell

Tenant ultimately leaves or is evicted leaving behind unpaid rent debts and damage to apartment.



Although I have no direct knowledge of this particular situation it is very common and there is no possible way of working with this type of tenant, assuming they are what I assume, and as a result there is but one option and that is a straight up battle of wills.



And personally buying off or bribing tenants to leave is against my principals. If they don't wish to leave voluntarily to suite my needs I convince them through other means that it is not advantageous for them to stay. It's my property and if I want a tenant to move on they should be respectful enough to do so without resistance.

 

[TrishKWProperties]

I have to agree with Adams philosophy on this one. A win/win is better than a tremendous loss. Evictions can drag our months and can be very costly. By the time you add up legal fees, non payment of rent for x number of months, vacancy, sheriff fee the list could go on and on when a simple "buy out" is an option, well the decision is clear.

I am not saying this is the answer to this scenario however I always keep this option in my back pocket.

 

[DenisEncontre]

Jon. In who's opinion is it they are questionable? Maybe find out for yourself first. Treat them with respect and they may do so in kind. I believe life is to short to start playing tactical games with my tenants. Find out what it takes to get them out. Probably some sort of $ payment, but I would rather accept that I will lose some money and bite the bullet and get on with my life with a better tenant in place ASAP.