Eviction in Calgary

[TerryKruse]

I decided that this requires a new topic from: Drug dealer in my rental. I have read a few posts about this but I am still not sure on the procedure.

In the Alberta Residential Tenant Act, I can evict a tenant who does something illegal on the premises. They also say:

He or she must give the tenant written notice.
The landlord or agent must sign the notice, and it must let the tenant know when he or she must move out.
It must also tell the tenant what was done that breached the tenancy agreement.

Some of the posts I read were talking about specific wording but I haven`t found this.

Is it really this easy?

Terry

 

[SherwinToms]

Hi Terry,

Sorry to hear about your dilema, however the good news is that it`s very quick and easy to get rid of a legitiment less than desirable tenant in Alberta.

First I would like to send a HUGE Thank You and acknowledgment to Rebecca Bryan for sharing her experience and wisdom with the eviction process. The information in the post you started almost a year ago is invaluable and has saved us hours of grief and $1000`s of dollars (at least 17 months of REIN).

Ok Terry, we`ve had to use the RTDRS (Residential Tenanct Dispute Resolution Service) several times with great success.

You can literally have a tenant out within 10-14 days max using the RTDRS. Every R/E investor with rental property in Alberta should book mark this site!

No need to file a 14 day notice ever!

Please see link below for Rebecca`s post on how the whole process works.

How to Evict a Tenant - By Rebecca Bryan

After the Hearing your "Order" (judgement) is good for 10 years and the garnishee can be enforced at any time on their job, bank or property if they still owe money.

If the tenant doesn`t conform with the date on the order you can get the baliff in very quickly (1-3 days) to remove them. All you need is a "Writ of Possesion" an "Affidavit of Recent Possession" and a baliff We`ve used John or Dan from Allied Shortridge Civil Enforcment Agency 403-237-5468, again with great success. They service most areas in the the province. At least in the top ten towns!

Good Luck Terry and Thanks Again Rebecca!

Please post or PM me if you have any questions.

Sherwin

 

[TerryKruse]

Thank you Shewin and Rebecca. I will phone as soon as they open as I wish this to get done today.

You have been so helpful.

Terry

 

[RebeccaBryan]

You`re welcome Terry and Sherwin,

The templates I sent you through PM are the actual letters that I used that worked to get my tenants out and I didn`t actually use the RTDRS for this eviction as the Drug Dealers I had in my property were breaking the law and had warrants out for their arrest. They ran scared because they knew all the neighbors were watching the house and they knew I had called the Police to find out what to do. The Detective I talked to told me I had reason to be concerned. By the time the cops came looking to arrest them, the pair were gone. I had originally intended to return their damage deposit if they moved out by May 5, and left the place as they found it. They went to the trouble to clean the place nice, but it had an odour, (I think they used something to disguise drug smells), and they left a plate of raw shrimp in my oven to rot and also kicked the back gate down, therefore I didn`t end up giving them any money back.

In this case it`s the only time I have actually been money ahead on an eviction!! The pair were in there for 20 days. From April 15 - May 5. They paid me $1100 for security deposit. $550 for 1/2 months rent and then approximately April 28, just before the inspection letter I sent them they prepaid $400 of the May rent. So I ended up with $2050 dollars and they were there for 20 days. Quite expensive to be a criminal hey?

Note: If a tenant does not leave their forwarding address, you are only obligated to send the security deposit to their last known address. The reason you want their forwarding address, in cases like these especially, is that if there is damage to the property that you don`t notice, (like shrimp in ovens to ruin them), you have a chance of finding them for legal purposes.

 

[TerryKruse]

Eviction notice: Done!
Letter to lower tenants – you may leave without penalty with 30 day notice: Done!
Address on title changed to P.O. Box: Done!

Now we`ll just see how this pans out.

We have also given a notice to enter both suites, although I have given them to the weekend.

Terry

 

[TerryKruse]

Just a note in the regard: I called the RTDRS in Calgary twice (spoke to two different people) and both times they would not allow me file any documents until the tenant decided not to leave after the eviction notice. They were very clear.

This might be different in Edmonton as this is new to Calgary.

Terry

 

[RebeccaBryan]

Terry,

I find that very strange, however, I have not evicted anyone in a long while so they may have changed things. I can`t see why Edmonton would be different than Calgary.
That`s strange also. Does anyone else have a comment on this?

 

[RebeccaBryan]

http://www.servicealberta.gov.ab.ca/rtdrs/...re_Chart(4).pdf


Terry,

Here is the procedure chart of the RTDRS. The first step is to file for a hearing. It does not say to give 2 week notice first. I still question if you`ve been given the correct information. I can not imagine why RTDRS would be different here in Edmonton than Calgary. I`ve evicted with this procedure many times, and although I haven`t done one in the last few months, it still states on the RTDRS website the same thing as before.

 

[FayWong]

QUOTE (TerryKruse @ Oct 15 2008, 05:11 PM) Just a note in the regard: I called the RTDRS in Calgary twice (spoke to two different people) and both times they would not allow me file any documents until the tenant decided not to leave after the eviction notice. They were very clear.

This might be different in Edmonton as this is new to Calgary.

Terry
I am a little confused here. Did you give the tenants a 14 day notice?
If you did, I believe you would have to see that through before going to the RTDRS. Its one or the other, you can`t do both at the same time.
But if you did not give the 14 day notice then I thought you could go straight to the RTDRS and skip the eviction notice?
Perhaps you could clarify this as their are a lot of people following this hoping to learn from your experience.
Thanks

 

[TerryKruse]

The reason I had to evict my tenant before I could use the RTDRS services may not be the difference between Calgary and Edmonton. I think the difference between Rebecca`s situation and mine are the reason for removal.

If I had only spoke to one agent then I would think it was a misunderstanding but both agents I spoke to from RTDRS mentioned that the procedure would be much easier if rent wasn`t being paid.

My tenant has been paying rent on time and doesn`t seem to have money problems... Therefore he must be served the eviction notice first and 14 days is the eviction time for this type of offense, specifically performing illegal acts or doing illegal business on the premises.

Terry

 

[RebeccaBryan]

Terry,

I took it upon myself to call the RTDRS on this issue and you are correct. You need to give a 14 day notice first if they are doing illegal activity.

And, I also clarified that for non-payment of rent you DO NOT need to give the 14 day notice. You can just go down and file for a hearing date, serve your tenant, fill out the affidavit of service, show up at the hearing, and get the judgement, etc.

I`m not sure what their logic is on this. Did you ask if you needed to use a specific form for the 14 day notice? I know there is one you can purchase from the Landlord and Tenant Agency. Make sure you are using the correct forms.

You might save yourself a lot of hassle if you just offer them their security deposit back as I did, if they leave the place undamaged and clean and then you would be quicker getting the place rented out again. It worked for me. However, you will have more of an idea of what you are dealing with after your inspection of your property this weekend.