Tenant Vacancy

[Akelis]

Anyones thoughts on this would be greatly appreciated.



- looking at purchasing a multi-family unit with 2 appartments and they are currently occupied by tenants

- I will be occupying one of the units upon possesion, meaning I would request vacancy for one of the units in the contract

- if upon possesion of the property, my situation changes for any reasons at all and I can no longer occupy the vacant unit



Can the tenant that was forced out, take any action against the new landlord?



Thanks a lot.

 

[Thomas Beyer]

[quote user=Akelis]multi-family unit with 2 appartments


a duplex ?



vacant possession cannot be forced in many provinces. Where is this ?



Only you, the NEW owner, after taking possession, [and not the current owner, wishing to sell it] can ask tenant to leave to occupy it yourself, in provinces like BC or ON, with some consideration of 1-2 months cash plus sufficient notice !



Any person can take (legal) action against any person, for any reason, at any time. If they will be successful is another story, of course !

 

[invst4profit]

Your best option would be to have vacant possession as a condition of offer to purchase. It then becomes the responsibility of the present owner to motivate the tenants to leave.

If you are in Ontario and as the new owner wish to occupy the apartment you must notify the tenant of this after you become the owner. You would need to occupy the place for up to a year as a tenant has a year to come back and file charges against the owner with the LTB.



I would ask for vacant possession of the entire building allowing you to start from scratch with tenants you have screened yourself. This would also protect you should you decide to not occupy the place yourself just make sure when the present owner asks the tenants to leave he does not say it is for owner occupancy.

 

[Thomas Beyer]

[quote user=invst4profit]I would ask for vacant possession of the entire building


One can ask .. but one usually does NOT receive if one asks unreasonable things !!

 

[invst4profit]

It's not unreasonable to ask for vacant occupancy on a small property in Ontario. It's insurance.



One of the primary reasons for vacant occupancy requests is because in Ontario the sale of a rental property often comes about due to the frustration level of the seller as a result of bad tenants.



Either way, vacant or no deal, the buyer dodges a bullet.

 

[Thomas Beyer]

[quote user=invst4profit]It's not unreasonable to ask for vacant occupancy on a small property in Ontario.


I understand .. one can ask .. but if it were that easy the seller would just get a new tenant anyway !!



Keep in mind that the offer is conditional, so the seller has huge risk when getting tenant out and then the buyer not closing.



So, asking for vacant possession, and getting it is the difference between theory and practice !



Hence: who has actually been able to get a property that was full vacant ? What are your (shared) experiences ?

 

[housingrental]

Hi Thomas

Greg is correct

This is not standard but it happens on a regular basis on smaller properties

I have purchased two duplex's that were to be vacant on closing

Hope this helps!

 

[Mike Milovick]

"Only you, the NEW owner, after taking possession, [and not the current owner, wishing to sell it] can ask tenant to leave to occupy it yourself, in provinces like BC or ON, with some consideration of 1-2 months cash plus sufficient notice !"



This IS ABSOLUTELY NOT correct in Ontario.



A current owner in Ontario CAN serve notice on behalf of a new owner prior to taking possession - it does not have to be after taking possession. We actually did this just last month with our sale at 213 Union in Waterloo, Ontario. It also has to be at least sixty days notice if tenant is on month to month basis or, if tenant is on lease, sixty days notice before end of term.



There is no provision in Ontario Residential Tenancy Act regarding giving the tenant "some cash consideration of 1-2 months cash". Maybe in BC. This is certainly NOT the cash in Ontario. The tenant is served appropriate form and is gone. The flipside, is that once this notice is served, the tenant only has to give 7 days notice (as opposed to 60 days notice) that he is leaving...



Also, note that if the Landlord Tenant Board in Ontario deems that notice was given in bad faith (i.e. new owner never planned to move in), the landlord/new owner could be on for serious fines. The Landlord Tenant Board website has MANY cases on this. If for some reason, you were going to occupy a unit and then do not move in, you want to make sure you have some back up to support your change in plans if you are challenged.



Mike