A landlord was forced to face the music after some B.C. renters started a legal fight when they discovered the landlord had deducted fees from their rental deposits.
Details of the rental dispute were shared in a BC Civil Resolution Tribunal decision, which was posted online, with Andrea Ritchie, tribunal member and vice chair, overseeing the case.
The tribunal decision involved three applicants, all of whom rented a room from the respondent, the landlord.
According to the applicants, the landlord had improperly deducted both utilities and cleaning costs from each of their security deposits. Collectively, they claimed reimbursement of $731.
In response, the landlord said she deducted “reasonable” utility expenses and that each of the renters left the house messy, which required cleaning costs.
The first applicant, TP, paid a $495 deposit but only received $259 back when moving out, because the landlord deducted water, electricity and gas costs, along with $50 for paint.
The second applicant, AI, paid $447.50 and only received $261.50 back when moving out.
The final applicant, NM, left with the least in return, having paid $437.50 for the deposit and getting only $128.50 back. Their deducted fees included $123 for a new mattress.
According to the dispute decision, the mattress had a “foul odour” when the applicant moved out. The applicant claimed the mattress wasn’t new when moving in, and that any degradation was due to normal wear and tear. The tribunal sided with the landlord on this point, allowing the deposit deduction.
The tribunal allowed several other deductions, as the parties agreed to them when moving in, meaning the tenants didn’t get back their full deposits. This included deductions for water usage, gas usage, and the aforementioned mattress.
According to the B.C. government, there are some terms when deductions like this occur.
“Landlords can ask the tenant to agree in writing to any deductions from the deposit, for example in situations where there is damage beyond normal wear and tear in the rental unit,” the Government of B.C. states.
It goes on to say that if the tenant agrees to a partial deduction, the landlord has to return the rest of the amount owed, and pay the tenant interest based on the full amount of the deposit.
The applicants made some other claims, like the landlord harassing them, and that the B.C. landlord had some illegal sublets, but these claims were unsubstantiated.
Each of the B.C. renters received a partial reimbursement of $150.70, $100.70, and $100.51, respectively. They also split $62 in tribunal fee reimbursement.