Messy BC sublet rental turns into lawsuit over security deposit

A messy BC sublet rental situation became a lawsuit after one of the tenants failed to receive her security deposit.

The homeowner, Yu Pei, rented the townhouse out to Kobe Romanovitch from April 1, 2022, until March 31, 2023.

This is where things get complicated in this BC rental lawsuit.

In May 2022, Chantal Marie Robert-Desmarais rented the top two floors from Romanovitch for a six-month fixed term, which began on Canada Day of 2022.

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Robert-Desmarais says she paid Romanovitch $900 for a security deposit and another $900 for a pet damage deposit. She was asked to move out by September 1, 2022. However, she claimed that despite not causing any damage, neither Pei nor Romanovitch returned her deposit.

The question for the BC Civil Resolution Tribunal was: who owed Robert-Demarais her deposit? Pei or Romanovitch?

Pei suggested that Romanovitch rented out the townhome as a sublet without his knowledge or consent. He also said he owed her nothing because he never received any payment from Robert-Desmarais.

Robert-Desmarais provided proof that she e-transferred $1,800 to Romanovitch for the deposits, the evidence of which satisfied the tribunal.

In July 2022, Pei applied to the RTB for an order of possession of the townhome because Romanovitch failed to pay rent. Romanovitch and Robert-Desmarais were forced to vacate the home by September 8.

At another point in the tribunal decision, Robert-Desmarais suggested she exchanged text messages with someone she believed was Pei. Pei suggested that Romanovitch fabricated his email and phone number to deceive Robert-Desmarais.

The tribunal determined it was not Pei, but Romanovitch was liable to pay Robert-Desmarais her deposit back.

In total, Romanovitch was on the hook for $2,010.83, which included the return of the deposits and CRT fees.