B.C. tenant told not to talk to landlord about rental, forced to move out on move-in day
A B.C. tenant was forced to fight for his legal deposit, claiming the landlord refused to let him stay in the rental home.
According to a BC Civil Resolution Tribunal dispute, AMS, the tenant, rented a room from LT, who was already living in the home.
AMS claims that the home’s actual landlord refused to let him stay there, so he moved out the same day he moved in. He asked the tribunal for a return of his $500 deposit.
LT denied that the homeowner asked AMS to leave and that AMS failed to pay the first month’s rent, thus entitling her to keep the $500, and also filed a counterclaim for an additional $500 for rent.
Both parties agreed that there was a joint decision for AMS to move into a room in LT’s rented home in August 2024. AMS paid a $500 deposit on Aug. 31 and paid $1,000 in cash for monthly rent on Sept. 1.
AMS began moving in on Sept. 1 when he had a conversation with the neighbours, who were the owners of the rental home he was moving into. He said that the landlord told him he couldn’t stay in the home because LT wasn’t allowed to rent out rooms.
In response, AMS texted LT and asked if it was actually safe to stay. In response to that, LT told AMS not to speak to the owners anymore and that the agreement was only between the two of them.
After the revelation from the B.C. landlord, AMS was uncomfortable staying in the home, “where the owners did not want him,” the tribunal decision states.
In the aftermath of those developments, the parties agreed that if AMS left that day, LT would refund his $1,000 rent, and that is undisputedly what happened. For that reason, LT couldn’t counterclaim for lost rent.
AMS also asked for the deposit to be returned in the same conversation. LT told AMS she’d return it once she found another roommate.
“It is unclear whether she did so, or whether the landlords permitted another roommate,” the decision said.
Due to no evidence of AMS damaging the property in any way, the tribunal found that LT was not entitled to keep the deposit.
LT was ordered to pay AMS $500 within 14 days of the decision.