B.C. roommate situation ends in testy legal fight over $1,500
A living situation between two B.C. roommates ended in a testy legal fight over $1,500.
The applicant in the case claimed $2,000 for unpaid rent in June and July 2024. The respondent claimed they only owed rent for June 2024.
However, the respondent filed a counterclaim, saying she provided 80 hours of babysitting for the applicant, claiming $1,392 in babysitting fees. She also claimed she was owed $500 for her damage deposit.
The applicant was renting a townhouse from the landlord, and the respondent rented a room in it beginning in January 2024.
Both parties signed an agreement provided by the Residential Tenancy Branch (RTB). Monthly rent was at a rate of $1,000 per month, due on the first day of each month, and all utilities were included. The respondent also paid a $500 deposit before moving in.
The respondent’s argument was that the agreement was null and void because the RTB annulled it in a dispute between the parties. But the tribunal said that the arbitrator refused the dispute due to a lack of jurisdiction, adding that, due to the refusal, there were no conclusions about the agreement.
According to the rental agreement, one month’s written notice was required to end the tenancy. It also stated that the respondent would vacate the property by 1 p.m. on the day the tenancy ended, unless the parties agreed otherwise.
On May 19, 2024, the respondent said she would move out by July 1 and asked about paying half of June’s rent and letting the applicant keep the deposit. The applicant said they wanted the June rent in full and that the deposit would be returned on June 30, the day the rental agreement would end. The tribunal said this was consistent with the agreement.
On May 30, the applicant had moved out and subletted her room to a new tenant.
When June 1 rolled around, the respondent failed to pay rent because the applicant asked for the money to be transferred to a different email, and the respondent was worried about fraud.
After failing to receive rent, on June 4, the applicant posted a 10-day notice to end the rental, another RTB form. The respondent disputed the form, and the notice was effectively frozen until the RTB could hear the dispute. The tribunal inferred that the respondent’s obligation to move out by June 30 was still in effect.
On June 28, the applicant emailed the respondent to ask if she would be out by June 30. She added that if the respondent wasn’t out by June 30, she would have to charge rent for July.
The respondent didn’t move out till July 2, and the tribunal found that this breached the agreement by staying past the notice period. The applicant wasn’t able to rent the room for July, and the tribunal said that the respondent was on the hook for the July rent valued at $1,000.
The applicant claimed that the respondent wasn’t entitled to the $500 damage deposit due to damage to a window screen. However, there was no move-in inspection and no evidence that the screen wasn’t damaged before, so the respondent was entitled to a set off of $500.
The tribunal turned its attention to an alleged babysitting agreement between the two B.C. roommates.
The respondent claimed she performed 80 hours of babysitting for the applicant at the minimum wage rate of $17.40 per hour for a total of $1,392.
The respondent said the applicant verbally agreed to pay her to take care of the applicant’s child. The applicant denied the babysitting claim altogether.
The respondent supplied three pieces of video evidence to support her claims, showing the applicant’s kids at home. The tribunal member couldn’t tell whether or not anyone else was in the home during those videos. The respondent also provided some text messages that confirm that once or twice the applicant left her child with the respondent.
None of this was enough to convince the tribunal that there was an agreement for payment for the alleged babysitting services.
Ultimately, the respondent was ordered to pay $1,652.13 within 30 days of the decision, which amounted to $2,000 in unpaid rent, minus the $500 deposit, plus tribunal fees.