Landlord offered tenants money to clean in failed B.C. rental
A potential rental for a pair of B.C. tenants became a nightmare when they realized they couldn’t move in for various reasons.
In a BC Civil Resolution Tribunal case, the pair of B.C. renters, M.J. and F.M., brought a case against A.N., the acting landlord.
M.J. and F.M. were attempting to rent a room from A.N. They told the tribunal that they had paid $1,400 for the last month and $700 for half of the first month’s rent; however, when they saw the place, they had a change of heart due to several issues. In this case, they sought a $2,100 refund.
A.N. denied that there were any issues with the unit’s condition. A.N. also said that he offered to reimburse the applicants $600.
- You might also like:
- B.C. man fights moving company after items are misplaced, badly damaged
- BC landlord tries to keep security deposit despite renter never moving in
- Former Vancouver garden society president owes thousands in lost grant money
Most of the interactions between the two parties took place over Facebook or via text messages. One of the applicants reached out about renting a room in July 2023. The applicants would be subletting a room in the house that A.N. was renting.
The agreement was that the applicants would pay $1,100 in rent when the respondent was home and $1,400 when he was away. Eventually, both sides agreed that the applicants could move partway through August. There was also an agreement that some of the AN’s furniture, including a bed and bunkbed, would stay in the bedroom until Sept. 1. Because of this, they agreed to a reduced rent of $700 for August.
On Aug. 18, the applicants attempted to move in. When they arrived, they saw that A.N. had left more belongings than they expected and that the house was not clean.
At one point, there was a conversation about the applicants being paid to do some cleaning work, but they never reached an agreement, and the applicants never moved in.
A.N. said he couldn’t re-rent the room until November and was forced to lower the rate to $1,200.
“However, the respondent also says that he was able to recover $600 from the $2,100 the applicants paid. It is undisputed the respondent has not refunded the applicants any portion of the $2,100,” the tribunal’s decision states.
The applicants took videos and photos the day they were supposed to move in.
“The evidence shows a full and dirty fridge, a dirty toilet, and more furniture than just the respondent’s bed and bunkbed in the bedroom. Based on this video, I find it unlikely there would be any room to move around in the bedroom once the applicants added their furniture,” the tribunal said.
A.N. said they could’ve cleaned the house in three hours, for which he offered to pay $30 per hour.
Ultimately, the tribunal found that the respondent breached the agreement between the two parties. A.N. was ordered to pay $2,222.20 to the respondents within 30 days of the tribunal’s decision.