Landlord and tennant issues advice please
 

Ill try to make this as short as i can . So my giflfriend has been renting a basement suite for 3 yrs.the landlord and his brother live upstairs.ill add before this we all were somewhat friends. About 2 weeks ago the landlords brother tried to come into her house while we were gone he claims because my gf burrowed his dog hair clippers and he needed them. My gf had locked the door to the laundry room which is also where the stairway to upstairs is. So he got mad phoned her up screamed at her threatened to have his brother evict her and that he was gonna change her lock. So naturaly she went home from work early and when she got there he started another yelling match and proceeded to call the police on her claiming she didnt live here . So she produced rent reciepts for the past three yrs and the police said to just stay away from him. Ok thats fine but that day be put a latch and lock on the laundry room door so now she has no access to the laundry machine . The landlord has basicaly sided with his brother and is making my gfs life a living hell. Told her she now has to get rid of her dogs or get out when shes had them the whole time and the dogs are kenneled for the most part if they arent outside .ill add this as well the entire time shes lived there they have been promising to install a kitchen sink because there isnt one and unseal the windows cause they are glued shut. Now there is only one door she can get out from and that is it . And theres a doorway before it kinda dangerous if there were to be a fire inside.also they basicaly control the mail and i dont think they are goving her hers as she hasnt got mail since even though stuff she bought online says delivered. Anyways im hoping someone on here has bee n through a similar situation and can give me some advice or someone who knows what what with this kinda thing . It would be greatly appreciated cause she cannot afford to move at all

if your gf is not willing to move not to much u can do I would call the fire dept for an inspection if not safe ,then she mite have to move.

She probably gonna have to move anyway. Sounds like an illegal rental property.
If you get authorities involved ( Edmonton Housing Authority)
Is probably your only recourse.

I'd be careful in that situation, sounds like she's living below two crazy vindictives. Could just be the start of a wild adventure.

My sister went through something similar, her landlord was sneaking into her apartment basically sniffing and stealing panties. Cops couldn't do anything, she ended up moving....


in with me...

You should read up on the tenancy act at the Service AB site. Basically they can not take away services and conditions provided at the beginning of the tenancy. They can not just evict her, there is a list of reasonable causes for eviction. What ever they want done has to be in writing and sufficient notice. Seems like they want her out for some reason that hasn't been disclosed yet. Sounds like a good time to be moving on though. Good luck.

I've been involved in rentals from the landords end for about 35 years now , and can clearly tell you that your girlfriend ( her not you ) very much need to check out Service Alberta .ca .... Landlord and tenant ..... All sorts of rules and regs to read . Phone and talk to one of the agents ... file grievances ... mail theft , is a federal offence , if laundry facilities were in the lease , then They are in violation of the lease ... are dogs allowed in the lease , then there is nothing They can do , etc etc etc .

And if the brother of the landloard , is nothing more than that , then his has O % authority over anything etc etc etc

But bottom line without question find a new place to live asap , cause this scenario is going nowhere except downhill.

Best of luck to you both.

Best advice know your rights before you move ahead

Mack

Your description seems to descibe a common area.

This common area is now being changed?

If no written agreement is in place its time to move?

The receipts have value keep them.

Do two things
 

Learn rights

Move out

Aside from the fact its in her best interest to move, copies of those rental receipts could be turned over to Revenue Canada; considering what Chuckles the landlord knows about the law, he's likely also a bit behind on what he owes the gov't ;) . Say Sayonara with a smile

Edit to ad: She can't afford to not move.

this sounds sadly familiar....what i would do (and have done/assisted with):

if she is willing to move (she really should, this is a safety thing)...let them know that mail theft is a federal offence. tell them she is leaving. have them release whatever is hers, and get her stuff out of there. basically "we're leaving with her things, nothing more or less, and we don't want trouble. leave us alone for today and were gone"

you probably want some large friends backing you up (i mean 'helping her move'), and you need to keep her from getting into it with anyone. the cops wont do anything, just call it a 'civil matter, go to court'

this is where you take care of her, because its the right thing to do. chances are something is going to happen that will make being able to afford it look like the least of your problems.

on another note...why was he not charged with falsifying a statement/obstruction?

Help her to move out asap. He is snooping around her place because he is interested in her.
Have her stay with you. Safety first. Good luck

No sink and windows glued shut = illegal suite. If the City inspectors get involved, she will be moving anyways. Move out.

I am a landlord. Seriously, she HAS to move out of there ASAP. Report the guy to the rental board after she is safely out of there. If he does not care about sealed windows in a basement, he won't be caring about the safe operation of his furnace either. Think about a fire happening in that house! :mad0100:

Another vote on the move out and report them to any and every housing agency, tax man too.

Actually as dumb as it sounds i think he was trying to steal ciggarettes from her and threw a fit when he couldnt get in she is looking for a place but it will likely be a good month before she can afford to move ..shes going to the landlord and tennant board today to find out what she can do ...thanks for the advice

I would bet that where you are living is an illegal suite (95% of them in Calgary are) so just tell them you are calling city bylaw and they (the landlord and brother) will no longer have a suite to rent!

And as well, issue Canada Post with a forwarding mail address. She doesn't have to inform the landlord of where she's going either (just to keep up the safety factor)

Make sure that she's out of there prior to any reporting to city inspectors/tax man/etc ......

I used to rent a place that things went sideways with the landlord as well. Let's just say that I couldn't get out of that place soon enough. Never did let that guy know where I moved to; just stopped by with a friend when I did the final dealings with him (security deposit recovery)

J.

As a former landlord I can tell you tenants have more rights than the property owner. As others have stated get a copy of the Act. I refused to rent my house to friends, because the friendship will be over 9 times out of 10. My suggestion find a new place to live and if you're that sour and want to give it to him, call the city because yes I am willing to bet it's an illegal suite. If you want to keep it civil just move on. Good luck

If not happy with the situation, search high and low for another place, just move out, no further discussion required with the landlord.
Take the high road and be pleasant which might chance the situation, or at least you are happy:)

Just avoid the drama and move out. Things aren't going to get better.

I like the idea of immediately forwarding her mail to another address, it doesn't even have to be wherever she will wind up living, just a destination that's more trustworthy.