The Eviction Spiral

Posted on June 27, 2011 by Eviction Alberta

When Tenants Don’t Pay

It seemed like just a couple of weeks ago you tenant was having problems paying, but they promised they would make it up, or you thought it was a momentary hurdle so you let it slide while they got back on their feet. It can’t hurt to give them a chance?

It seems to be a very slow and methodical process. First, it’s one month behind and then maybe they give you a partial payment to appease you, yet never completely catch up. Then next month again, perhaps another partial payment, but never totally catching up the arrears leaving you stuck covering the payments. Each time you are hoping they can catch up and each month they fall further behind you feel you have to let them catch up or you will be out $2,000, $3,000 or even more in lost rent.

So you wait, and suddenly its several months later, they owe you five thousand dollars or more in back rent and you don’t know what to do. You tried to do the right thing, you thought the tenant would recover, and now you are stuck in what I call, the eviction spiral.

If it’s happened to you, you are not alone. It’s happened to me, I’ve heard it from dozens of other landlords and I am sure I will continue to hear it from dozens more. The important part now is you need to take action. Continue reading →

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Landlord Challenges

Posted on May 4, 2011 by Eviction Alberta

The Biggest Challenge Landlords Face

Thanks to all the people who registered and provided me with some feedback regarding the challenges you are all facing as landlords. I also appreciate all the great feedback and comments everyone is sending in regarding the website and the information I send out to you once you register over to the right.

If you haven’t registered yet, take a minute and fill out the form to the side. You will get your free walk through of the steps in the Alberta eviction process, plus some emails that will help ensure you don’t run into a similar situation in the future.

This brings me back to the biggest challenge you are telling me that you are running into as landlords. That challenge is Continue reading →

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Nightmare Tenant Eviction Stories

Posted on December 23, 2010 by Eviction Alberta

No matter how bad of an eviction story you may be going through for some reason we all seem to get a little comfort from hearing about other peoples evictions that may have been worse.

Previously, I had a link to 51 nightmare tenant stories, but the site appears to have changed hands and the article is now gone, so perhaps some of you readers can share some stories?

Leave a comment below about your problem tenant, just don’t use their full names!

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What Tenants Say Doesn’t Matter!

Posted on December 21, 2010 by Eviction Alberta

Why It Doesn’t Matter If Your Tenant Says They Are Leaving!

 

Ironically, you cannot take a tenant at their word when it comes to an eviction. Here’s how I learned this lesson personally.

In one of my shared accommodation properties a few years ago, I had a tenant who “hurt” his back and was laid off. Now I understand a back injury can be debilitating and can put you down and out quickly, yet this fellow was usually quite spry. Anyway, as rent time came up he found himself short.

I let it ride the first week, but the second week I became a little more emphatic , suggested he be gone by the weekend as he wasn’t paying and he finally agreed to move out in a few days, he just had to arrange to get a buddy to help him. Continue reading →

Posted in Alberta Eviction Process, non-payment of rent | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Does Your Rental Fit Under the Innkeeper’s Act?

Posted on December 16, 2010 by Eviction Alberta

Innkeepers Act or RTA?

According to the Alberta Residential Tenancy Act (RTA) section 2 (2) (c), the RTA does not apply to;

Rooms in the living quarters of the landlord, if the landlord
actually resides in those quarters

So, if you are renting out rooms in your primary residence, those rooms do not fit under the normal landlord and tenancy legislation, but instead fall under the Innkeeper’s Act. This is a great thing for you if you are the landlord.

The Innkeepers Act gives the landlord much broader abilities to seize personal property of tenants for non-payment of rent, evict them on the spot and even have the police come by and arrest the tenant. If you are renting rooms out in your home, you need to read this Act!

Here’s a link to the Act online (the Alberta Innkeeper’s Act) and here is a link to another post I put together on this (Innkeeper’s Act Vs Residential Tenancy Act) . Hopefully this helps make your eviction just a bit easier and clarifies where you stand with the Alberta Eviction process.

Posted in Alberta Eviction Process, non-payment of rent | Tagged , , , , | 10 Comments