Landlord Tenancy Act- What Every Landlord Needs To Know
The Landlord Tenancy Act defines the principles that govern the interactions between private landlords and tenants of a residential property. The goal is to make the transaction and communication between the tenant and the private landlord as fair as possible.
The Landlord Tenancy Act addresses both the private landlord's and the tenant's obligations, lays down the framework for finding solutions to disputes between the tenant and the private landlord and places restriction on retaliatory conduct. In order to conduct their business in the comfort that they are within the law, private landlords must familiarize themselves with the key points of the Act some of which are discussed below.
Rental Agreement
First, every private landlord needs to know what the Act defines as a rental agreement, the legal requirements for giving notices and the responsibility for adhering to good faith on both parties.
These are critical things to know as they can be potential grounds for drawn out and costly lawsuits. The rental agreement is often a term used to define any pact between the two parties. The terms and conditions of the rental agreement, which may be verbal or written, can be as simple as highlighting the monthly or weekly rental fee, acceptable methods of payment, date that the agreement takes effect, standards of cleanliness etcetera.
Simply put, it can include anything that the landlord and tenant agree upon. A good example of a rental agreement is a lease contract. The rental agreement holds until the expiry date defined on the agreement or as agreed between the private landlord and the tenant. The landlord must know his or her obligations to the tenant as defined by the Landlord tenancy Act and other applicable laws. The terms and conditions of the rental agreement will often list the key responsibilities such as prompt repairs and routine maintenance.
The private landlord should know what redress, remedies or action he or she can take in the event that the tenant fails to abide by the rental agreement. Such failure may be breach of agreement such as not paying rent on time or at all or giving misleading information about the number of people in the property.
If this happens, the Landlord Tenancy Act empowers the private landlord to provide a written notice to the tenant specifying the terms they have breached and advising them of the termination of the rental agreement by a certain date if the tenant does not comply with the agreement. If compliance takes place before the specified date, the rental agreement need not be terminated. However, if the breach is serious such as conducting illegal activity including selling drugs or the illegal trade of firearms within the property, then the private landlord may immediately terminate the agreement.
But the landlord must always be aware of the tenant's protection from retaliation as stated in the Landlord Tenancy Act. Even when the tenant breaches the rental agreement, the Landlord Tenancy Act prohibits the landlord from retaliatory conduct such as sabotaging the tenant (e.g. cutting off the heat supply), taking or threatening to take possession of the tenant's property, or even increasing the rent without tenant's consent.
If the matter ends up in court, the private landlord may be forced to pay damages that exceed twice the monthly rent or even more depending on how severe the judge considers the damage to the tenant to have been.
Note that the Landlord Tenancy Act requires that the landlord must give adequate notice to the tenant before entering the property. Therefore, in the event of any breach of the terms, private landlords must follow the correct avenues for redress to prevent future legal disputes.
The Landlord Tenancy Act is just one of the laws Private Landlords need to understand, for more information on the Landlord Tenancy Act and other laws that private landlords must comply with checkout our practical guide for Private Landlords at http://privatelandlord.org
The Landlord Tenancy Act addresses both the private landlord's and the tenant's obligations, lays down the framework for finding solutions to disputes between the tenant and the private landlord and places restriction on retaliatory conduct. In order to conduct their business in the comfort that they are within the law, private landlords must familiarize themselves with the key points of the Act some of which are discussed below.
Rental Agreement
First, every private landlord needs to know what the Act defines as a rental agreement, the legal requirements for giving notices and the responsibility for adhering to good faith on both parties.
These are critical things to know as they can be potential grounds for drawn out and costly lawsuits. The rental agreement is often a term used to define any pact between the two parties. The terms and conditions of the rental agreement, which may be verbal or written, can be as simple as highlighting the monthly or weekly rental fee, acceptable methods of payment, date that the agreement takes effect, standards of cleanliness etcetera.
Simply put, it can include anything that the landlord and tenant agree upon. A good example of a rental agreement is a lease contract. The rental agreement holds until the expiry date defined on the agreement or as agreed between the private landlord and the tenant. The landlord must know his or her obligations to the tenant as defined by the Landlord tenancy Act and other applicable laws. The terms and conditions of the rental agreement will often list the key responsibilities such as prompt repairs and routine maintenance.
The private landlord should know what redress, remedies or action he or she can take in the event that the tenant fails to abide by the rental agreement. Such failure may be breach of agreement such as not paying rent on time or at all or giving misleading information about the number of people in the property.
If this happens, the Landlord Tenancy Act empowers the private landlord to provide a written notice to the tenant specifying the terms they have breached and advising them of the termination of the rental agreement by a certain date if the tenant does not comply with the agreement. If compliance takes place before the specified date, the rental agreement need not be terminated. However, if the breach is serious such as conducting illegal activity including selling drugs or the illegal trade of firearms within the property, then the private landlord may immediately terminate the agreement.
But the landlord must always be aware of the tenant's protection from retaliation as stated in the Landlord Tenancy Act. Even when the tenant breaches the rental agreement, the Landlord Tenancy Act prohibits the landlord from retaliatory conduct such as sabotaging the tenant (e.g. cutting off the heat supply), taking or threatening to take possession of the tenant's property, or even increasing the rent without tenant's consent.
If the matter ends up in court, the private landlord may be forced to pay damages that exceed twice the monthly rent or even more depending on how severe the judge considers the damage to the tenant to have been.
Note that the Landlord Tenancy Act requires that the landlord must give adequate notice to the tenant before entering the property. Therefore, in the event of any breach of the terms, private landlords must follow the correct avenues for redress to prevent future legal disputes.
The Landlord Tenancy Act is just one of the laws Private Landlords need to understand, for more information on the Landlord Tenancy Act and other laws that private landlords must comply with checkout our practical guide for Private Landlords at http://privatelandlord.org
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Landlord Responsibilities
Tenant Check
Find Tenants
