by Charmaine Coutinho
For more than ten years, I have been a volunteer lawyer with Calgary Legal Guidance (CLG), offering legal advice to those who would otherwise be unable to access paid legal services. Volunteer lawyers offer summary advice to empower clients to take the next steps in their legal matters. Some of the most common issues I advise on are in the realm of landlord and tenant disputes.
Our provincial government has clear and well-written landlord and tenant rules. Better yet, they have published guidance that makes the law easy to access and understand. The aim of this article is to help our community become more familiar with a few key topics in these rules, at a time when both landlords and tenants are under stress and perhaps looking for ways to improve their circumstances.
What is Covered Under the Residential Tenancies Act (RTA)?
The law is clear and comprehensive, but not all-encompassing. Among the most common exceptions, it does not cover most student housing (where the school is the landlord), continuing care homes, supportive living accommodation, or rooms in the residence of the landlord. If your living situation is not covered by the RTA, you do not get the protections or predictability offered by the RTA; in this case, your lease is the whole contract so try to make it comprehensive.
What Does Coverage Under the RTA Mean?
The RTA creates a set of rights and obligations for landlords and tenants. Importantly, the RTA offers the tenant protections that no lease can override. No matter what the signed lease says, a tenant cannot lose the protections offered to tenants by the RTA. If the lease contradicts the RTA in any way disadvantageous to the tenant, the tenant can ignore that provision!
What Does an RTA Lease Look Like?
The RTA does not specify the form of lease required. This means that your lease agreement can be written or verbal. If written, it can be typed, scribbled on a napkin, or negotiated over texts. It can be in any language. Or it can be just an agreement in practice – not verbal or written, just a norm that has developed and been accepted by both sides repeatedly. However, unwritten agreements are harder to prove in the event of a dispute.
Regardless of form, make sure your lease covers the essentials: Who are the tenants? How much is rent? Does rent include utilities or internet? What space is the tenant entitled to? Exclusive possession or shared?
What If the Unit Isn’t Move-In Ready?
There is little that can practically be done to force a landlord to fix any problems. A tenant can refuse the tenancy, ask a court to order a landlord to get the unit ready, or ask for a rent abatement while remedial work continues. However, for the latter two options, a tenant should acknowledge the significant possibility that the corrections may never be fully completed and be prepared to live in the unit as is.
Unless a tenant has an order from the RTDRS to allow it, a tenant is not permitted to withhold rent to incentivize the landlord nor to cover the costs of doing the repairs themselves.
