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Difference between revisions of "Moving Out When Renting"
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Moving Out When Renting (view source)
Revision as of 18:25, 20 December 2018
, 18:25, 20 December 2018→Emails, texts, and social media
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===Emails, texts, and social media=== | ===Emails, texts, and social media=== | ||
The ''Residential Tenancy Act (RTA)'' does not recognize email, text messaging, and social media as acceptable methods of service. This means that when an official Residential Tenancy Branch (RTB) form must be served, or the ''RTA'' requires that something be done “in writing”, it is always safest to rely on hardcopy documents rather than email, text messaging, and social media. Landlords should never attach an eviction notice to an email, and tenants should never text their one-month notice to move out. If these issues ended up in dispute resolution, an arbitrator may rule that the documents were improperly served. That being said, if you receive a document that was not served properly, the safest option is to not ignore it. For example, if your landlord emails you an eviction notice, you should consider disputing it through the RTB so that an arbitrator can dismiss it and instruct your landlord to not illegally evict you. | The ''[http://www.bclaws.ca/EPLibraries/bclaws_new/document/ID/freeside/00_02078_01 Residential Tenancy Act (RTA)]'' does not recognize email, text messaging, and social media as acceptable methods of service. This means that when an official Residential Tenancy Branch (RTB) form must be served, or the ''RTA'' requires that something be done “in writing”, it is always safest to rely on hardcopy documents rather than email, text messaging, and social media. Landlords should never attach an eviction notice to an email, and tenants should never text their one-month notice to move out. If these issues ended up in dispute resolution, an arbitrator may rule that the documents were improperly served. That being said, if you receive a document that was not served properly, the safest option is to not ignore it. For example, if your landlord emails you an eviction notice, you should consider disputing it through the RTB so that an arbitrator can dismiss it and instruct your landlord to not illegally evict you. | ||
While hardcopy documents should always be used when serving official RTB forms and notices that are legally required to be given “in writing”, email, text messaging, and social media may be acceptable when it comes to more general correspondence. For example, since there is no official RTB form for requesting repairs, a series of emails showing your landlord’s neglect for a repair request might be accepted as evidence at dispute resolution – as long as you can prove that your landlord received the emails. When it comes to email, text messaging, and social media evidence at dispute resolution, the arbitrator handling your case will always have the final say on whether or not to accept the evidence. | While hardcopy documents should always be used when serving official RTB forms and notices that are legally required to be given “in writing”, email, text messaging, and social media may be acceptable when it comes to more general correspondence. For example, since there is no official RTB form for requesting repairs, a series of emails showing your landlord’s neglect for a repair request might be accepted as evidence at dispute resolution – as long as you can prove that your landlord received the emails. When it comes to email, text messaging, and social media evidence at dispute resolution, the arbitrator handling your case will always have the final say on whether or not to accept the evidence. | ||
