Difference between revisions of "End of Tenancy (Termination and Eviction) (19:IX)"

Section 24  of  the  RTR  deals  with  the  situation  where  the  tenant  has  vacated  the  residential premises  at  the  end  of  the  tenancy  but  leaves  personal  property  behind.  The  main  issue  is whether the tenant has “given up possession” of the property. A landlord may consider that a  tenant  has  abandoned  personal  property  if  the  tenant  leaves  the  personal  property  in residential premises that: a)he  or  she  has  given  up  possession  of,  or  that  he  or  she  has  vacated  after  the  tenancy agreement has ended or after the term of the tenancy agreement has expired; or b)for  a  continuous  period  of  one  month,  the  tenant  has  not  ordinarily  occupied  and remained in possession of, and in respect of which he or she has not paid rent, or from which  the  tenant  has  removed  substantially  all  of  his  or  her  personal  property,  and either  gives  the  landlord  an express  oral  or  written  notice  of  the  tenant’ s intention  not to  return  to  the  residential  premises,  or  by  reason  of  the  facts  and  circumstances surrounding the giving up of the residential premises, could not reasonably be expected to return to the residential premises. The major problem with these criteria is that they are very general. Is the absence temporary (e.g. hospitalization) or permanent? What length of time constitutes a temporary absence? Section 24(3) of the RTR permits the landlord to remove personal property from residential premises that have been abandoned. This includes removing personal property from storage lockers, etc. If the landlord decides property has been abandoned, the landlord is required by s  25(1)(b)  of  the  RTR  to  make  and  keep  an  inventory  of  such  property  as  soon  as  the property  has  been  removed  from  the  rental  unit,  and  to keep  the  particulars  of  the disposition  and  inventory  for  two  years.  In  addition,  the  personal  property,  once  removed from the rental unit, must be kept in a safe place for a period of not less than 60 days if the property  is  considered  to  be  worth  five  hundred  dollars  or  more  (see  the  RTR  for exceptions, e.g.  where  the  personal  property  is  of  no value). Under  s  25(2)  of  the  RTR,  the landlord  may  sell  or  dispose  of  the  property  stored  in compliance  with  s 25(1)  of  the  RTR. The  purchaser  of  such  property  obtains  marketable  title,  free  of  all  encumbrances,  but landlords  should  be  very  cautious  before  selling  a  tenant’ s  property,  and  should  follow  the regulations  carefully.  For  example,  problems  will  arise if  a  landlord  sells  a  tenant’ s “abandoned”furniture if it turns out that the furniture was only leased. Some tenants may have little of value in their residences, and should be aware that the  RTR allows landlords to dispose of property with a value of less than $500 (s 25(2)(a)). The landlord must exercise reasonable care and caution to ensure the personal property does not deteriorate and is not damaged, lost, or stolen (RTR, s 25(1)). A tenant may file a claim for his or her personal property at any time before it is disposed of under ss 25 or 29 of the RTA. Practically  speaking,  any  claim  for  return  of  abandoned  property,  or  for compensation for lost, damaged, or abandoned property must be brought as soon as possible if there is to be any likelihood of success.