The Canadian Landlords Manual teaches how to screen out problem tenants, which is the most important skill required to be a successful landlord. One bad tenant can cost a landlord thousands of dollars in unpaid rent, utilities, property damage, and months of financial instability. Many landlords have quit this business after renting to their first and only tenant who turns out to be a serial squatter who simply refuses to pay rent and trashes the property.

The manual also teaches tenancy board case preparation, including how to prepare and present evidence, successfully advocate at a tenancy hearing, evict a problem tenant, and retake possession of your property. Without these vital skills you are left powerless against tenants who, against your will, have possession of your most valuable asset. Knowledge gives you power and control over your property. Knowing how to prepare for a tenancy hearing can save you thousands of dollars and months of mental anguish.

The book is very comprehensive and is 289 pages.

Squatters

Screening Out Problem Tenants

Managing Tenancies

Shared Accommodations

Evictions

Dispute Resolution

RTB Case Preparation

Presenting Tenancy Cases

Enforcing RTB Orders

Brent R. J. Lowry LL.B.

Copyright© 2024 Brent R. J. Lowry LL.B.

All rights reserved.

Tenancy fraud is on the rise all across Canada, and many landlords have horror stories of unpaid rent and utilities, and extensive, deliberate, catastrophic damage to their property. Problem tenants intentionally seek out amateur unprepared landlords, and avoid professional property managers, because they know professional property managers run background checks, use proper legal documents, and would never rent to them. Many of these tenants have defrauded multiple landlords.

An addendum is a list of rules and prohibited activities to help you manage your rental property more effectively. It is added to the tenancy board lease, and gives the landlord far greater protection against undesirable activity, such as unauthorized occupants, subletting, pets, vehicles, parking, businesses, smoking, drugs, hoarding, unsightly premises, anti-social behaviour, and much more.

A professional addendum helps you screen out problem tenants because scammers realize they are dealing with a professional landlord who has taken steps to educate themselves, protect their investment, and protect other residents and neighbours. Bad tenants realize they are not dealing with an amateur uneducated landlord that they can dominate and manipulate because they don't use proper legal documentation. An addendum serves as a screening tool that prohibits undesirable and antisocial behaviour, and any tenant who objects to signing it is an instant red flag.

If your tenants are causing problems, unless that specific behaviour is prohibited by your addendum, you are often powerless to do anything about it. If you don't have an addendum prohibiting unwanted behaviour, you will often have no legal recourse to evict for breach of the lease.

Addendums are legal as long as they don't breach residential tenancy laws, by attempting to contract out of those laws, and they are not unconscionable. The tenancy board standard leases are simply not drafted well enough to protect landlords. You must have a professionally drafted addendum, or you are very likely going to fail as a landlord. This is not the time to try and save money by trying to do this yourself. If you think you are saving money by using a free, amateur, poorly written, illegal and unenforceable addendum, you are making a very costly mistake. I see this all the time but mistakes cannot be undone. You get what you pay for and there is a lot of free incorrect so called "legal advice" all over social media. There is absolutely no substitute for experience and a real legal education.

My addendum is the result of decades of experience as a landlord, my law degree, years of experience as a lawyer, and as a legal advocate for landlords. You are not likely to find an addendum as thorough and highly detailed as mine, anywhere. This addendum is far more extensive and enforceable than anything a non lawyer can draft, and is the most comprehensive rental addendum I have ever seen.

The addendum is 90 clauses, and 27 pages, and comes with a very detailed Application Form, drafted to help screen out problem tenants, and comes in digital format with fillable fields and in print format.

A legal addendum does not infringe on the tenants rights or violate tenancy laws and law abiding tenants won't have an issue signing a professional addendum. Any applicant refusing to sign raises a huge red flag.

This package also includes a landlords Notice of Entry Form, which must be served on a tenant when the landlord wants to enter the inside of the property. The RTB does not provide a form for landlord entry. The package price is $90.00, is subscription based, and will be renewable for a fee, on an annual basis, for updates to changing tenancy laws. There is no automatic renewal. Please remember to always print a paper version of each tenancy for your files.

The Shared Accommodation Agreement document is for tenancies not covered by the residential tenancy board, where the landlord lives in the property, does not have a separate kitchen, is sharing a kitchen, and is renting out rooms. 54 clauses and 22 pages, with fillable fields to fill out your details. Please remember to always print a paper version of each tenancy for your files.

The Shared Accommodation Agreement comes with a a very detailed Application Form, drafted to help screen out problem tenants, and comes in digital format with fillable fields and in print format. This package also includes landlords Notice of Entry Form, which should be served on a roommate when the landlord wants to enter a room for inspection. The RTB does not provide a form for landlord entry. The Shared Accomodation Agreement is subscription based, and will be renewable on an annual basis, for updates to changing tenancy laws. None of our products renew automatically.

Cash for Keys Agreement

This Cash for Keys Agreement is used to end a tenancy by way of mutual agreement and can be used for owners use, to sell your property, or to rent to a new tenant.

This document ensures the exchange of money for landlord possession can be accomplished, and has an escrow clause to ensure the landlord retakes possession before the tenant is paid. 12 clauses, 2 pages.

Cash for Keys Agreement for British Columbia
This Cash for Keys Agreement is used to end a tenancy by way of mutual agreement and should be attached to Form RTB-8 as an addendum. This can be used for owners use, to sell your property, or to rent to a new tenant. This legal method of ending a tenancy, is an alternative to serving Form RTB-32, avoiding putting the landlord at risk of paying 1 year of rent to the tenant. If you have checked off Box E on form RTB-1, or you have already served your tenants with Form RTB-32, do not use this method.

This method is legal even if you have previously asked your tenants for a rent increase above the RTB annual increase. This document ensures the exchange of money for landlord possession can be accomplished, and has an escrow clause to ensure the landlord retakes possession before the tenant is paid. 12 clauses, 2 pages.