Renting Your Condominium?
Avoid The Pitfalls
Did you know that if you plan to rent your condominium unit, you need to know that both owner and tenant have responsibilities under the Condominium Property Act of Alberta (CPA) in rental situations? These are in addition to rights and responsibilities for landlords and tenants covered in the Residential Tenancies Act (RTA).
When you own a condominium you also share ownership of the common property with all the other owners. Examples of common property are hallways, stairwells, sidewalks, and roads. Balconies, patios or yards are often common property too, but they are usually reserved for the exclusive use of the occupants of the units that are attached to them.
The Board of Directors, elected annually by the Owners at the Annual General Meeting (AGM), have a responsibility to maintain the common property. Owners are responsible for any damage to the common property whether it is caused by the owner, a visitor to the unit, or a tenant.
A condominium is governed not only by the CPA but also by its Bylaws and Policies. Owners, visitors, and tenants must abide by the Bylaws, or the Owners may face monetary or other types of sanctions.
Unit owner responsibilities ~ The Owners are responsible for the actions of his or her tenants. The CPA requires that the Owners give written notice to the Corporation that the unit will be rented and advise of full name(s), phone number(s) and email address(es) of their new tenant(s). Owners are also responsible to ensure that they provide a copy of the Bylaws to their tenants.
The Condominium Corporation may, at the Board’s discretion, request a deposit of not more than one month’s rent when a unit is rented. The deposit will be used to cover repair to, or replacement of, any common property that tenants have damaged. The Owners may not ask the tenant to pay this deposit.
Tenant responsibilities ~ The tenants must agree to not damage the Corporation’s property and to abide by the Bylaws. Should the tenants cause damage to the common property, or do not follow the Bylaws, the Corporation has the authority to evict the tenants. The tenants can be evicted with as little as one-month notice, even if the landlord does not want to terminate the lease. In extreme cases, the corporation can apply to the court for an order to give up possession. In this case, the court decides when the tenants must leave. Eviction under the CPA supersedes the rental agreement between the landlord and tenants, and the RTA.
If the tenants refuse to leave, the Corporation can apply to the Court of Queen’s Bench for an order to vacate. All repairs, legal and court expenses will be charged to the unit owner’s account.
If you plan to rent your condominium, contact your Condominium Manager to find out what you must do to be compliant. There may also be move-in or move-out policies of which you need to be aware. Many policies require several days advance notice to the Manager.
Should you have any questions or concerns relative to your specific Condominium, please do not hesitate to contact us.
Nathalie Skyrie-Shaw, CPM®, ARM®
Senior Condominium Manager
403-813-3171