Landlord Tenant Archives - Ashersons Attorneys

02 Oct 2020

Landlords and Tenants: Alert Level 1 and the New Eviction Rules

Landlords and tenants alike should understand the regulations applicable to tenant evictions during the National State of Disaster. Many tenants are of course finding it hard to meet their monthly rental commitments, whilst landlords still have to fund their ongoing expenses and will be keen to be rid of problem tenants preventing them from doing so. That requires a careful balancing act, and to help you we summarise some highlights of the current regulations, with practical notes for both parties on how to navigate these hard times successfully. The flood of lockdown lay-offs and salary reductions has left many tenants…

03 Feb 2020

By Andrew Goldschmidt

Does an Expired Lease Automatically Continue Month-to-Month? At What Rental?

Your residential fixed-term lease expires but for whatever reason you don’t sign a new one. Nor does the lease say anything about what will happen on expiry. Is there still any form of valid lease in place and if so what terms and conditions apply? What rent is payable? To avoid confusion over the answers to those questions, the Rental Housing Act (“the RHA” – which, as its name suggests, applies only to residential leases) says that you are deemed “to have entered into a periodic lease, on the same terms and conditions as the expired lease, except that at…

07 May 2018

By Ashersons Attorneys

Landlord v Tenant: Consider the Tribunal Dispute Resolution Option

We all know how easy it is for misunderstandings and disputes to arise between landlords and tenants, and whilst most can be resolved with a bit of open communication and negotiation, sometimes independent intervention is needed. Enter the Rental Housing Tribunal, which uses the Rental Housing Act to “speedily resolve” landlord/tenant disputes, to balance the rights of both sides and to protect them both from “unfair practices and exploitation”. Note that this applies only to residential housing, not to commercial or industrial leases. What’s the cost and how does it work? It’s free, and to get going you lodge a…

28 Oct 2016

By Ashersons Attorneys

Bad Tenants: Can You Lock Them Out?

It’s very tempting, when you have a bad tenant who doesn’t pay his/her rentals or otherwise remains consistently and unapologetically in breach of your lease agreement, to slap the biggest and strongest padlock you can find onto the front door/driveway gate to bar him from further access to the leased premises. But don’t do it! By taking the law into your own hands you immediately put yourself in the wrong and can land yourself in all sorts of trouble with unnecessary delays, extra legal costs, and perhaps even a damages claim. The recent High Court case of Taddese and Others v…

01 Oct 2015

By Andrew Goldschmidt

Property Owners – Manage your risk of being sued

What happens if someone is injured or killed, or suffers some other form of loss on your property? Three recent court cases highlight your risk of liability for any potential dangers that you don’t take reasonable steps to avoid. Case 1: The landlord, the holiday let and the visitor who fell from the stairs “The lack of protection on the garage side of the stairs below the gate was an inherently dangerous state of affairs ….” (Extract from judgment) Letting out your holiday home to a tenant may be a lucrative option if you are holidaying elsewhere, or if you…