Adressing those pesky moving problems

You’ll recall that a couple of months ago, this column mentioned the rights of landlords to inspect a premises before the end of a lease and the ways a tenant could protect himself against false allegations of damages.

Well, just like clockwork, these concerns have surfaced.

Case One: Many garbage bags left on a balcony.

The tenant’s obligation is to return a clean dwelling to the landlord. The landlord’s legal imperative is to be certain that the new tenant has a dwelling which meets all criteria of Article 1912 CCQ., concerning cleanliness, habitability and security, etc. The landlord possesses the legal right to sue a tenant who has left an unclean apartment. The proprietor may claim any and all damages related to removal and disposal of garbage left on premises. The tenant should endeavor to dispose of his garbage in a timely fashion and not wait until the last possible day (June 30 or July 1), thus saving both himself and the landlord and the new tenant difficulty and extra work. This is the reason that often the City does not cancel garbage removal close to moving day.

Case Two: Weird paint schemes left behind on the walls.

The tenant’s obligation is to return the dwelling to the landlord in the condition in which it was received, minus normal wear and tear. If the dwelling and its weird paint scheme causes the apartment to be more difficult or impossible to re-rent, the tenant may be liable for damages (i.e., cost to re-rent, loss of rent, costs to repaint, etc.) If the paint scheme does not stop the renting of the dwelling, then the former tenant is not liable for damages and the landlord cannot claim anything related to the paint colours the person placed on the walls.

The most directly potentially damage causing colour scheme that I ever saw was, and get ready for this… orange, purple and green fluorescent paint, plus silver aluminum colour and flat black. The landlord was worse than fit-to-be-tied. He had nightmares of five coats of paint just to return it to rentable condition.

The simple solution I came up with was to re-rent the dwelling to artists/musicians etc., and put in the lease that the landlord would include 10 gallons of white paint (or more) to the new tenants. Of course, there was little problem to find new people.

The moral of this story is that taste is in the eye of the beholder and that landlord’s cannot automatically claim damages if something is simply not to his taste. The colours in the apartment were just not a point of contention with the new tenants, so legally, damages did not happen.

Each person has the legal obligation to mitigate (reduce if possible) any damages.

Case Three: The front door was knocked off its hinges during the moving process.

Most people are not aware that when a door is installed, many times the screws which hold the hinges onto the door itself are short and of insufficient quantity to guarantee anything beyond day-to-day use for a short number of years. Often the doors themselves are of inferior quality due to a landlord’s or building speculator’s desire to maximize profit and spend next-to-nothing for general maintenance before he takes his speculative profit. The complaint came in that during a move, a refrigerator slipped on the stairs and hit a two-hinge door on the end, which realistically separated the door from the frame.

The tenant has the obligation to repair things broken during the move (beyond normal wear and tear). The landlord has the obligation to ensure good construction guarantees a safe dwelling. The movers are supposed to be careful. Insurance would have been a good idea for the movers.

Please take another look at the last issue of the Examiner. One of the suggestions we made was to have a double set of tools to use, as required, during the move. This would have assisted the resolution of the issue fast and the door might have been repaired without further incident. Someone will be responsible for the damages to the door. If it were to go to court, proof and procedure would have relevance. Negligence would have weight as well as potentially articles of the Québec Civil Code related to rentability, security, etc.

As you can see just from these three cases, there are specific legal obligations and ways in which to solve problems before they occur.

The top 10 ways to avoid problems

1. Make sure you and you family and guests do not damage anything.

2. Take photos when you move in to prove condition of the dwelling.

3. Inform the landlord immediately if anything occurs.

4. Landlords should undertake, at minimum, yearly inspections.

5. Tenants should do their own inspections with photos and witnesses.

6. Landlords are advised to do timely repairs with quality materials.

7. Tenants should explain care of a dwelling to all family members.

8. If a landlord has some specific concern, put it in the lease.

9. If a fridge or stove, washer/dryer etc., have specific care guidelines, put in the lease.

10. Live and let live. Know what the legal concept “normal wear and tear” is and follow it.

Problems can be solved and legal trouble may be avoided. Know Your Wrights. Find out how to apply your Wrights and stick up for your Wrights and yourself. Negotiation is the best policy, hand-in-hand with the law.

• This is a general overview only. Please seek legal counsel or come and see us. Ted Wright is coordinator of Westmount Legal Clinic, every Wednesday at 3:30 p.m. at the Westmount YMCA, 4585 Sherbrooke St. W. Send questions to tedquestions@yahoo.ca or via fax to 514-277-8403, or mail to P.O. Box 48101, Montréal, Qc., H2V 4S8. Please provide a phone number to verify identity. Your name will not be published without your permission. Mr. Wright contributes to various media in Canada, both print and electronic. Should you wish personal, more extensive assistance, professional fees may apply. He may also be heard on the Know Your Rights legal show every Saturday at 2:30 p.m. on CINQ 102.3 FM. Podcasts of shows are available for one week after original airing at www.radiocentreville.com. Ted Wright can also be heard every so often on 940NEWS Montreal's legal affairs programme “Sidebar with Dino Mazzone”, every Friday evening from 8 to 10 p.m. on 940 AM.