I went out of town and a friend was staying at my place to look after my dog. My landlord caught him smoking pot on the balcony, and now the landlord is trying to evict me. Can my landlord do that?
Probably not. Under the Residential Tenancies Act (RTA), if the tenant commits any illegal acts or carries on an illegal trade in the property, then the tenant has committed a substantial breach of the tenancy agreement, and can be evicted by the landlord. But, the issue in your case is that you were not the one who was committing an illegal act; your friend was.
Generally speaking, if you did not have knowledge of or control over the illegal acts, then your landlord cannot evict you for them. In the 2007 case Fairmont Hotels Inc. v. Zwir, from the Provincial Court of Alberta, the landlord tried to evict the tenant for a similar reason. The tenant’s cousin had come to stay with her, and while she was in another apartment, the cousin smoked a joint in her place and got caught by a security guard. The landlord tried to evict her for committing an illegal act, and the Judge wrote at paragraphs 16 and 17 that:
The illegal act here is a criminal act and under criminal law, in these circumstances where the tenant neither knew nor authorized the illegal activity, it is not likely the tenant did anything illegal.
Accordingly, I am not convinced that the tenant, Ms. Zwir, has breached Section 21 of the Act and accordingly I am not convinced that the illegal act here puts Ms. Zwir in substantial breach so as to justify summarily terminating her tenancy.
In your case, ignorance is bliss!
So what to do if your landlord serves you with a 14 day notice terminating your tenancy?
If you don’t want to leave, then you can serve your landlord with a notice of objection. The notice of objection should state the reasons why you do not agree with the termination notice. You must serve this notice on the landlord personally, or by registered or certified mail, before the termination day in the landlord’s notice. If you meet these requirements, then the landlord’s notice terminating your tenancy is ineffective and your tenancy stays in place. If your landlord still wants to evict you, then he has to make an application to terminate your tenancy.
Remember that if you are going to object to the notice, you need to follow the rules and serve the landlord properly and on time.
If your landlord does make an application to terminate your tenancy, then your landlord will serve you with more papers, and you will have a chance to respond to the application and tell your version of events.
And next time you’re out of town, you might want to give your dog a vacation at one of those fancy pet hotels instead.
Frequently Asked Questions:
- What if the landlord does not give the proper amount of notice?
- Can the tenant move before the notice takes effect?
- What if the landlord does not use the property for the reason stated in the notice?
- What happens if the tenant does not give the proper amount of notice?
- If the landlord has done something wrong, but it’s not a substantial breach, what can the tenant do?