Living
in an apartment that you don't own comes with many benefits, but it also comes
with a few downsides. The main disadvantage is undoubtedly the fact that your
landlord can evict you at any time. But can they really?
Many
are not aware, but your landlord can only evict you if they
have an adequate reason for it. With that in mind, we wanted to take a look at
everything that can get you evicted from your rental apartment, so you know to
avoid doing those things. Let's see what they are:
The Most Common Reasons
for Getting Evicted from Your Rental Apartment
In
general, there are only six main reasons for which landlords evict their
tenants:
- Not paying rent
- Always being late with your rent
- Damaging the rental
- Causing problems to the other tenants in the
building
- Breaking a rule or rules from the lease
- Refusing to
move out once the lease ends (in certain jurisdictions like
Ontario, a lease is perpetual, meaning that once it ends, it automatically
converts to month-month without you being evicted)
Naturally,
these causes are not always as black and white as one might expect. Even the
nonpayment of rent is not always as straightforward as it sounds. For example,
if your landlord doesn't respect the lease you both signed, you can apply to
the board for rent abatement. Unfortunately, you cannot stop paying rent
altogether as the landlord will still have the right to evict you. So remember,
the first step is rent abatement, and if you’re having too big of an issue with
your landlord, you should consider hiring a lawyer.
In
essence, as long as you respect the lease, there will rarely be any reasons for
your landlord to evict you. That makes reading your lease a thing you
absolutely have to do – especially before you sign it. It's entirely
understandable to ask your landlord for some time to review your contract
carefully, even if they state that it's just like all other leases.
There
are a few things that you should really pay attention to in the lease, and they usually state whether or not you are allowed
to:
●
Have pets
●
Sublet the
place to someone else
●
Have guests
for an extended period
●
Use the
rental for business and what kind of business
Naturally,
there are more things on the lease, but most tenants who end up breaking it,
usually break one of these rules. However, you should know that this also
depends on the local laws. If the rules in the lease contradict the laws, you
cannot be evicted for breaking those rules as they are not legal.
Now,
when it comes to property damage, it's almost always black and white. If the
damage is intentional – it's your fault. However, you should know that most of
the damage a tenant does is considered deliberate. That's why you need to be
careful not to cause any significant damage to the rental. If something small
happens by accident, you should tell your landlord and let them know that
you're willing to repair it. If it's minimal, most landlords won't be mad and
won't ask you to fix it.
Key
Takeaways
All
in all, as you can see, as long as you respect the lease, pay your rent on
time, and don't bother other tenants, your landlord won't have any reason to evict you. However, it's still useful to know the most common
reasons for eviction we've compiled here, just to stay safe.
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