What Causes You to Get Evicted from a Rental Apartment?

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:

1. Not paying rent
2. Always being late with your rent
3. Damaging the rental
4. Causing problems to the other tenants in the building
5. Breaking a rule or rules from the lease
6. 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.

What Is the Best Floor to Live On in an Apartment Building?

We all love living in an apartment building. This is especially true while we're younger. It makes life much easier, and it usually means that you're living in the city and close to everything important to you.

However, apartment buildings can often go very high, so it's hard to choose which floor is optimal. A lot of factors influence which floor is considered the best floor to live on. The rent can be higher or lower; the heating might be better on a specific floor, and much more.

So, with that in mind, we want to give you an answer to this question. By the end of this article, you'll know exactly which floor is the best to live on in an apartment building.  

 

Where to Live in an Apartment Building

 

As each building has a different number of floors, we'll tell you about the advantages and downsides of living in three specific areas in an apartment building: the top, middle, and bottom levels.

 

The top floors

The general rule is that the higher you go in an apartment building, the higher the rent becomes. That's why the top floors are usually the most expensive ones and the ones where the cooling is also the most costly, as heat rises. But that also means that you won't have to worry too much about the heating during the winter. Unfortunately, in most areas of Canada as it’s very cold during the winter, the top floors are often colder than in other places. That’s why it’s important to look for top floor apartments that are well insulated.

 

The top floors might be more expensive, but they also offer more security, a lot less noise, more sunlight, and fewer pests and other critters. Some have balconies, which is definitely something worth considering.

The middle floors

 

The middle floors are usually the best option when all things are considered. If you worry about your bills, the rent, and reaching your level daily, then the middle is always the best option. It's right in between two extremes, which is what makes it the most appealing choice. What’s more, they can be as exclusive as top floor apartments in some cases, especially when they have balconies.

 

The only real downside is that the middle floors tend to have more noise than all the others as you have more neighbors and more foot traffic.

The bottom floors

 

As you can already guess, the access to apartments on the bottom floors is the best. Furthermore, these apartments tend to have the lowest rent as well. However, the noise tends to be very high on these floors, as well as the number of pests and critters.

 

In the end, if you worry about security, the unfortunate truth is that the lower you are in an apartment building, the less safe you are. However, it all depends on how safe your area is, so if it's already very secure, you won't have to worry about security as much. Also, if the building has a great yard, the lack of a balcony doesn’t have to be a problem.

The Bottom Line

When we consider all the factors, we quickly realize that the apartments on the middle floors are usually the best option. However, it all depends on your personal preferences and which factors you care about the most.

 

With everything that we've explained here, you can now easily choose the best floor to live on in an apartment building.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

New Years Resolutions for Renters

Although largely symbolic, the start of a new year offers you the chance to do things better.  While people usually look to themselves for self-improvement, it might be more productive to think about how things could be better managed in your apartment.  New Year’s Resolutions are difficult to maintain, but if you keep your apartment resolutions simple, realistic, and useful, then upholding them should be easy.

Out with the Old

Nothing allows you to free up, and change up, your apartment like purging the ghosts of yesteryear.  The New Year gives you a great opportunity to finally offload the things you have been holding on to.  A great rule of thumb is if you have not used an object in the past year, then pass it on, and make space for something else!  Haul those old clothes, coats, shoes, books, DVDs, and small pieces of furniture off to the thrift store, and make some room for yourself.  Also, New Year is a great time to finally commit to getting rid of the trickier items that have languished under your kitchen sink or in your closet for the past year.  Old paint cans, hardware, dead batteries, or old tech and wires can all be gotten rid of by simply looking up municipal guidelines on their safe disposal.

A Fresh Start

The New Year also allows you to finally tackle the little projects that have weighed you down throughout the year.  Now is your time to finally go through your digital pictures, select five or ten of them, and print and hang them on your wall.  Or, maybe this is your chance to go out and grab some frames for the posters or prints you have stacked under your bed, and have been dying to put up.  Additionally, the New Year lets you commit to some new systems to help you better streamline and manage your life.  Now is the time to take a look at your kitchen and rearrange cupboards, shelves, cooking implements, and ingredients to better sync with how you prepare food.  Or, maybe this is the time that you finally tackle your home entertainment system to de-clutter wires, or to purchase that one small device that makes your streaming or listening that much more strait-forward.

Be a Better Tenant

Finally, the New Year gives you a chance to start doing the things you wished you did in your house or building to improve your living space.  Whether it is introducing yourself, at long last, to your neighbours, or picking up flyers on the floor of your mailroom to throw in the recycling, the New Year is a great opportunity to start building a better community.  Remember, change starts with you, and sometimes the easiest way to make a change is by rearranging how you live.

Can Landlords Ban Smoking Marijuana in Rentals?

As of October 2018, marijuana has become legal in Canada. That means that everyone can now possess, sell, and consume the product freely, as you do with any other product.

However, there are some smaller stipulations, amendments, and whatnot, and what’s more – there are differences from province to province.

With that in mind, we’re here to talk about the rules on smoking marijuana in rented apartments so you’ll know how it works in each province and if the landlord can forbid you from using it.

The Most Important Rules

First of all, it’s worth noting that some rules do exist and can limit your interaction with marijuana.

●        The minimum age for smoking is 18, while in some provinces it’s 21.

●        Marijuana can be smoked throughout Canada, but some provinces ban smoking in public places, but not in private apartments and homes.

●        In all provinces (except for Quebec and Manitoba) you can grow up to four plants.

Smoking in Rented Spaces

In general, the rule is that you can smoke cannabis in private residences. But when it comes to rentals, if your agreement forbids smoking indoors, then that most likely applies to marijuana as well.

In most provinces, the law allows the landlords to ban smoking, and many have opted to do so because the smell of the smoke lingers and this makes them do extensive cleaning and renovations before the next tenant moves in.

The Rules in Each Province of Canada

●        Ontario

The landlord can only ban smoking of marijuana if it affects the neighbours.

●        Quebec

Growing is prohibited altogether, and most landlords had the option to make changes to their agreements to ban smoking.

●        British Columbia

Smoking is allowed, as long as the landlord hasn’t banned it in the agreement. However, this ban can only be imposed on new tenants in new contracts. Landlords cannot make old tenants accept changes to their agreements. Furthermore, plants can be grown but mustn’t be visible from public spaces. 

●        Alberta

Alberta has a law that allows landlords to set rules for what is and what isn’t allowed in their properties, and these rules can include smoking of any kind. You need to check your agreement as many landlords have already changed them before the cannabis law took effect.

●        Prince Edward Island

Landlords can prohibit smoking and growing in their property. Smoking of marijuana is also banned in public spaces.

●        New Brunswick

Landlords are free to impose bans on smoking and cultivating. It stems from the fact that the term ‘no smoking’ is all-encompassing in this province.

●        Nova Scotia

The law gives the right to landlords to amend the agreement to forbid smoking and cultivating marijuana.

●        Manitoba

We already mentioned that growing marijuana is illegal, but smoking in public places is as well. Landlords also have the right to ban smoking in their properties, which includes marijuana as well.

●        Newfoundland and Labrador

Landlords are free to make restrictions on smoking marijuana in common areas, on porches and balconies.

●        Saskatchewan

Landlords can change their policy on smoking and cultivation in their properties. It’s estimated that most of them have already done so. Furthermore, smoking is banned in public spaces as well.

How to Increase Your Living Space Without Paying More Rent?

With a few exceptions, every person wants to live in a spacious home. Unfortunately, however, it is not always an option, especially if you are renting a place. If this is the case for you, then you've come to the right place. Below are several tips on how to increase the size of your home without paying more rent. 

The Pareto Principle

Also known as the 80/20 rule or the law of the vital few, the Pareto principle dictates that 80% of effects are a direct result of 20% of the causes. The truly fascinating part about this principle is that it can be found everywhere in nature, but it also applies in areas of human activity equally as well. It's a sort of natural law if you will. 

In this context, the Pareto principle applies to how we move around the house. If we take a moment to examine a room, we'll quickly come to realize that most of the time (about 80%) we walk on the same parts of the floor, roughly the same 20%. By doing this simple exercise, you may even notice areas that you never set your foot on. 

Anyway, by keeping this principle in mind, you can rearrange your furniture and belongings in such a way so that you'll never have to bump into anything ever again. By improving the traffic flow around the house, you've inherently optimized everything, thus allowing you to maximize the use of your space more effectively. 

Striking a Balance

If and when you rearrange your furniture, keep in mind to have everything in balance. Rooms that are too furniture-heavy on one side will give off the impression of a tight space, even if this is not necessarily the case.

Don't let too many pieces of furniture be the first thing you see when you enter a room and, instead, try to balance things out a bit more - but also keeping the aforementioned Pareto principle in mind. Also, don't be afraid to rearrange furniture from different rooms together if it means that it will offer you a better visual balance. 

Mind Your Storage

If it's a small space we're talking about, every square inch counts. Scan your home and look for things out in the open that you don't use on a daily basis. If, for instance, you make toast roughly twice a month, keeping that toaster on the counter will only take up much-needed space. Make the countertop hold items that you use on a daily basis and try putting everything else away. 

Storage may be tight in a small apartment, but it's an opportunity for you to become creative. It's a great idea to declutter any storage space that you might have, and try increasing the number of shelves. You can also place smaller pieces of furniture under larger ones. Hanging things can also be an option. Now, given your unique circumstance, your imagination will play a huge role here.  

Conclusion

In the end, everything boils down to how you manage to do more with less. Keep in mind the Pareto principle as well as the size of your furniture in every room, and you'll be fine.

Who Is Responsible for Specific Problems in the Rental Apartment?

Living in a rented apartment is a breeze, as there aren’t as many things you need to worry about as in your own home. Mostly, the only problem in a rental are some unforeseen circumstances like damage, broken devices, pests, mould, and things like that.

Naturally, the very fact that these things happen is not the biggest issue, as all of it can be dealt with patience and effort. The real problem lies in the fact that most people don’t know whose responsibility each of these problems is.

Do you have to fix the problems or is it the landlord’s duty? Each problem is unique, and only one of you is responsible for it. Let’s take a better look at who is in charge of each issue.

Which Problems are the Landlord’s Responsibility?

You want to be a great tenant, but you also want to know what obligations your landlord has towards you, as it shouldn’t all be on you.

In general, most of the repairs needed in the unit fall to the landlord’s domain. They are the ones responsible for them.

That means that the landlord has to fix anything doesn’t work correctly anymore, or replace the things that are completely broken. The rule naturally applies only to everything that came with the place – the unit itself, appliances like the fridge or the stove, and more.

It doesn’t matter what the contract says, as this has to do with the law in Canada that states that these things are the landlord’s responsibility.

All of this means that the landlord needs to worry about the repairs and maintenance of additional things like:

●        The plumbing, heating, and electricity

●        Everything in the common areas of the building

●        All infestations like bugs, rats, etc.

●        Serious mould issues

Of course, if the agreement you have with the landlord mentions something else that’s their responsibility, then it is, and you should refer to it to find out.

Which Problems are the Tenant’s Responsibility?

The landlord makes most repairs and changes, but small replacements like changing the lightbulbs are the tenant’s responsibility. As long as it’s something that can be done quickly and easily by the tenant, it’s your responsibility, but if it requires some special handling and assistance from others, then it isn’t.

Any routine maintenance or cleaning is naturally the tenant’s responsibility. Also, if you do any minor damage during your stay – it’s you who has to take care of it, as well as minor mould issues. When it comes to some more significant damage, as long as you cause it, it’s still up to you to fix it.

Furthermore, it’s worth noting that it’s up to you to maintain outside areas that are exclusively used by you. If others use it, then it’s no longer your responsibility.

It’s worth noting that you need to respect anything mentioned in the agreement, as long as it is according to the law.

If any problems do occur, it’s always good to talk with your landlord and have an open discussion, because as long as a positive relationship is maintained, everything will work out well. It can even happen that the landlord goes out of their way to help you because you’re a great tenant!

Your Apartment Spring Cleaning Guide

Spring is the perfect time to breathe new life into your apartment with a thorough cleaning.  Not only can you scour away a year’s worth of grime, you can also sort through and purge the piles of clutter that have accumulated in your home over the long winter.  Despite this, with so much mess and so little time, spring-cleaning can often feel a little overwhelming.  With a little pre-planning and a lot of elbow grease you can tackle your spring-cleaning with ease.

Plan and Purge

The first step to an effective spring-cleaning is planning.  Before you pick up a sponge, consider how much time you have to commit to the job, determine which cleaning goals you want to accomplish, and make a to-do list.  A detailed list keeps you on task, and reminds you that there is an end in sight.  After mapping out a plan, your next step is to “pre-clean” your apartment by de-cluttering it.  Go through your closets, cupboards, work area, and correspondence pile, and get rid of anything and everything that is no longer in use.  A good rule of thumb is to consider whether or not you have used an item in the past year: if the answer is no, send it on its way.  If you have pack-rat tendencies, start a good will donation bag and a bag for shredding documents.  This speeds up the decision making process by breaking it down.

Get Down and Dirty

Once you have de-cluttered, the actual cleaning is far less daunting, because nothing stands between you and the filth.  At a minimum, you will want to be sure that you give all of your tables, shelves, and counter-tops a good dusting and wiping down, and that you give your carpets and floors a thorough vacuuming and mopping. However, a spring-cleaning demands a few extra steps to ensure that your apartment really sparkles.  First, wipe down and polish all of your windows and mirrors.  Cleaning your glass is relatively quick and painless, and goes a long way towards brightening up your space.  Next, remove and wash your couch and your cushion covers, and, if applicable, your curtains.  This might seem like a cumbersome task, but the result of feeling like you just reupholstered your furniture makes it all worthwhile.  Then, wipe down your cupboard doors, baseboards, kitchen backsplash, and your garbage and recycling bins.  Again, this is a relatively quick and easy task, and it does wonders to restore crispness and brightness to your living space.  Finally, wipe down all of your kitchen appliances—from your fridge and oven door, to your toaster and tea-kettle.

To complete your spring-clean, pick up a nice new plant, light some incense, open up the windows, and breathe in the freshness!