Renting a Place to Live/Tenants/Rights
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Rights
Is there a 'right' to housing?
No. However, a landlord cannot reject an application for a tenancy on any of the grounds of discrimination set out in the Alberta Human Rights, Citizenship and Multiculturalism Act or on the grounds of sexual orientation.
I moved into a basement suite eight months ago and recently found out that the tenant upstairs has a key to my suite. My landlord lives in another city. I am very uncomfortable knowing that the people upstairs can come into my place. Who has the right to enter my suite?
No one except your landlord should be able to enter your suite. Even your landlord can only enter in an emergency situation without notice and with notice in certain other situations or with your consent.
You should contact your landlord to find out the status of the tenant upstairs. If they are a property manager in the absence of the landlord, they have the same rights as the landlord to enter. If they are simply tenants who have a key to your suite, they cannot enter your rented premises without your permission.
My landlord says he is going to tow away the car parked in my parking stall because it has not moved for six months. He says it is against our agreement to keep the car there. The car needs repairs and has no insurance, but I cannot afford it. I pay for my parking stall in my rent. What are my rights?
You will need to read your tenancy agreement very carefully to check what your rights are with regards to the parking stall. The agreement may say that all cars using spaces must have current insurance, or that vehicles cannot be stored in the parking lot. If there is any limitation on the way you use the parking space mentioned in your agreement, you will have to abide by the terms you agreed to.
If the lease simply states that you are renting the parking space, then the lease does not limit the way you use the space.
You might also consider that as a tenant you have an obligation under the Residential Tenancies Act
- to keep the premises in a reasonably clean condition;
- not to interfere with the rights of other tenants;
- not to endanger people or property in the premises; and
- not to do significant damage to the premises.
If your car is causing any of these problems, the landlord may be able to require you to move it.
When we moved into our apartment, the inspection report showed quite a few deficiencies. The landlord said that he would take care of them, but it has become a problem. The landlord is calling us every other day to say that he is going to be working in the apartment. Because he has a day job, he comes in the evening, which is very disruptive to my family. There are still jobs to be done. Do I have to put up with him coming so often?
Not necessarily. A landlord is required to allow tenants peaceful enjoyment of their property and to provide premises that are habitable. It is possible that by continually arriving at short intervals to carry out repairs, your landlord is breaking one or both of those commitments. You could apply to court on the basis that the landlord is not allowing you peaceful enjoyment of your property.
Alternatively, it could be that the premises are not habitable and you could request relief such as a reduction in rent for the period of inconvenience. Before you take this step, you might wish to consider talking to your landlord and explaining the inconvenience that is being caused to you. You might be able to come to a resolution acceptable to you both.
See Also
This page was last updated in November, 2004.
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