One of the risks you run when renting your property to any person is non-payment of rent. Ideally this doesn’t happen because you’ve taken the time to find the right tenant by screening, completing reference checks with employers and by reviewing potential candidates credit histories. But what do you do if this risk becomes a reality? Check out the steps below, outlined by the CMHC, on what you should do if your tenant fails to pay your rent.
What to Do when Tenants Don’t Pay their Rent
When tenants fail to pay the rent, it is important to act quickly. When this happens you can give them a notice to move. In most provinces, you can give this notice as soon as the rent is late, in others, after a 3-day grace period.
A notice for non-payment of rent must include:
- the amount of rent that the tenant owes
- the date tenant is to move out
- a statement that says the tenant can disagree with the landlord’s notice
If a tenant doesn’t move or pay the rent, you can request help from the provincial or territorial rental authority to order the tenant to move. For more information, call the local office responsible for landlord and tenant issues. (See the Provincial and Territorial Fact Sheets).
Procedures and paperwork are extremely important in cases of rent non-payment. If the landlord has a valid reason to terminate a tenancy but makes a minor mistake in the paperwork, the Tribunal in the province or territory may not uphold the action.
In some provinces the tenant may apply to their provincial authority for a rent reduction in a few situations. A tenant can submit an application if you don’t make repairs or improvements or fail to provide services as a condition of a rent increase. A tenant may also apply for a rent reduction if municipal taxes have been lowered or if a building service or facility is reduced or removed and the landlord does not reduce the rent.