1946 replies to this topic

[davek]

... But you know those orientals, always causing trouble.

They're so inscrutable!

他们也很可爱！

[VicHockeyFan]

They're so inscrutable!

他们也很可爱！

Plus they all look alike. They could give you false ID with good references that don't even belong to them.

[Holden West]

^I guess we should point out we are being humourous, before yet another young UVic student reads this and writes a scathing thesis.

[VicHockeyFan]

^I guess we should point out we are being humourous, before yet another young UVic student reads this and writes a scathing thesis.

Back in the old days, folks would know we were being silly, humorous, using satire to shine light on old and ridiculous stereotypes, but I guess those times are behind us.

[Caramia]

A young friend of mine, a female university student from abroad was looking to rent an apartment for herself and her brother, also a student.

Some of the questions the property managers ask seem quite inappropriate to me, is this the norm now?

How much money do you make?

How much money do your parents make?

Yeah these are relevant questions - the landlord wants to know that she can cover the rent, and that if she doesn't, her parents will bail her out. It would even be reasonable to ask if the parent will help with rent if there is a problem.

Are you Chinese? We don't like Chinese because they call home at 3am, and disturb the other residents.

How old are you?

Actually the landlord put him/herself in a bad situation when they asked this question. In most rental situations you cannot refuse to rent to people based on age or ethnicity or gender, or gender preference, or marital status or if they have kids. So by asking these question the landlord opens themselves up to a human rights complaint which is no small deal. Most savy landlords will avoid asking outright how old you are (although they'd ask for the date of birth for a credit check - which tells them) or what ethnicity you are.

What was your address for the last 8 years?

What was your parents address for the last 8 years?

These are standard questions, especially if the parents are likely to co-sign. The landlord wants to establish how grounded or transient you are, and basically, if they are likely to be able to find you if you bail on them.

Is this the result of a .1% vacancy rate or is this business as usual?

Both - renting someone a place is sort of like trusting a stranger to take care of thousands of dollars of yours. You really want to know that you are making a good call. When tenancies go wrong they can be horribly stressful and expensive. So landlords pry. It is up to the tenant to convince the landlord that they are a good risk. But yeah, with vacancies so low, landlords can afford to screen... and they have the pool to screen from. When there are lots of vacancies they get a little more desperate and take people they might not if they had a choice.

[VicHockeyFan]

Yeah these are relevant questions - the landlord wants to know that she can cover the rent, and that if she doesn't, her parents will bail her out. It would even be reasonable to ask if the parent will help with rent if there is a problem.



Actually the landlord put him/herself in a bad situation when they asked this question. In most rental situations you cannot refuse to rent to people based on age or ethnicity or gender, or gender preference, or marital status or if they have kids. So by asking these question the landlord opens themselves up to a human rights complaint which is no small deal. Most savy landlords will avoid asking outright how old you are (although they'd ask for the date of birth for a credit check - which tells them) or what ethnicity you are.



These are standard questions, especially if the parents are likely to co-sign. The landlord wants to establish how grounded or transient you are, and basically, if they are likely to be able to find you if you bail on them.




Both - renting someone a place is sort of like trusting a stranger to take care of thousands of dollars of yours. You really want to know that you are making a good call. When tenancies go wrong they can be horribly stressful and expensive. So landlords pry. It is up to the tenant to convince the landlord that they are a good risk. But yeah, with vacancies so low, landlords can afford to screen... and they have the pool to screen from. When there are lots of vacancies they get a little more desperate and take people they might not if they had a choice.

Ya, that all sounds right. And especially the Human Rights thing. A person can go through the ringer there. But yes, landlords have a bit of an upper-hand now as they are charging much too little for their places.

[G-Man]

^ They can ask all those questions (apart from the ethnicity) but cannot turn you down based on any of them and if they did they would be open to a complaint to the RTA. Does that happen? No.

[G-Man]

From the RTA

1.7.1 Can a landlord refuse to rent based on discrimination?

The Human Rights Code forbids discrimination in tenancies based on a person's race, colour, ancestry, place of origin, marital status, family status, physical or mental disability and gender or sexual orientation.

A landlord cannot refuse to rent to a tenant based on the tenant's income, as long as the source of income is legal. This means, for example, that a tenant cannot be discriminated against if the rent is paid with an income assistance cheque.

A landlord cannot discriminate against a tenant because of the tenant's age, unless the residential property or manufactured home park is reserved for tenants who are fifty-five or older.

Tenancy agreements signed by tenants who are nineteen or younger are enforceable and tenants under nineteen are just as accountable for their actions as tenants over nineteen.

[LJ]

Originally Posted by Caramia
Yeah these are relevant questions - the landlord wants to know that she can cover the rent, and that if she doesn't, her parents will bail her out. It would even be reasonable to ask if the parent will help with rent if there is a problem.

If she offers to pay the 10 months rent in advance would that assuage them?


These are standard questions, especially if the parents are likely to co-sign. The landlord wants to establish how grounded or transient you are, and basically, if they are likely to be able to find you if you bail on them.


Being a university student is a given that you are going to be a transient resident isn't it? Once the last semester is done - your gone.


Anyway I was quite suprised at what the property managers asked, but then it has been a long long time since I last rented an apartment.

[Caramia]

About paying 10 months in advance, that is going to depend on the landlord. A lot of landlords would love to get the cash in advance since it guarantees that it is paid. But some of the smaller property management companies might see it as a pain in the butt. The company I used to work for shared an accounting department with other companies. So any advanced payments were basically exceptions to the rules. Each advanced payment had to be tracked separately and transfered into payables separately from the rest of the rents. In the end of month/beginning of month craziness that every property manager deals with it was one more detail to keep track of. If someone asked to pay in advance, we preferred post dated checks and a bank statement, although we accepted payment in advance if they really wanted to.

But from some of the questions - especially the ethnic one - I'm imagining this wasn't a professional company that she was dealing with.

One thing to add, if this is a private residence where the tenant is going to be living WITH the landlord, there is a whole other set of rules, and questions that are aimed to determine how well the tenant will fit into the household become fair game.

The final thing is that when selecting a tenant a lot of it comes down to gut instinct. If no one is radiating that "choose me" vibe, the landlord might start really asking hard or discouraging questions, hoping to weed out some of the less cooperative choices.

[Caramia]

Just reflecting on this...

I really learnt a lot about the supply side of housing while working in property management. Sometimes I'd put an ad in the paper and get over 50 calls within a day or two.

Some of the people I turned away I could not imagine anyone renting to. They just gave all the wrong cues. Many others would probably have been OK as tenants, or at least not disasters, but when you have that many choices, you pick the cream off the top. Some of them might have just looked like they liked to party, or blue collar types who might be hard on an apartment, or maybe had their credit screwed over by previous roommates, or been complaining about their past landlord which might make me think they will be hard to deal with if a problem comes up.

Why would a landlord choose that kind of risk over a diminutive woman in her mid thirties with impeccable credit, or a geeky computer programmer with a starched collar who brought his post-dated cheques with him?

No wonder that we have motels and shelters filled with people who are employed. And no wonder people who really are at the edge of functional can't find a place to live.

There are two things that need to happen here - One is that we desperately need to increase the rental stock.

The second is that we need to educate renters. Anyone who rents should take a day and find a workshop or mentor who will explain the rights and responsibilities of a tenant. Or at the very least pick up a copy of Residential Tenancy Act: A Guide for Landlords & Tenants in British Columbia (PDF) also available online. Also, Pacifica Housing has a new project called "Stepping Stones" that aims to take people with barriers to renting and teach them how to get and keep a rental home. Projects like this a huge in levelling the playing field, and they might tip the scales for a landlord who does want to make room for people who would otherwise end up homeless - but just wants some kind of reassurance that they aren't taking on a nightmare.

[VicHockeyFan]

Ted 3 dots:

we lose hundred's of apts every year
due to condo conversion ...!

I think you are off by several hundred. I bet if you take all condo conversions, then subtract basement suites etc. being created, you have a net increase in rentals.

[gumgum]

^Yeah I'd like to see some stats to back that up.

Condo conversions don't sit well with me generally but there isn't a epidemic of them. There just isn't enough rental housing being created.

[ted - 3 - dots]

Ted 3 dots:



I think you are off by several hundred. I bet if you take all condo conversions, then subtract basement suites etc. being created, you have a net increase in rentals.

--------- Basment suites are not apt suites

and although a few municipalities have changed their OCP's,
to legalize illegal suites

little has been done ...


---------- data & stats -------

the data-mine is closed today,
but I'll start digging monday morning .

However, the data I saw may have been for all conversion to Strata's...
( and not just for apartment buildings ) so granted the number I said
maybe high...

I'll work hard , to nail-down the actual number.


But,
I'm going with the number of apt-buildings the
CRD HAT committy has looked at buying , this year...!

( the realesate-Board , Pacifica-housing , and BC-housing are all part of that committy)
a number of them were already vancant ...!

--------- we'll see what data I can find on monday ---------

[gumgum]

Basement suites are the same thing.

[Caramia]

Keep in mind while searching that approximately 30% of new condos end up getting rented out by their owners. So just because an apartment is owned by an individual instead of a corporation, doesn't mean it is no longer rented.

[ted - 3 - dots]

Keep in mind while searching that approximately 30% of new condos end up getting rented out by their owners. So just because an apartment is owned by an individual instead of a corporation, doesn't mean it is no longer rented.

----- rented yes ,

but listed as a "condo-for-rent" ...

An apt for rent , is in a building
called an apartment-building ...!

hence the name "Apartment" ...!!!!!!!!!!

a "basement-suit" , is in the BASMENT of a house ...!


------ you guys remind of the Monty-Python Dead-Parrot Sketch...

"he not dead " ,
"he's just resting" ....!

(beautiful plume-age )

ted...

[VicHockeyFan]

----- rented yes ,

but listed as a "condo-for-rent" ...

An apt for rent , is in a building
called an apartment-building ...!

hence the name "Apartment" ...!!!!!!!!!!

a "basement-suit" , is in the BASMENT of a house ...!


------ you guys remind of the Monty-Python Dead-Parrot Sketch...

"he not dead " ,
"he's just resting" ....!

(beautiful plume-age )

ted...

You know what, in most of the world an apartment is an apartment, whether it is strata-titled or not.

[ted - 3 - dots]

You know what, in most of the world an apartment is an apartment, whether it is strata-titled or not.

----- well ya ,

that's why I live in canada ...
truth in advertizing

and an honesty

that frankly , isn't availible
in other parts of the world ...!

ted... ( so what are you saying )

it's canada , people are stupid , let's take advantage of that ...?


-------- uhmmmm,

I hope the original person who Started The Cry thread ,,,

has expanded their search beyond the word apt for rent,
to include , basement-suit's and condo's ... etc

ted...

;{-

[gumgum]

^Rental housing is rental housing. Just because you see them as a world of difference between them doesn't make it so.

Your effing writing "style" is just about driving me bonkers.
It does you no favours. I'm sure must people have given up reading your posts altogether as they are very difficult to read. Don't you want people to actually understand your point?