Use the BC Residential Tenancy Branch AND your own code of morals to describe how you would respond in the following scenarios

You are renting a basement suite of a house. The above floor is also rented to three people. You notice that the police are called to the house several times and you suspect there are some illegal activities occurring upstairs. Do you alert the landlord? Do you confront the other tenants? Do you move out? Do you ignore the activity? Do you feel safe? Can the landlord evict the above tenants?

You have been living in basement suite for 3 months and your landlord alerts you that some people will be viewing the house and your suite on Sunday. They announce after Sunday that they have sold the house and that you have to move! What are your rights? Do you have to move? What are the new owners rights?

You are moving out of your parents house and you cannot bear to leave behind your goldfish, hamster and 6 month old boxer. You have called different landlords looking for a place and they all have said that you cannot have pets? Can landlords deny pets? Do you have different conditions on your lease if you have pets? Do you sneak the pets into a rental place?

You are moving into a new place and find that the previous tenant had left many of their belongings (bowling ball, water bed, kitchen table etc…). You do not want all of the objects and don’t have a truck to transport the objects. You talk to the property manager and they reply that the previous tenant had said the new renter wanted the objects…. Who is responsible for cleaning up the extra stuff? How do you prove you did NOT say you wanted the stuff?

You have been renting a top floor suite of a house in Coquitlam for a year and 2 months. You have had a good relationship with the family you rent from and like your suite. You accepted a job in Toronto which starts in 2 weeks. You gave notice as soon as you were offered the job on August 7 for August 31. Do you owe rent for September? Should you pay rent/utilities for September? Why?

You have found a quite, clean and modern basement suite and are paying quite a bit for this nice living space. The first couple of months are great but the owner of the house allows 5 of their family members to move into the ONE bedroom basement suite next to yours. All of a sudden it is loud, you have to share your garden space and the shared laundry is always busy. What do you do? What are you allowed to do?

You have rented your apartment from an older couple who are using your rent money as their retirement fund. The furnace is constantly breaking and you have asked them to fix it. The couple says they don’t have the money to call a repairman and that it is your responsibility. Is it your responsibility? What can you do if they don’t fix it?

You arrive home to your top floor suite and notice that someone had been in while you were gone. You confront the owners. They say that their toilet had broken and that they had used yours. Can the owners enter your place when they want to? What can you do about this?

While watching TV one day, you notice water spreading across your living room floor of your condo. After calling the owner it is discovered that a water pipe in the building had broken. Not only are the floors and walls ruined but many of your belongings are destroyed. Who pays for the repairs? What is covered by insurance? What happens to your belongings? Does your landlord have any responsibility to help you find/pay for another place to rent during renovations?

After thinking about the scenarios, what advice would you give a new renter?