Quote:
Originally Posted by cornholio
You should still call the tenancy branch. You may be surprised. Don't assume anything. You can not circumnavigate the act. You may be able to have the move out clause invalidated if they intend to continue renting out the unit but for more money then is allowable. The act specifically is meant to prevent these sorts of scenarios. Move out clauses are not meant to be a way to be able to force illegal rent increases. Also make sure you very clearly articulate all the facts, especially that they told you that you can stay at a 40% rent increase and that they will continue to rent the unit.
Ultimately all that matters is what the RTB tells you.
|
Thanks cornholio for giving some faint hope, but I did call the RTB and they are saying the case is clear when the move out clause is there. The current lease will end at the said date and a new one needs to be signed. At that point the landlord is not constrained by the old lease in any way and may set whatever price he wants and thinks he can get. Having the landlord change during the ongoing lease does not change the situation in any way.
I also asked if there is anything protecting BC tenants against overseas investors coming in purchasing rental properties and hiking up rents when a lease is up. Unfortunately there is nothing protecting the current tenant (or the future tenant) if the move out clause is there.
I think the only option left is to try to reason with our new landlord, but I think his greedy expectations are just way off with the reality to reach any kind of conclusion. He will have to learn the reality the hard way after having his unit maybe 30-50% of the time empty instead of 100% steady income. Unfortunately this won't help us.
We have already started seeing other units, but boy it is hard to find anything similar! Layouts in most of the new buildings are just horrible. Even 1200 sqf is not much and does not equal to spacious rooms. It seems to be that only 1400 sqf and above will begin to feel spacious and those suites are not many in Downtown.
I realize that we are moving out of an almost 1600 sqf suite, so it will be challenging to fit a large king size bed, 8-seat dining table and two large couches in many tower condos and still have room to move around...
