A Burnaby renter who showed up at his new rental unit to find the place hadn’t been even remotely finished by the landlord got little sympathy from B.C.’s Residential Tenancy Branch.
A dispute resolution ruling shows that the tenant paid all the deposits to secure a rental unit (the RTB doesn’t provide addresses or identifying information) and showed up on moving day to find little work had been completed.
And so he took the landlord to the RTB for a monetary reward.
“The tenant submitted that the unit did not have a toilet, sinks or fixtures, cabinetry or countertops or appliances,” said the ruling. “The tenant submitted that he had to stay at a hotel for a couple of days and that he set up an air mattress after the first week … the tenant submitted that he had to eat out lunches and dinners for about two weeks and he seeks compensation.”
The tenant also had to store his belongings outside under tarps in the driveway for nearly an entire month. The tenant said some of his furniture ended up being damaged due to this.
The landlord did, however, offer to have the tenant stay with him upstairs, but the tenant didn’t feel comfortable living with strangers. The landlord, however, only offered a discount on the rent and the tenant had to battle to get offered the month for free.
But the RTB refused to allow the tenant’s claim for things like hotel fees or restaurant expenses because he should have accepted the landlord’s offer to live with him during the interim period even though the tenant didn’t feel it was safe.
And since the landlord didn’t end up charging rent for the month, the claim was dismissed without leave to appeal.
Follow Chris Campbell on Twitter @shinebox44.
