Landlord claimed she didn't know how deposits worked in B.C. legal fight
A renter initiated a legal dispute against her former landlord for the return of a $1,200 damage deposit at the B.C. Civil Resolution Tribunal.
QW, the tenant, argued that YB, the landlord, improperly kept her $1,200 deposit when she moved out.
YB denied the claim, alleging that QW caused a lot of damage to the home and also hired a cleaning company that YB was forced to pay for. She also claimed that it was QW that owed over $700.
According to the tribunal dispute decision, the tenancy agreement in question has a section about security and pet damage deposits. Part A included a blank space for the parties to fill in the security deposit amount.
“Here, the amount filled in by hand was $1,200. However, part B says the security deposit must not exceed half the monthly rent,” the decision says.
In her submissions, the landlord claimed it was her first time renting out a room, “so she signed the agreement in good faith” without knowing that QW overpaid.
With that in mind, the tribunal inferred that YB was admitting that QW’s deposit should have been $600 at most.
YB said she trusted QW’s understanding of rental regulations; however, the tribunal stated that even if it was YB’s first time renting out a room and she was acting in good faith, it didn’t matter.
“I find that as the property owner, it was her responsibility to ensure she understood the amount she was entitled to collect for the security deposit,” the tribunal said.
The tribunal added that relying on QW, her tenant, for this was unreasonable. The tribunal ordered YB to reimburse QW $600 for the security deposit overpayment.
Regarding YB’s claim that QW had damaged the place and left her with a cleaning bill, the tribunal discovered that there was no move-in inspection or a condition inspection report. The tribunal said that meant that under the parties’ agreement, the right to make a claim against the security deposit was terminated.
The B.C. landlord was ordered to pay QW $1,325, which included the security deposit and tribunal fees.