Washing machine damaged by hockey gear could result in a major penalty for tenant

We provide coin operated laundry facilities for our tenants’ use. It appears that one of our tenants dumped all of his hockey equipment into the washing machine, which resulted in a broken machine engine. It cost me several hundred dollars for the repairs. Can I demand that he reimburse me?

You seem already to have taken the correct step in repairing the washing machine as soon as possible. Section 20 of the Residential Tenancies Act (RTA) states: “A landlord is responsible for providing and maintaining a residential complex, including the rental units in it, in a good state of repair, fit for habitation and for complying with health, safety, housing and maintenance standards.”

Undue delay in repairing the washing machine could lead to a claim against you for not properly maintaining the complex. The tenant who has done the damage could not claim against you for lack of repair, but the other tenants in the building would have claims if you did not promptly fix the washing machine.

Your course of action depends on if you know which tenant caused the damage. If you know which tenant is responsible, you can pursue the tenant for the cost.

Section 34 of the RTA states that “the tenant is responsible for the repair of undue damage to the rental unit or residential complex caused by the wilful or negligent conduct of the tenant ...” This allows you to seek compensation for the cost of the repairs from the tenant responsible for the damages for overloading the machine in a way that a reasonable person should know would cause problems.

The first step could be to send a letter to the tenant requesting compensation for the damages. Give the tenant a deadline to pay the repair cost, failing which you will pursue further action. This step is not necessary, but it gives the tenant an opportunity to rectify the situation right away and would save you time and trouble.

If the tenant does not reimburse you by the deadline, then you can fill out and give the tenant an N5 notice of termination. This gives the tenant seven additional days to pay the repair fee. If they don’t pay and do not vacate, you are then entitled to issue an L2 application to evict the tenant from the building.

If the tenant pays the repair costs and the application fee, they will save their tenancy. That is often the result of an N5 notice and L2 application, even though they give a landlord the threat of eviction to enforce payment. Alternately, you could apply only for the compensation.

Many landlords avoid the problem of dealing with tenants about laundry machines by contracting with a laundry company to supply machines, and design and run the laundry room in their building. Under those contracts, the laundry company typically installs modern energy-efficient laundry machines, performs any necessary repairs and maintenance and educates the tenants on how to use the machines properly. If a problem occurs, the laundry company will address it, including pursuing action against anyone who negligently damaged the machines. The laundry contract could also provide the landlord with a modest stream of income from the charges for using the machines.