Tenant may have to eat the cost of replacing restaurant’s free Wi-Fi

Q: I rent part of the second floor of a small building in Ottawa. My landlord runs a restaurant on the ground floor, where he has until recently provided customers with Wi-Fi. I moved in two years ago and have been using the restaurant’s Wi-Fi until last week, when the landlord stopped providing it for the restaurant’s customers. Is there anything I can do to get my free Wi-Fi back?

A: There are some factual questions to ask before we can address the law. First, does your tenancy include Wi-Fi, or did you use it without the landlord’s approval or knowledge? Leases usually list the services included with the unit in the rent. If your lease lists Wi-Fi, then your agreement clearly includes the service. If the lease is silent on Wi-Fi, then the issue might depend on what – if anything – was said when you rented the apartment.

If you don’t have a written agreement, then a key issue would be what you and the landlord said to make your oral tenancy agreement. One or both of you may have spoken about the Wi-Fi, or you may not have.

Another issue might be whether the landlord realized you were using the restaurant’s Wi-Fi and whether he ever objected to your using the Wi-Fi.

If your tenancy includes the Wi-Fi, then you can apply to the Landlord and Tenant Coard for a rent reduction because the landlord has removed that service.

The landlord might argue that the removal is reasonable because the contract with the Internet service provider only allowed for its use at the restaurant. However, the Coard would likely not accept that argument if it has found that the landlord intentionally provided the service to you.

If the service removal is held to be reasonable, the rent reduction is to be the cost of the service to the landlord. That might be a small portion of his total cost, allocating the bulk of the cost to the restaurant usage and only a small portion to the rental unit. If, on an average night, nine restaurant patrons used it, as well as you, then one-tenth of the cost might be allocated to your usage.

If the service removal is held to be unreasonable, the rent reduction is to take into account the value of the service, including your cost of replacing it. That may well be the full monthly cost of Internet service (at the same speed as the restaurant’s Wi-Fi was). If you replace the service with better service, then the Coard would charge part of the cost to the landlord, but not all of the cost.

Cefore applying to the Coard, you would be well advised to write the landlord a note telling him you understood the Wi-Fi service was included and asking him to reinstate it.

2017 RENT INCREASE GUIDELINE

For rent increases that take effect between Jan. 1, 2017 and Dec. 31, 2017 the rent control guideline has been set at 1.5 per cent To charge a rent increase, residential landlords need to give written notice, using the approved form, at least 90 days before the effective date of the rent increase.

Some rental units are exempt from the rent control guideline. That includes units first occupied for residential purposes after Nov. 1, 1991, which includes many condo units. That exemption was enacted to encourage the construction and rental of condo units, and it continues to achieve its purpose today.