Tenant awarded more than $16,000
Island Regulatory and Appeals Commision rules landlord overcharged rent for 11 months
A recent rental office decision has awarded a P.E.I. tenant more than $16,500 in overpaid rent.
But after appealing the rent overpayments, the same tenant was also issued an eviction notice by the same landlord that had overcharged her, according to a separate order.
That tenant vacated the apartment on March 31.
Neither the tenant nor the landlord are identified in the orders. The Island Regulatory and Appeals Commission (IRAC), under whose authority the rental office falls, declined to provide the names of either party.
The order from the rental office says that the tenant began renting the apartment from the landlord on May 1, 2023 at a cost of $3,500 a month.
The order does not make clear if there were multiple bedrooms in the apartment or not, or if there were multiple tenants in the unit.
The tenant was later informed by a previous tenant that their rent had been $2,117 per month as of December 2022. As such, the tenant argued in an appeal to the rental office that the landlord had illegally increased the rent.
RENT TIED TO UNIT
An act of the P.E.I. legislature had limited rent increases for the 2023 year to zero per cent, unless landlords applied to IRAC for a greater than allowable rent increase.
After the previous tenant moved out, the order said the landlord had initially planned to move into the unit himself but had then decided to increase the rent beyond this amount to $3,500 per month.
“He stated he did not realize that rent was tied to the unit and he thought he could raise the rent between tenants,” the order said.
The rental office found that the subsequent $1,382.79 per month rent increase was invalid and that the landlord had made no application to IRAC for a greater than allowable increase.
As such, the landlord was ordered to pay the tenant $1,382.79 per month for 11 months, as well as an additional $1,382.79 in overpayment on the security deposit. This added up to $16,593.48.
This decision was reached on March 20.
A separate order from the rental office noted the same tenant that had been overcharged on rent was issued an eviction notice by the landlord on Feb. 27, 2024 – two months after they disputed the overpayments in rent.
The eviction notice ordered the tenant to move out by March 31, 2024.
This order noted a hearing was held on this eviction matter on March 21 – one day after the tenant was awarded the $16,593.48 decision.
This order noted the representative of the landlord provided “more details” regarding the eviction notice and that the tenant “one-hundred per cent denies the claims” of the landlord.
None of the details about the landlord’s claims are included in the order.
The two parties reached an agreement where the tenant agreed to vacate the property by March 31, 2024.
There appears to have been no further penalties or sanctions levied against the landlord.
RAISED IN THE LEGISLATURE
The $16,593 decision by the rental office was raised in the legislature on April 9 by Green MLA Peter Bevanbaker.
During question period, Bevanbaker said a rental registry, which would provide tenants with information on the rent paid by previous tenants in the same unit, was the “only way to control this sort of unlawful activity.”
He said both the recent tenant and the previous tenant had been evicted by their landlord after appealing illegal rent increases.
“What are the penalties for a landlord falsifying reasons to evict sitting tenants?” Bevan-baker asked.
Housing Minister Rob Lantz said he was not familiar with the specific ruling.
But he said the province’s Residential Tenancy Act requires lease agreements to include the rental amount paid by previous tenants.
“In fact, to falsify that would be de facto committing fraud,” Lantz said.
“Whatever penalties are available under the act itself, there are potentially civil penalties through the courts as well.”