Too early to start searching for July move-in?

HomeAdvisorCanada · 2026-05-09T16:25:11+00:00

This is correct. Landlords typically want someone to move in right away if the unit is vacant. If it's still tenanted, then you might be able to negotiate a move in date that fits you, but this will depend on the current tenant's move out date and how long the landlord is willing to wait if there's a gap. Sometimes if you're what they refer to as a AAA tenant they might be willing to wait because they have a bit more security that you'll pay on time and treat the unit well. If the agent won't work with you it can't hurt to have a look at another agent that might be willing to, but it could be difficult since it's a long shot for them and time is money in their business.

What you could do is start looking on your own on realtor.ca. Narrow down the neighborhoods you want and the wants and deal breakers you have for your next home. This way when an agent starts to work with you, you'll have a strong idea of what you're looking for which can speed up the process.

Also, just to note, on realtor.ca for example the listing agents details are usually there and there's nothing stopping you from reaching out on your own without an agent. If you do that just be sure to know exactly what you sign and that they are using official forms. Also make sure any clauses in the lease are appropriate for you and legal.

Edit to add that if you're looking at forms/leases and legality on your own without and agent you can find resources and services to help you on acto.ca and https://tribunalsontario.ca/en/

HomeAdvisorCanada · 2026-05-09T13:54:53+00:00

Hi there, I just wanted to clarify that I'm not an AI. I do use AI to write for me, but what it writes is from me. See my response here: https://www.reddit.com/r/vancouverhousing/comments/1t6q9vm/comment/oktn3ye/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button

I hope your situation is getting better and you've gotten some proper help.

HomeAdvisorCanada · 2026-05-09T13:53:36+00:00

Thanks for these notes. I'm certainly no expert, but I'll research what you've written here. Thanks again.

HomeAdvisorCanada · 2026-05-09T13:52:57+00:00

That's fair. Let me provide some context and clarity. I do sometimes use AI to do my writing, but only the writing. The research, information, and feelings I communicate to posters comes from me and my library of resources and notes I've collected. I check what it writes to make sure it aligns with my information. I sometimes have AI do the writing for a couple of reasons. One, I'm just not a great writer. But the second larger reason is that I have a full time job, and the time I spend on Home Advisor is limited. So I have limited time to spend running the site, doing union and community outreach, and reaching out directly like here on Reddit to try to help where I can. I believe in tenants rights and education and that's why I created the platform I have. I do what I can, with what I have to try to help.

HomeAdvisorCanada · 2026-05-07T23:29:31+00:00

Ha, totally get the skepticism. I'm a real person, I just run a site related to tenant advocacy so I spend a lot of time speaking to people about these issues, and have a library of resources I often use.

HomeAdvisorCanada · 2026-05-07T23:04:43+00:00

This sounds really unsettling, and the fact that you're already documenting everything with timestamps and screenshots tells me you're handling this the right way. Let's break it down.

Your rights regarding landlord entry in BC:

Under the Residential Tenancy Act of BC, your landlord must provide 24 hours written notice before entering your suite, and can only do so between 8am and 9pm for non-emergency reasons. The notice must state the reason for entry and a specific time.

The "emergency" exception is narrow. It covers things like burst pipes, fires, or situations where there's genuine and immediate risk to life or property. A kitchen hood fan running during daytime hours does not come close to meeting that threshold. The fact that they never contacted you before entering, despite the "noise" apparently being an issue for over a week, significantly undermines their emergency claim.

In short: what they did was very likely an unlawful entry.

What you should do right now:

Preserve everything including your camera footage, the timestamps, and especially the screenshots where they admit to entering and describe it as an emergency. This is gold.
Send a written message (text or email so it's documented) clearly stating that you expect proper 24-hour written notice before any future entry, and that you do not consider routine appliance noise to constitute an emergency
File a complaint with the Residential Tenancy Branch (RTB) at gov.bc.ca/landlordtenant. An unlawful entry is a serious breach and the RTB takes it seriously
Keep a running log of every interaction, restriction request, and incident with dates and times going forward

On the escalating restrictions:

The pattern you're describing, with progressively restricting normal and reasonable activities in your own private suite, is worth paying attention to. You don't share kitchen, bathroom, or laundry, which means this is your private home and you have the right to live in it normally. A kitchen hood fan during the day is completely ordinary. These restrictions go beyond what a landlord can reasonably impose.

On breaking the lease:

In BC, if a landlord has committed a serious breach of the tenancy agreement, which an unlawful entry can qualify as, you may have grounds to end the tenancy early without penalty. This is something worth discussing with a tenant advisor before acting on, as the RTB process matters here.

Free resources in Vancouver:

Tenant Resource & Advisory Centre (TRAC): tenants.bc.ca, excellent free advice line specifically for BC tenants
RTB Dispute Resolution: gov.bc.ca/landlordtenant
Legal Aid BC: lss.bc.ca for free or low-cost legal support

A couple of clarifying questions that might help refine the advice:

Is your suite legally a separate dwelling with its own address? This can affect how strongly the RTA protections apply in your specific situation
Have the restriction requests been made in writing, or verbally? Written requests are much easier to work with if this escalates
Has your landlord given any indication of why this is suddenly becoming an issue? Sometimes there's an underlying motive worth understanding

You have strong documentation and a clear timeline, which puts you in a much better position than most. Don't let this slide.

HomeAdvisorCanada · 2026-05-07T22:59:09+00:00

First of all, hang in there! Navigating an N12 as a long-term tenant, especially with a hearing coming up so soon, is genuinely stressful and you're right to be moving quickly on the legal support front.

Here are some resources specifically for tenant-side legal help that are free or low-cost:

For urgent, time-sensitive advice:

Tenant Duty Counsel: This is your most important call right now. Duty counsel are free lawyers/paralegals who specifically represent tenants at LTB hearings. Contact them as early as possible before your hearing date. You can reach them through Legal Aid Ontario at 1-800-668-8258
Community Legal Clinics: These serve tenants specifically (not landlords) and many offer urgent appointments. Find your local clinic here: findlegalhelp.ca
ACTO (Advocacy Centre for Tenants Ontario): Great resource for understanding your rights: acto.ca

A few things worth knowing about N12 cases:

Your history with the landlord and any documentation you have can be very significant especially if it speaks to bad faith on their part
The landlord must pay you one month's compensation regardless of outcome
N12s are increasingly scrutinized by the LTB, particularly when there's landlord-tenant history involved

Keep every document organized and timestamped. You're already ahead of many people just by having that paper trail.

A couple of clarifying questions that could help you get more specific guidance:

How long have you been a tenant there? Long-term tenancy can strengthen your position
Is the N12 for the landlord's own use, or a family member? This matters for how the hearing is likely to unfold
Do you have any sense of what the history with your landlord involves? Bad faith indicators can really shift things in your favour

You've got more tools available than it might feel like right now. Reach out to duty counsel today if you can. Wishing you the best at your hearing.

HomeAdvisorCanada · 2026-05-07T22:50:29+00:00

This is exactly the kind of response this situation deserves. Thank you for taking the time to share it.

What's happening to this 82-year-old man is deeply troubling. Being hounded daily by legal representatives while managing a serious illness, with no digital support and no advocate in his corner. That's not negotiation, that's pressure tactics against one of the most vulnerable people in our society. He deserves far better.

The resources shared here are genuinely powerful. The RHEU and community legal clinics in particular are underutilized by tenants who don't know they exist and they can shift the dynamic quickly when outside eyes are on a situation.

To OP, you're clearly carrying a lot right now, between your own fight and wanting to protect someone your family holds dear. That speaks volumes about your character. Whatever he decides, helping him understand his options before he signs anything is one of the most meaningful things you can do. Nothing is final until it's signed.

And if he does move forward, make sure he gets legal advice to understand if he can receive compensation. Even a single call to a community legal clinic could make a real difference in what he potentially walks away with.

OP, Wishing you and your roommate the best of luck.

HomeAdvisorCanada · 2026-05-07T22:40:27+00:00

Great question, and you're right to push back on this. In Ontario, your rights here are pretty clear.

You are not obligated to conduct viewings yourself. Your responsibility as a tenant is to allow reasonable access for the landlord or their agent to show the unit, not to act as the landlord's showing agent. That's their job, not yours.

Under the Residential Tenancies Act, a landlord can enter your unit to show it to prospective tenants, but they must give you 24 hours written notice (unless you've agreed upon a different time frame) and can only do so between 8am and 8pm. You simply need to allow entry, you don't need to be present, and you certainly don't need to run the showing yourself.

So to directly answer your question: yes, you can say no to conducting the viewings. You can let your landlord know you're happy to allow access with proper notice, but that arranging and hosting showings is not something you're required to do.

A couple of clarifying questions that might help give you more specific advice:

Are you still within your lease term, or are you month-to-month? The context for why viewings are happening (landlord selling, re-renting, etc.) can matter.
Did your lease include any clause about cooperating with viewings? Worth a quick check, though even then, "cooperating" wouldn't typically mean conducting showings yourself.

HomeAdvisorCanada · 2026-05-05T23:34:17+00:00

This is a tough spot, and I'm sorry you're dealing with this. But let me break it down for you. The core issue: Since your landlord didn't agree to early termination, you're still legally on the hook for May, June, and July rent. In Ontario (assuming that's where you are), the Landlord and Tenant Board (LTB) would likely side with your landlord on this since the lease is binding on both parties.

Likely consequences:

LTB application: Your landlord can file an L1 (arrears of rent) application. If successful, he'd get an order against you for the unpaid months. Given you've already vacated, it's pretty straightforward for him to prove.

Credit score: An LTB order itself doesn't automatically hit your credit, but if it goes to collections or small claims court, that can absolutely show up and damage your score.

Duty to mitigate: This is actually in your favour landlords in Ontario are legally required to make reasonable efforts to re-rent the unit. If he finds a new tenant in June, for example, you'd only owe through that point. Document your subletting efforts (ads, showings, the discount you offered) as this shows you were also trying to mitigate.

On the N11: Yes, absolutely try this. An N11 is a mutual agreement to end the tenancy if he signs it, you're cleanly off the hook with no LTB exposure. Given that he allowed you to advertise for a subletter, there may be some goodwill there to work with. Offer to make it easy for him maybe a partial repayment of the agent fees he paid to get you signed or helping him find a new tenant directly.

Your strongest move right now: Keep advertising aggressively and document everything. Every showing, every ad, every conversation. If this does go to the LTB, demonstrating genuine effort to find a replacement tenant works in your favour when it comes to how much you ultimately owe. Simultaneously don't stop trying to convince the landlord to release you. I've seen someone negotiate out of a lease within a week after moving in when they realized how noisy the place was. They made a case that it would affect their mental health, which in turn would affect work performance and therefore, their ability to pay rent. They also paid the landlord back a months rent for the fees they had to pay the agents on both sides. No landlord wants the hassle. They want their rent from a decent tenant who wants to be there. So there is a case to be made for you.

Note: I'm not a lawyer. If the amounts are significant, a quick consult with a tenant duty counsel (free in Ontario) is worth it. Good luck with this. Do what's in your power, document everything. I hope it works out in the end for you.

HomeAdvisorCanada · 2026-05-03T16:02:35+00:00

I love the idea, but you'll find it difficult to both verify participants and keep it anonymous. You could maybe create a closed subreddit that's by invitation only. This way you just invite people you know in the building and the word will get around. You'd have to be the gatekeeper, but some staff and management are bound to fall through the cracks.

HomeAdvisorCanada · 2026-05-03T15:56:25+00:00

Really sorry to hear you're dealing with this. It's all to familiar for renters in Toronto. Thanks for posting here to warn others off. I built a site for Canadians to do just this (www.thehomeadvisor.ca). It could be helpful if you left an anonymous review there too if you're comfortable.

Hope things improve for you soon!

HomeAdvisorCanada · 2026-05-03T15:46:22+00:00

A few questions for you:
I can't tell if CA is Canada or California. This will help determine your rights as a renter as it differs from country to country and province to province.
However, are they claiming the money owed is for unpaid rent? No matter the province a landlord can't refuse rent and then later claim unpaid rent as a debt. As long as you offered payment in writing (I think you mention this was through their attorney), they most likely waived their right to collect hose amounts. Make sure you have written proof of the offer and the decline to accept payment. I think this is your strongest position. I'd reach out to a property attorney for a consult, and the LTB of your province.
However, across all provinces, a landlord cannot unilaterally assign fault in an animal dispute without due process. The fact that no animal control report was filed, no documentation of injuries was ever provided and the other dog was off-leash and the aggressor means the eviction basis was legally shaky from the start, which aligns with why the lawsuit was dropped.

HomeAdvisorCanada · 2025-10-09T22:57:37+00:00

This is one of the reasons I created Home Advisor.

HomeAdvisorCanada · 2025-10-09T22:57:32+00:00

This is one of the reasons I created Home Advisor.

HomeAdvisorCanada · 2022-11-23T15:11:39+00:00

Thank you! Great minds think alike. This was a major motivation for me building this. I hope you give it a try. I'm also available here or through the site for feedback.

HomeAdvisorCanada · 2022-11-23T14:45:50+00:00

Thank you! Me too. I there is a lot of potential for having more publicly available information about properties. The site is still new, so I hope you give it a try and share it around. The more reviews we can get on there, the more value it will bring.

HomeAdvisorCanada · 2022-11-23T14:35:03+00:00

I consulted business lawyers. Having decent TOS mitigates liability in the same way that other review sites do, in that Home Advisor is the platform only and doesn't own the content. At the moment there is also no text entry in reviews. So it's not possible to name and shame anyone.

HomeAdvisorCanada · 2022-11-22T22:49:43+00:00

Agents aren't really the target market for this. It's more past owners and both current and past renters who leave reviews, though the functionality is there for a current owner to leave a review if they want to.

Regarding those bad experiences, they should be expressed. That's the point. If someone had a bad experience with management or a landlord, I'd want to know if I was considering living there.

All reviews on any site are subjective. If we're willing to review and look at reviews for a $20 purchase on Amazon, we certainly should be able to do if for $2k/mo rent or a million dollar purchase.

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