Policies & Procedures
Some related information can be found on the Owner FAQ page.
Tenants must also remember to be aware of the Terms and Rules of their lease.
Tenants must also remember to be aware of the Terms and Rules of their lease.
For Owners and Tenants
Communication procedures
Primary communication between all clients, tenants and contractors will be via email or completed web-forms. Text messaging or voicemail will not be accepted forms of notice, service requests, document delivery, etc.
All non-emergency Maintenance/Service Requests are to be made by webform.
Emergencies should be phoned to the 24/7 line, 1 (888) 866-8848
Management is available Mon-Fri 9am-5pm, except holidays.
For properties under "full" management services the Manager (the whole company) is the ONLY communication between Owners and Tenants. Under agency law all communications are to pass through the agent, in this case, the Manager. Owners are not to communicate directly with Tenants and Tenants are not to communicate with Owners. This creates untraceable arguments and gaps in information which is un-defendable in legal disputes. Disregarding this by either party may be considered a breach in the agreement.
Note: "informing" people of changes or activities are not in real time, usually the delay between tenant-contractor-contractor management-manager-owner takes the full month unless the activity is unnecessary and the owner needs to be brought in before anything is done, or it is so severe that insurance needs to be brought in right away or an appliance completely replaced.
All non-emergency Maintenance/Service Requests are to be made by webform.
Emergencies should be phoned to the 24/7 line, 1 (888) 866-8848
Management is available Mon-Fri 9am-5pm, except holidays.
For properties under "full" management services the Manager (the whole company) is the ONLY communication between Owners and Tenants. Under agency law all communications are to pass through the agent, in this case, the Manager. Owners are not to communicate directly with Tenants and Tenants are not to communicate with Owners. This creates untraceable arguments and gaps in information which is un-defendable in legal disputes. Disregarding this by either party may be considered a breach in the agreement.
Note: "informing" people of changes or activities are not in real time, usually the delay between tenant-contractor-contractor management-manager-owner takes the full month unless the activity is unnecessary and the owner needs to be brought in before anything is done, or it is so severe that insurance needs to be brought in right away or an appliance completely replaced.
Privacy
Neither the Owner nor the Tenant may obtain either parties private information through the Manager. This is a breach of the Privacy Act and enforced on the Manager by the Real Estate Council. All communication is to be handled through the Manager. This is not for the purpose of "control" but to maintain professional conduct and to ensure requests and communications are acceptable within the Residential Tenancies Act. The Owner will have their mail forwarded or change their address on file with all who would send the owner mail.
Insurance
Tenant and Owners are required to have insurance.
Tenants can obtain insurance online and here is a link to an easy-to-use provider.
Owner can also get rental insurance with Nuera.ca.
note to Owners. If your insurance requires someone to inspect the property every 48 hours when unoccupied OR they do not give you coverage when the property is vacant we recommend different coverage or a different provided. As for 48 hour inspections this is NOT included in our services by default. You must ask for it and pay for it separately.
Tenants can obtain insurance online and here is a link to an easy-to-use provider.
Owner can also get rental insurance with Nuera.ca.
note to Owners. If your insurance requires someone to inspect the property every 48 hours when unoccupied OR they do not give you coverage when the property is vacant we recommend different coverage or a different provided. As for 48 hour inspections this is NOT included in our services by default. You must ask for it and pay for it separately.
leasing
In general we do not use Fixed Term leases. We use Periodic leases.
The Owner and the Tenant must be aware that Annual/Yearly and Monthly leases are "periodic" and auto-renew unless the Owner or the Tenant informs the Manager of a desire for any change or non-renewal at least 100 days (from the owner) or 60 days (from the tenant) prior to the renewal date. This is NOT necessarily 100/60 days from whenever a desired change can be enforced. Please do contact us to discuss.
All changes are still subject to the Residential Tenancies Act.
The Owner and the Tenant must be aware that Annual/Yearly and Monthly leases are "periodic" and auto-renew unless the Owner or the Tenant informs the Manager of a desire for any change or non-renewal at least 100 days (from the owner) or 60 days (from the tenant) prior to the renewal date. This is NOT necessarily 100/60 days from whenever a desired change can be enforced. Please do contact us to discuss.
All changes are still subject to the Residential Tenancies Act.
For Owners
owners responsibilities
-The Owner shall maintain sufficient insurance to cover tenant occupancy even if the tenant fails to maintain insurance. A tenant can cancel insurance at any time without us knowing.
-The Owner will be aware of their insurance requirements and that compliance may be over and above the services we provide in our standard rates. Additional services may result in additional fees.
-The Owner will pay their mortgage, property related taxes, any condo fees and municipal utilities.
-The Owner must allow the Manager to perform repairs as required under the Health Act. This is more strict than it seems. We have received orders for things as little as putting on baseboards.
-The Owner will be aware of their insurance requirements and that compliance may be over and above the services we provide in our standard rates. Additional services may result in additional fees.
-The Owner will pay their mortgage, property related taxes, any condo fees and municipal utilities.
-The Owner must allow the Manager to perform repairs as required under the Health Act. This is more strict than it seems. We have received orders for things as little as putting on baseboards.
maintenance and appliances
When a tenant makes a service request an appropriate technician contractor is sent to assess the request. Contractors may bill the owner up to about $350 for non-emergency work without notice - if a second visit would only cost the owner more due to a second call-out or travel charge. For non-emergency plumbing/heating this goes up to $500 and for emergency response or control of damages there is no limit so long as it avoids, reduces ongoing or furthering of damages. This is typically less than $1200 and rarely above $2000 before the owner is involved and can bring in insurance as well. Proper insurance coverage would pay for the bulk of even these costs above the owners deductible. A good example of a large and sudden bill is a late night sewer backup that might require multiple contractors to pump water, auger a line and then remove unsanitary materials before the home is deemed unsafe due to bacteria. Another example is a furnace failure in winter due to motor and/or control board failure. These parts are quickly repairable but total invoice can be between $800 and $1000 but for Alberta Health housing requirements we must repair immediately.
-All appliance issues shall be reviewed and by an appliance repair technician company and paid for by the Owner. Neither the Property Manager/Associate nor the management staff are qualified technicians and are not to be expected to make decisions against a qualified technicians recommendations without significant reason.
-Fridges will be replaced if either an appointment with an appliance technician or after an appointment part are unavailable within 3 business days of the issue being reported. An alternative is to provide a temporary mini-fridge and freezer.
-All broken appliances will be removed and properly disposed of. The fee is $75 to $150 depending on the item.
-We do not advertise this but discretionary spending is allowed by the tenant without receipt up to $100 give or take. It may be considered excessive or invalid spending if evidence of problems and repairs are not also provided beyond the first occurrence. The first occurrence may be considered forgivable up to about $250. Managers discretion will be accepted based on their opinion on the tenant behaviour, communication and/or knowledge of the issue.
-Technicians and third party providers may be given owners direct contact information for payment collection. The Manager will be be held responsible for contractors failing to provide receipts if the Manager can provide proof of payment to the contractor for equal to or more than the cost incurred by the Owner.
-We may pay third party vendors directly from rent if the owner does not pay the vendor within 30 days.
-Owners accept notification by order of emergency. If there is no immediate consequence then it is not an emergency. If there is only one course of action then we will deal with it with or without the owners knowledge.
-All appliance issues shall be reviewed and by an appliance repair technician company and paid for by the Owner. Neither the Property Manager/Associate nor the management staff are qualified technicians and are not to be expected to make decisions against a qualified technicians recommendations without significant reason.
-Fridges will be replaced if either an appointment with an appliance technician or after an appointment part are unavailable within 3 business days of the issue being reported. An alternative is to provide a temporary mini-fridge and freezer.
-All broken appliances will be removed and properly disposed of. The fee is $75 to $150 depending on the item.
-We do not advertise this but discretionary spending is allowed by the tenant without receipt up to $100 give or take. It may be considered excessive or invalid spending if evidence of problems and repairs are not also provided beyond the first occurrence. The first occurrence may be considered forgivable up to about $250. Managers discretion will be accepted based on their opinion on the tenant behaviour, communication and/or knowledge of the issue.
-Technicians and third party providers may be given owners direct contact information for payment collection. The Manager will be be held responsible for contractors failing to provide receipts if the Manager can provide proof of payment to the contractor for equal to or more than the cost incurred by the Owner.
-We may pay third party vendors directly from rent if the owner does not pay the vendor within 30 days.
-Owners accept notification by order of emergency. If there is no immediate consequence then it is not an emergency. If there is only one course of action then we will deal with it with or without the owners knowledge.
managing utilities
Utility companies will not communicate with property managers. We have no idea if the tenant has opened their account or closed their account. Only the occupant or the owner can communicate with the utility provider.
We strongly recommend owners just cancel their services entirely to help ensure the tenant opens their own. Even when a tenant does open an account sometimes they try to hide behind a "cloud of confusion" regarding when the change of date occurred.
In the event the tenant does not open their accounts we cannot “make them”. The only real option in Alberta is to take them to court - and evict. There are no legal late fees or penalties. We can pass on penalties we receive, but no more.
Please write your MLA and ask for more options to deal with tenants. We need the right to charge late fees and penalties. We need to be able to force a tenant to take responsibility for their utility usage and not have owners taken advantage of. When the market is tenant sided they can ride the situation out until we become so frustrated we evict them and they just move on and do this to another owner, without penalty and without recourse.
We strongly recommend owners just cancel their services entirely to help ensure the tenant opens their own. Even when a tenant does open an account sometimes they try to hide behind a "cloud of confusion" regarding when the change of date occurred.
In the event the tenant does not open their accounts we cannot “make them”. The only real option in Alberta is to take them to court - and evict. There are no legal late fees or penalties. We can pass on penalties we receive, but no more.
Please write your MLA and ask for more options to deal with tenants. We need the right to charge late fees and penalties. We need to be able to force a tenant to take responsibility for their utility usage and not have owners taken advantage of. When the market is tenant sided they can ride the situation out until we become so frustrated we evict them and they just move on and do this to another owner, without penalty and without recourse.
rent delivery and receipts to owners
Owners typically receive their rent between the 6th and 8th business day of the month, NOT the 8th day. Clients tell us this is usually the 8th day though which is where the confusion begins. If you have not received your rent by the morning of the 8th business day please contact us. There are various bank errors that can cause the delay or even a problem receiving the rent from the tenant but this is usually the last day for normal transactions to have arrived.
Because rent is delivered to the owner quickly and at the beginning of the month, during the busy time when we are doing move-in/out, rent collection, evictions and Security Deposit processing, often the owner is aware that their payment is missing or not in full before they receive an explanation of why. All rents received will be accounted for and explained, just be aware the explanation and any receipts come AFTER the funds are delivered to the owner. Feel free to contact your manager shortly after receiving your funds for copies of receipts against your property or to inquire on any issues.
Full statements are only issued annually. Owners may make a request for a given month or varying annual period for their business needs. A per-month statement is not included in the base management fee.
Remember, as per the maintenance clauses, that contractors may bill the owner up to about $350 for non-emergency work without notice if a second visit would only cost the owner more. For non-emergency plumbing/heating this goes up to $500 and for emergency response there is no limit so long as it avoids, reduces ongoing or further damages. This is typically less than $1200 and rarely above $2000 before the owner is involved and can bring in insurance as well. Proper insurance coverage would pay for the bulk of even these costs above the owners deductible.
Because rent is delivered to the owner quickly and at the beginning of the month, during the busy time when we are doing move-in/out, rent collection, evictions and Security Deposit processing, often the owner is aware that their payment is missing or not in full before they receive an explanation of why. All rents received will be accounted for and explained, just be aware the explanation and any receipts come AFTER the funds are delivered to the owner. Feel free to contact your manager shortly after receiving your funds for copies of receipts against your property or to inquire on any issues.
Full statements are only issued annually. Owners may make a request for a given month or varying annual period for their business needs. A per-month statement is not included in the base management fee.
Remember, as per the maintenance clauses, that contractors may bill the owner up to about $350 for non-emergency work without notice if a second visit would only cost the owner more. For non-emergency plumbing/heating this goes up to $500 and for emergency response there is no limit so long as it avoids, reduces ongoing or further damages. This is typically less than $1200 and rarely above $2000 before the owner is involved and can bring in insurance as well. Proper insurance coverage would pay for the bulk of even these costs above the owners deductible.
Inspections
Inspections are done on request and not necessarily periodically. When inspections are done they are usually inform unless we there is an issue needing record keeping against the tenant. Our contractors often enter the property on tenants requests and thus without 24 hours warning so they do report to us conditions of a property so that we get insight and when issues need additional attention we will schedule a formal inspection. We also do inspections when tenants are late on their rent. A card is usually left on neighbours doors to let them know to call us about suspicious activity.
For Tenants
rent delivery
The preferred method of rent delivery is by email transfer to the given email on the lease.
[email protected] (auto-deposit compatible)
We do no accept cheques and we only accept bank drafts if they have enough time to clear. Because cheques can take up to 3 weeks to bounce.
We do not accept cash except by exception and with permission of the Broker
[email protected] (auto-deposit compatible)
We do no accept cheques and we only accept bank drafts if they have enough time to clear. Because cheques can take up to 3 weeks to bounce.
We do not accept cash except by exception and with permission of the Broker
maintenance
For emergencies please call us at 1 (888) 866-8848
For non-emergencies please use the webform.
note: we do not do maintenance in-house. This means all contractors are independent and we can neither control their performance nor availability BUT it does mean we may be able to choose from various contractors. Just be aware when you call in and ask for "someone to come today" that it is entirely dependent on third parties.
For non-emergencies please use the webform.
note: we do not do maintenance in-house. This means all contractors are independent and we can neither control their performance nor availability BUT it does mean we may be able to choose from various contractors. Just be aware when you call in and ask for "someone to come today" that it is entirely dependent on third parties.
move out and Security Deposit processing