Abandonments
Effective October 1, 2004, the process for dealing with abandoned belongings
will become easier. Amendments to the Residential Tenancies Act will allow
landlords to decide if items have value, rather than waiting for a decision from
the Residential Tenancies Branch.
If a landlord believes the items have no monetary value, or are unsanitary or
unsafe to store, the landlord can dispose of them, without authorization from
the branch, with one exception. If a tenant leaves personal papers or
photographs, the landlord must hold them for 60 days before disposing of them.
A landlord may decide that items have limited monetary value, which means that
if they were sold, the sale proceeds would not cover the costs of moving,
storing and selling them. In this case, the landlord must make a reasonable
effort to contact the tenant about the property. The landlord must also list the
items on a form provided by the branch and send it to the branch as well as the
tenant at the last known address. Once this is done, landlords can give the
items to a charitable organization or dispose of them at an appropriate disposal
facility.
There are also rare cases where the items left behind have monetary value. When
this happens, the landlord must list the items on the form provided by the
branch and send it to the branch and the tenant. The landlord must store the
items for 60 days (instead of the 90 days currently required). After that time,
the branch will authorize landlord to sell the items, usually by public auction.
If the tenant owes the landlord money under a branch order, the landlord can put
the sale proceeds towards that order. If the landlord doesn't have an order or
the tenant doesn't owe the landlord any money, the landlord must send the sale
proceeds to the branch.
The branch holds the money for the tenant for two years. After two years, the
money is transferred to a fund the branch uses to provide education material for
landlords and tenants.
Changes to Residential Tenancies Forms
Effective October 1, 2004, there will be changes to certain Residential
Tenancies forms. Additional wording has been included on the Notice of Increase
in Rent as well as the two Notice of Termination by Landlord forms.
Visit the Residential Tenancies Branch website at
www.residentialtenancies.mb.ca
to view the latest versions of the forms or drop by any Branch office to pick up
an updated forms package.
Guidebook
The Residential Tenancies Branch's new, expanded and improved Policies and
Procedures Guidebook is now available on the branch's website.
The 13 sections of the guidebook outline policies and procedures for Branch
staff, landlords and tenants. Some of the topics covered in the guidebook are:
The guidebook is more user-friendly. It's written in plain language. There
are links between sections as well as links to The Residential Tenancies Act and
its regulations. There will eventually be an online index, which was not
previously available.
Visit the Branch's website at
www.residentialtenancies.mb.ca to view the guidebook and provide your
feedback on the contents. You can also look at a hard copy of the guidebook at
any of the three Branch offices.
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