Dealing with hoarding in a tenancy situation involves a balancing act between a landlord’s rights and a tenant’s rights under the law. Under the Residential Tenancies Act (RTA), a tenant has the right to quiet enjoyment of their property. A landlord has a corresponding duty to make sure this right is upheld. A tenant also has a duty to keep their home in a reasonably clean condition. And a landlord has a duty to meet minimum housing and health standards in their housing premises. Hoarding situations can be especially challenging when mental disability or other human rights issues are involved.

It is estimated that 2 to 6 out of every 100 people suffer from hoarding disorder, which is recognized as a mental disorder in the 5^th Edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. Hoarding disorder is the persistent difficulty in getting rid of things and/or a strong desire to acquire things, resulting in extremely cluttered living space and significant impairment in important areas of functioning (for example, social and occupational functioning).

Hoarding disorder can present in different ways and can vary in severity. For example, a hoarding tenant may simply accumulate an inordinate amount of clutter or a large number of animals. Sometimes hoarding becomes so severe that it can lead to potential health and safety hazards for both the tenant and others. For example, hoarding can lead to fire hazards, mold, insects, rodent infestations, or noxious odours. Extreme hoarding can lead to property being declared unfit or unsafe for human habitation.

I’m a landlord and have received several complaints that one of my tenants is a hoarder. What can I do?

If you suspect that your tenant is hoarding and there may be potential safety and health issues in the premises, you can serve the tenant with a 24-hour Notice of Entry to inspect the premises. You should document the inspection and outline your concerns in writing. Talk to your tenant about your concerns and work with them to formulate solutions for removing clutter – especially any clutter that poses an immediate health and safety concern. You can also refer your tenant to community resources for hoarding disorder.

Tip: The Residential Tenancies Act does not address the issue of accumulation and removal of clutter on rental properties. If the law is silent on a particular issue, then the landlord and tenant can agree to anything in the rental agreement, as long as it is not illegal. Consider having your standard rental agreement reviewed by your lawyer. Your lawyer may be able to give advice on how to address this issue in your rental agreement, as well as any other concerns.

If you are concerned about a tenant’s hoarding, be aware that you may have a duty to accommodate the tenant. Under the Alberta Human Rights Act, a landlord cannot discriminate against a tenant based on mental disability or any other grounds under the Act. Hoarding may be considered a disability requiring accommodation under the Act. If a tenant is suffering from hoarding disorder that is a symptom of or amounts to a disability, a landlord has a duty to accommodate that tenant up to the point of undue hardship. Undue hardship occurs if accommodation would create onerous conditions for a landlord, such as intolerable financial costs or serious disruption to business.

Tip: To learn more about the Alberta Human Rights Act and a landlord’s human rights obligations in a tenancy situation, refer to the Alberta Human Rights Commission’s website.

How can I accommodate a hoarder?

Accommodation means making changes to certain rules, standards, policies, and physical environments to ensure that they don’t have a negative effect on a person because of the person’s mental disability or any other protected ground. In a tenancy situation, reasonable accommodation may include:

• • allowing tenants to accumulate more clutter than other tenants;
  • working with tenants to help them improve any legitimate health and safety implications of a large accumulation of property; or
  • after all other efforts have failed, providing extra storage space for tenants unable to get rid of possessions that are safety concerns.

(Content in list adapted from article by Sarah Eadie, “Human Rights in Residential Tenancies and the RTDRS”.)

What can I do if accommodation doesn’t work?

Eviction may be an option if accommodation doesn’t work. Under the RTA, if a tenant breaches the rental agreement or the RTA, a landlord can evict a tenant through a 14 Day Eviction Notice. If a tenant opposes or fails to move out, the landlord can apply to the Residential Tenancy Dispute Resolution Service (RTDRS) or the Provincial Court for an order terminating the tenancy. While eviction is an option, balancing a tenant’s right to enjoy their property with a landlord’s duty to maintain minimum housing and health standards is difficult. The situation can become especially complicated when a tenant has a mental disability or if there’s any other human rights issues involved. Landlords should speak with a lawyer before evicting a tenant with hoarding disorder or pursuing any legal remedies.

Tip: If a situation involves a tenant hoarding animals, you can contact your local Humane Society or SPCA. Different agencies will investigate concerns based on the animal’s location and type and the nature of the concern. For more information, refer to the Edmonton Humane Society’s webpage on reporting animal concerns in Alberta.

CPLEA recently released a Hoarding and Tenancy Tip Sheet (complete with community resources and links to information on hoarding disorder). For more information on tenancy law in Alberta, go to www.landlordandtenant.org.

Sometimes tenants require the assistance and support of an animal. Are landlords required to accommodate a tenant with an assistance or support animal? Well, part of the answer depends on the type of animal involved: does the situation involve a disabled tenant with a qualified service or guide dog, or is this some other type of animal like a companion, emotional support or therapy animal?

In Alberta, the right of a disabled or blind person to use a service or guide dog is protected by both the Service Dogs Act and Blind Persons’ Rights Act. Landlords cannot discriminate against disabled and blind persons with a qualified service or guide dog, provided that the person can control the dog’s behavior. Landlords who discriminate against or deny occupancy of a dwelling unit to a person with a service or guide dog are guilty of an offence and can be fined up to $3,000.

Tip: Service dogs are qualified dogs trained as a guide for disabled persons. Guide dogs are a type of qualified service dog trained as a guide for blind people. Both types of dogs must meet qualification requirements under the law.The right of a disabled or blind person to use a service or guide dog is also protected by the Alberta Human Rights Act. Landlords have a duty to accommodate disabled persons with a qualified service or guide dog to the point of undue hardship. This means making adjustments or providing alternate arrangements to meet the needs of disabled tenants. Some of the factors that are considered in undue hardship include: financial costs of the accommodation, health and safety concerns and substantial interference with other people. Undue hardship is a difficult standard to meet. Generally, landlords must provide some level of accommodation for disabled tenants with service or guide dogs.

On the other hand, there are also other types of animals that provide assistance and support to people, for example, companion animals, therapy animals and emotional support animals. Companion animals, which are also known as “pets”, are a type of animal kept for pleasure. Therapy animals are animals used by therapists for short-term therapy. Emotional support animals are typically used for providing support to people with mental illness or chronic illness. Companion, emotional and therapy animals can be any type of animal really … you’ve probably heard about people having therapy or emotional support dogs, cats, hamsters, rabbits and even chickens.

Unlike service and guide dogs though, companion, emotional and therapy animals are not covered by existing provincial legislation in Alberta. However, the law is still developing in this area. For example, under human rights law, there may be a duty to accommodate disabled persons with these other types of animals. Another development to look out for is changes to municipal bylaws. For example, the City of Calgary recently approved amendments to its Responsible Pet Ownership Bylaw to allow individuals (with a permit) to keep livestock as Emotional Support Animals within the city. The City of Calgary expects to implement the permit process in early 2019.

For more information, refer to CPLEA’s Renting with Support & Assistance Animals resource: https://www.cplea.ca/wp-content/uploads/AssistanceSupportAnimals.pdf

This article is part of the “Accommodation in Tenancy” series, which looks at emerging tenancy issues with a human rights lens. Stay tuned for the next article of the series, which will cover hoarding disorder.

Here at CPLEA, we receive hundreds of questions about landlord and tenant issues every year. While a majority of them are relatively straightforward, we occasionally receive some questions that leave us scratching our heads or in a state of disbelief (or sometimes a bit of both). In this article, we’ve compiled answers to some of the most memorable tenancy questions over the years. From radon testing, criminal record checks, tenants cooking crystal meth, questionable video surveillance to rent decreases (yes, you heard that right, rent decreases and not rent increases), we hope that the following questions and answers will be informative to you.

Am I required to test for radon in my rental property?

Radon is an odorless, radioactive, cancer-causing gas that can be found in new and old buildings. In Alberta, there is no legislation currently in force that directly addresses the issue of radon or radon testing.

That said, landlords should keep an eye out for the Radon Awareness and Testing Act as well as any regulations associated with it. The provincial government passed the Act in December 2017 but the law is not yet in force. However, within one year of the law coming into force, the Minister (responsible for the Act) must develop educational materials that encourage homeowners to measure and take action to reduce radon levels. The Act also enables the Minister to make regulations establishing standards for radon testing and reduction in residential dwellings.

While there is currently no law in Alberta (at least in force) that directly addresses radon, radon may be considered a tenant health issue that falls under the Public Health Act and Residential Tenancies Act. Furthermore, Health Canada and housing industry authorities recommend that homeowners and landlords test for radon.

For more information on radon, refer to the following resources:
Government of Canada webpage on Radon
www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/services/radon.html

Government of Alberta webpage on Radon myhealth.alberta.ca/Health/Pages/conditions.aspx?hwid=ty6131

Real Estate Council of Alberta Information Bulletin on Radon
www.reca.ca/wp-content/uploads/PDF/Radon.pdf

I heard that a sex offender is moving into the area where I have rental properties. Can I request a criminal record check from prospective tenants? Is there a way to check if a prospective tenant is a sex offender?

No, a landlord cannot request a criminal record check from tenants or prospective tenants. Asking for one is considered personal information beyond what is necessary to provide tenancy. For more information on privacy law and landlord-tenant matters, refer to the Office of the Information & Privacy Commissioner of Alberta’s resource, Privacy and Landlord: Tenant Matters FAQs, available on its website: www.oipc.ab.ca.

As for whether there is a way to check if a prospective tenant is a sex offender, the answer is no. The National Sex Offender Registry is a national registration system for sex offenders who have been convicted and ordered by the courts to report annually to police. The public does not have access to the Registry; only law enforcement agencies can access and use the Registry. For more information, refer to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police’s website: www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca.

I suspect that my tenants are cooking crystal meth in my rental property. What can I do about the situation?

Under the Residential Tenancies Act (RTA), if the tenant commits any illegal acts in the property, then the tenant has committed a substantial breach of the tenancy agreement and can be evicted by the landlord with a 14-day written notice. However, in an eviction situation (where the reason for eviction is not unpaid rent), a tenant can write a letter of objection if they do not agree with the eviction. The tenant must serve the notice of objection on the landlord before the termination date. If the tenant does not serve a notice of objection, then a landlord can seek an order to remove the tenant.

You should also consider contacting Safer Communities and Neighbourhoods (SCAN), a unit of the Alberta Sheriffs. SCAN initiates investigations on properties that are suspected of being used for illegal activities and can help landlords to facilitate an eviction or resolution. For more information on SCAN, go to the Government of Alberta’s website: www.alberta.ca  or call the following toll-free number: 1-866-960-SCAN (7226).

My landlord started installing cameras in and around our building. I noticed that one of the cameras in the building courtyard points directly into my bedroom. Can my landlord do that?

A landlord can only install video equipment in public areas for reasonable purposes such as security concerns. The landlord must give adequate notice to tenants and visitors that the premises are monitored by video surveillance for security purposes. Furthermore, the video should not be used or disclosed for any other purposes. If you are concerned about the placement of the camera and the use of the video, you can speak to your landlord about your concerns and try to work out a solution.  For more information on privacy law or to make a privacy complaint, refer to the Office of the Information & Privacy Commissioner of Alberta’s website: www.oipc.ab.ca.

My landlord recently decreased my rent. Are there rules about rent decreases? Does the rent decrease mean that the amount of my security deposit should be reduced too?

No, there are no rules about rent decreases. You and your landlord can agree on whatever amount of rent you think is appropriate. There is no law that sets pit fair rents. A landlord can offer a place at a certain rent and it is up to you as a tenant whether you take it at that price or not, or negotiate a different price. The only rent issues covered by the Residential Tenancies Act (RTA) is how and when rent can be increased, and what happens if rent is not paid.

As for the question about the security deposit, there are no rules in the RTA specifically addressing what happens to security deposits when rent decreases. The RTA only specifies that the amount of a security deposit cannot be more than one month’s rent under the residential tenancy agreement and that the security deposit cannot be increased as rent increases. However, as the security deposit cannot exceed one month’s rent, your landlord should return the difference between the original security deposit amount and the newly decreased rent amount.

Tip: A landlord cannot require a tenant to pay an increase in a security deposit during the term of a tenancy. For example, this means that a landlord cannot increase the security deposit during a periodic tenancy. However, if a landlord increases rent at the end of a fixed-term tenancy and enters into a new fixed-term agreement with a tenant, then the landlord can increase the security deposit. For more information on security deposit increases, refer to Service Alberta’s RTA handbook section on security deposits: www.servicealberta.ca/pdf/RTA/Security_Deposit.pdf.

For more information on tenancy law in Alberta, go to www.landlordandtenant.org.