Complaints

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• Initial Complaint

  Date:12/03/2024

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  We have been renting from this property management company for 15 months now. We have 2 months remaining on our lease. We provided more than 30 days notice we would be vacating due to purchasing our own home. We have also provided a tenant to take over the lease upon approval. ( this is allowed according to our lease agreement )
  
  Since the notice has been given they have been unreasonable, not willing to work with us at all on inspections and move out related items. They have said that if we take our deposit and the new tenant brings their own that we will be charge a $1000 lease break fee although we have not broken the lease it would simply be a transfer of funds. However we agreed to allow the new tenant to use our security deposit.
  
  They are now trying to enter for a quarterly inspection ( a month late ) and when asked if we could maybe hold off 14 days until all of our stuff is out and the house is cleaned. This way it would also serve as an end of tenancy inspection and that the new filters would be fresh for the new tenant. They have refused to work with us. They also blatantly laughed at me when I asked for a different inspector as the original person was a conflict of interest.
  
  When this request happened they have no changed their mind on allowing the lease takeover ( 2 weeks before our move out date ) and are saying it’s due to damages and unkeptness of the house? They have not been in the house in over 4 months, an I’m unsure of which they’re referring to. I have asked for proof and evidence as well as a general explanation as to which they’re referring too. I’ve had no response.
  
  I also have evidence of maintenance requests that were deliberately ignored and incomplete.
  
  A quick Google search of Grassroots Property Management will show you a trend of this happening to many others in the reviews.
  
  Please look into these practices so others do not continue to get ******* by these people.

  Business Response

  Date: 05/04/2024

  Hello! I'll go through each item in detail. 

  The lease is a fixed term lease. A tenant cannot give notice to end a fixed term lease. It ends at the end of the term. A tenant can give notice to break their lease if they need to, and the Residential Tenancies Act, and the tenants lease, have provisions for this situation. The tenant is responsible for the rent and utilities until the end of the term, OR until a new tenant, suitable to the landlord, is found. The applicant that was referred to us to apply for the property was approved and they chose NOT to move forward with the home. The tenant contacted us on Feb 28th, 2024 to inform us they would be moving early, and the process was very well explained to them. This communication is attached also. The tenant did refer someone to us. They applied on March 12th (2 weeks after the lease break notice), they were approved on March 18th, and we followed up with them multiple times until March 21st, at which point we had to assume they no longer wanted to move forward and we posted the home for rent publicly. 

  The tenants intention behind the word "unreasonable" is unclear. We clearly explained the rules of the Act and what the lease stated, which both parties agreed to upon signing the lease, however the tenant doesnt not wish to follow this agreement now. They mention a lease break fee, which is not in fact posted to their ledger (attached). At the point the tenant filed the complaint they mentioned entering for an inspection? The period inspections are at our discretion and we arrange them approximately quarterly. I'm unsure what 'a month late" is intended to imply? The claim of 'blatant laughter" is not true. The tenant did not request a different inspector (communications were checked). The inspector informed us there was a potential conflict and a different inspector was sent. 

  We did not 'change our minds" regarding the lease break. We stated we could not allow someone to simply "take over" the lease. Meaning the new tenant assumes the property in its current condition without doing a complete change of tenancy. The tenant was given notice in the past for the condition of the property and we, and the property owner, felt it was not right for us to make that decision. We did agree to a new tenant on a new lease, which is the requirement. not a "takeover". A takeover would also mean the new tenant would only live in the property for 2 months, which is difficult for a new tenant to agree to.  Upon completing the move out inspection with the tenant, the carpets are stained and various repairs are needed. It was not left move in ready for the next tenant. Luckily it was not rented for April 1st or the new tenant would have been in a difficult situation.  

  In response to the tenants claim of maintenance requests that were "deliberately ignored" this is untrue. They are all attached with dates and times stamped into the documents. The tenant reported an issue with a washing machine at 7:36PM March 19th, 2023. We responded at 8:34AM March 20th (4 minutes after opening) and send a workorder to a vendor. The vendor completed the work and invoiced us, and the workorder closed by March 30th. March 31, 2023 after completing a periodic inspection we noted some repairs that were needed and they were completed promptly following. That is also part of the attached documents. Shortly after moving in the tenant reported some minor repairs needed also, this was also addressed and verification provided. There are no outstanding tasks for the property other than repairs needed following the tenants move out inspection (which is attached showing what was documented during the inspection). I will mention that Google reviews are mostly submitted by tenants in a similar situation to this tenant; situations where the rules may not be in the tenants favor and they dont particularly like it. No vetting process is involved in their authenticity or their accuracy and should not be taken as an accurate portrayal of anything related to compliance. The actual facts and documentation provided show clearly we are in compliance with the provincial regulations and what was agreed to in the tenants lease agreement. 

  Its is also important to note, the tenant did not contact us further to resolve this, her deposit has not been applied yet and estimates HAVE been posted and provided to the tenant (statement also attached), as per our requirements under the RTA. If the tenant does not agree with the handling of the deposit once it is finalized, the Residential Tenancies Dispute Resolution Service (RTDRS) is intended for landlords and tenants to resolve issues before a hearing officer, who has the same authority as a provincial court judge. It would be a much more effective means of resolution. However, not agreeing with the rules does not mean we have not been following them. We are governed by a regulatory body and must work compliantly in order to pass trust audits. 

  I hope this adequately addresses the complaint

  Customer Answer

  Date: 05/04/2024

  
  Complaint: 21422944
  
  I am rejecting this response because:
  
  1. As shown in the text messages I received a message for a notice of entry. I called as quickly as possibly to request a different inspector, it was on the phone their employee blatantly laughed at me. I then reached out again over message to confirm it would be somebody else entering the home. I, myself reached out because of the conflict of interest, NOT the inspector. 
  
  2. It is shown in the screenshot with the maintenance request, to have the landlords items removed from the property to free up space for our own belongings. ( which we were told they’d do when doing the initial inspection ) they closed the request and did not remove any of the items as seen in the move out inspection. 
  
  3. The first request made upon our move in was not minor maintenance, it was a leak in our ceiling flooding our basement. In which when we called the emergency line multiple times nobody picked up.. an we didn’t hear from anybody until morning. It also took their contractors multiple month before the job was complete. 
  
  4. when their maintenance crew came to our house to fix the small tasks we also mentioned that the shower upstairs leaks when you try to run a bath. He said he’d update us in a day or two. We never heard back from him. 
  
  5. As shown in the screenshot of their website. They have NOT listed the property for rent, therefore they have not taken every reasonable step to fill the property. This is a requirement as stated by the RTA. 
  6. They have given “estimates” with no breakdown of cost. 
  
  
  Sincerely,
  
  
  
  ******* ******