This Article appears in our September 2001 Newsletter
Reducing Costs of Enforcing Writs of Possession
By John
Shortridge
Close co-ordination with the civil enforcement agency when obtaining your Writ of Possession and exact wording of the Writ can result in a cost effective eviction of the tenant and timely possession for the landlord or manager.
With the substantial changes in the courts it now can be easier and cheaper to evict tenants. As an alternative to lawyers appearing in the Court of Queen’s Bench, agents may now appear on behalf of landlords/managers in Provincial Court. This cost is substantially less. Additionally there are several clauses that your Writ should address which will assist the landlord/manager.
The cost of having a lawyer appear in Queen’s Bench starts with a $200 filing fee to commence an action, while the filing fee for Provincial Court, Civil Division, is only $25. Agents charge substantially less than lawyers. Alberta landlord Evictions and Collections (ALEC) is one such provider of this service.
As we all know tenants do not always take all their belongings with them. It is critical that your Writ states that any personal property left behind by the tenant after one week are deemed to be abandoned. This allows the landlord to dispose of such belongings without worry of recourse by the tenant. Taking pictures of personal property left behind is an additional safeguard.
Also, if the Writ includes a judgment for the outstanding rent this grants immediate recourse to collect instead of having to commence a separate action. Often the only way to collect on this judgment is by garnishee.
Once you have obtained your Order the most effective manner in which to enforce it is to have a bailiff provide the tenant notice that the locks to their suite will be changed in 24 hours. If the tenant does not move, the bailiff returns and changes the locks, allowing the tenant one week to remove their possessions, at the convenience of the landlord/manager. This is substantially less expensive than removing the personal property to storage and having to obtain an order for sale.
This article is provided by John Shortridge as a general guideline when dealing with evictions. For advice on specific situations please call ALEC (215-4236) or Shortridge Civil Enforcement (262-8800)
