Difference between pages "How Do I Change My Address for Service?" and "Tenancies and the Common Law (19:XI)"

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{{JP Boyd on Family Law How Do I TOC|expanded=other}}


An ''address for service'' is the address at which a party to a court proceeding agrees to receive correspondence in connection with the proceeding.
{{REVIEWED LSLAP | date= August 10, 2021}}
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This address is very important, because the other parties are able to officially deliver or serve most documents on you just by popping them in the mail to that address. If you move and don't change your address for service, you risk not finding out about important events in your case.
Subject to the RTA, the common law respecting landlord and tenant applies (''RTA, s 91).


In the Supreme Court, addresses for service are established by the claimant in their Notice of Family Claim and by the respondent in their Response to Family Claim. To change this address later, you must fill out a [[Form F10 Notice of Address for Service|Notice of Address for Service in Form F10]], file it in court, and send copies to the other parties at their addresses for service.
==''' A. Implied Surrender: Abandonment '''==


In cases before the Provincial Court, almost every court form allows you to specify your address for service, and the most recent address for service <span class="noglossary">will</span> be considered your proper address for service. If you need to change your address for service but don't have a new court form to file, you can change your address for service by filling out a [[PCFR Form 11 Change of Address Notice|Notice of Change of Address in Form 11]], filing it in court and serving copies on the other parties. You don't have to personally serve the other parties; you can mail the form to their addresses for service.
At common law, a lease may be ended by “surrender” due to conduct of the parties, consistent only with a “merging” of the tenancy interest back into the landlord’s (owner’s) estate. Surrender occurs, for example, where the tenant abandons the rental unit and the landlord repossesses and re-rents. Generally, no further rent or compensation for the unexpired portion of the tenancy may be claimed on surrender. However, claims for lost rentals are allowed.  


Addresses for service in both the Provincial Court and the Supreme Court can include a fax number for service and an email address for service, although these extra addresses aren't required by the rules. Remember to send out a notice if these addresses change or if you need to cancel a fax number for service or an email address for service.
Abandonment is cause for ending a tenancy, but regardless of the wording of the tenant’s notice, or the wording of the acceptance of surrender, or the absence of a notice, abandonment gives rise to the landlord’s duty to mitigate.


You can find more information about serving documents in the chapter [[Resolving Family Law Problems in Court]].
==''' B. Frustration '''==


The doctrine of frustration applies to residential tenancy agreements (''RTA'', s 92) and commercial leases (''Commercial Tenancy Act'', s 30). If some unforeseen event occurs that prevents the agreement from being performed, it will be considered to have been frustrated and is thereby terminated at the time of the event. Frustration will rarely be found where the event appears to be largely self-induced (and the result of acts or omissions which might themselves constitute a breach of covenant, e.g. a municipal closure order made pursuant to a fire bylaw where the landlord failed to install sprinklers). If the event is totally self-induced, the perpetrator will not be able to establish frustration. Two factors to consider beyond the normal contract law concerns are: 1) the length of the unexpired term at the time of frustration, and 2) the possibility of alternative use of the rental unit. If the lease is one to which the ''RTA'' doesn’t apply, by common law the doctrine of frustration would not apply.


{{REVIEWED | reviewer = [[Megan Ellis | Megan Ellis, QC]], June 11, 2019}}
==''' C. The Right to Distrain the Tenant’s Personal Goods '''==


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Under the ''RTA'', a landlord has no right to distrain (i.e. seize) a residential tenant’s personal goods for default in rental payment, nor may the landlord seize a tenant’s personal goods to satisfy another claim or demand, unless the seizure is made by a person authorized by a court order or an enactment (s 26(3) and (4)). If a landlord seizes goods contrary to s 26(3), the tenant may apply to the court for an order to return the property, or for a monetary claim for damages. A landlord may, where personal property has been abandoned by the tenant, remove it from the residential property, and must deal with it in accordance with the Residential Tenancy Regulations, which impose specific obligations on landlords in these circumstances. See Sections 24 and 25 of the RTR for specific obligations of landlords.


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==''' D. Duty to Mitigate '''==
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Under s 7(2) of the RTA, any time a monetary claim arises between landlord and tenant, both have a duty to mitigate damages (i.e. minimize losses). For example, if a tenant breaks a lease that was for a fixed term of one year, the landlord could sue the tenant for the balance of the rent payments. Nonetheless, the landlord has a duty under s 7(2) to try to minimize their loss by re-renting the rental unit as soon as possible, rather than just suing the tenant for the whole year’s rent. A landlord who makes such a claim must prove that they took reasonable steps to re-rent the unit and was not able to do so. See '''RTB Policy Guideline 5: Duty to Mitigate Loss'''.
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Revision as of 23:10, 13 August 2021

This information applies to British Columbia, Canada. Last reviewed for legal accuracy by the Law Students' Legal Advice Program on August 10, 2021.



Subject to the RTA, the common law respecting landlord and tenant applies (RTA, s 91).

A. Implied Surrender: Abandonment

At common law, a lease may be ended by “surrender” due to conduct of the parties, consistent only with a “merging” of the tenancy interest back into the landlord’s (owner’s) estate. Surrender occurs, for example, where the tenant abandons the rental unit and the landlord repossesses and re-rents. Generally, no further rent or compensation for the unexpired portion of the tenancy may be claimed on surrender. However, claims for lost rentals are allowed.

Abandonment is cause for ending a tenancy, but regardless of the wording of the tenant’s notice, or the wording of the acceptance of surrender, or the absence of a notice, abandonment gives rise to the landlord’s duty to mitigate.

B. Frustration

The doctrine of frustration applies to residential tenancy agreements (RTA, s 92) and commercial leases (Commercial Tenancy Act, s 30). If some unforeseen event occurs that prevents the agreement from being performed, it will be considered to have been frustrated and is thereby terminated at the time of the event. Frustration will rarely be found where the event appears to be largely self-induced (and the result of acts or omissions which might themselves constitute a breach of covenant, e.g. a municipal closure order made pursuant to a fire bylaw where the landlord failed to install sprinklers). If the event is totally self-induced, the perpetrator will not be able to establish frustration. Two factors to consider beyond the normal contract law concerns are: 1) the length of the unexpired term at the time of frustration, and 2) the possibility of alternative use of the rental unit. If the lease is one to which the RTA doesn’t apply, by common law the doctrine of frustration would not apply.

C. The Right to Distrain the Tenant’s Personal Goods

Under the RTA, a landlord has no right to distrain (i.e. seize) a residential tenant’s personal goods for default in rental payment, nor may the landlord seize a tenant’s personal goods to satisfy another claim or demand, unless the seizure is made by a person authorized by a court order or an enactment (s 26(3) and (4)). If a landlord seizes goods contrary to s 26(3), the tenant may apply to the court for an order to return the property, or for a monetary claim for damages. A landlord may, where personal property has been abandoned by the tenant, remove it from the residential property, and must deal with it in accordance with the Residential Tenancy Regulations, which impose specific obligations on landlords in these circumstances. See Sections 24 and 25 of the RTR for specific obligations of landlords.

D. Duty to Mitigate

Under s 7(2) of the RTA, any time a monetary claim arises between landlord and tenant, both have a duty to mitigate damages (i.e. minimize losses). For example, if a tenant breaks a lease that was for a fixed term of one year, the landlord could sue the tenant for the balance of the rent payments. Nonetheless, the landlord has a duty under s 7(2) to try to minimize their loss by re-renting the rental unit as soon as possible, rather than just suing the tenant for the whole year’s rent. A landlord who makes such a claim must prove that they took reasonable steps to re-rent the unit and was not able to do so. See RTB Policy Guideline 5: Duty to Mitigate Loss.

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