Damage Deposit Refunds
433 Fundy Drive E2M 2R8 Saint John, NB, Canada

That’s all folks; or almost . . . (February 19th, 2021) We’re very excited over the positive moves in the rental advocacy area: 1) The formation of a New Brunswick chapter of ACORN Canada, (https://www.facebook.com/nbacorn) (https://acorncanada.org),... 2) The formation of the New Brunswick Coalition of Tenants’ Rights, (https://www.nbtenants.ca), 3) Green Party Leader David Coon’s introduction of a private member’s bill proposing changes to the Residential Tenancies Act, (https://greencaucusvert.ca/10163-2/) and, 4) Premier Higgs’ 90-day rental review (https://globalnews.ca//blaine-higgs-new-brunswick-rental-c). In light of these developments, Mr. Jaouni and I are going to take a step back and focus exclusively on helping people get their damage deposits back, and not be involved with the other tenancy issues we’ve branched off into: eg. pet fees, failure of the landlord to meet the obligations of a landlord, and renovictions. Our advice as always, will remain to check with the Residential Tenancies Tribunal, 1 (888) 762-8600 (1)(3); they are there to act as a mediator between landlords and tenants, and administer the holding and return of damage deposits. If you have difficulty getting your damage deposit back, or don’t want to be bothered with the paper work, call or email us, and we will help you. We are going to reduce our Friday Facebook posts to once a month, just so you don’t totally forget us, and because we so much enjoy the contact with you. Good luck, and we hope to hear from you when you are in a tight spot. Elizabeth Vickers (506) 343-6826 [email protected] #newbrunswick #saintjohn #moncton #fredericton #damagedeposits

Income tax receipt for your unclaimed damage deposit ? Here’s how . . . (February 12th, 2021) Right now, or as of March, 2020, there was roughly $30 million in damage deposits being held in trust by Service NB. (1) The interest on that $30 million is To help defray the administrative expenses of the offices of the residential tenancies officers . . . (Section 8.1 Interest paid into the Consolidation Fund) (Full quote below (2)).... So if we assumed an interest rate of 5%, $30 million would generate $1,500,000 per year in interest. ($30,000,000 x 0.05). All legitimate. Approximately $800,000 of that consolidation fund, is designated as unclaimed damage deposits. (1). If we again assumed a 5% interest rate, $800,000 would generate $40,000 per year in interest. It appears from our experience, Damage Deposit Refunds, that tenants don’t want that money, so why not take the additional step, and actually give that money to Premier Higgs, so he can use the whole amount rather than just the interest ? And, in giving it, get an income tax receipt as a political donation. Since most tenants probably don’t know they have the money there anyway, it’s like found money, so why not give it to the Premier ? He wouldn’t be taking it personally, but he, we, could certainly use it to help bring New Brunswick back out of the deficit that COVID has put us in. To start this process, just call the Residential Tenancies Tribunal, 1 (888) 762-8600 (1) (3), and ask them if there is any money under your name, and if so, and you don’t want it, get it back and give it to the Premier. I think this has been my best idea of the week, would you agree ? Elizabeth Vickers (506) 343-6826 [email protected] #newbrunswick #saintjohn #moncton #fredericton #damagedeposits (1) In Noushin Ziafati's March 3rd, 2020, Telegraph - Journal article "There Are Other Avenues to Get That Money Back"; she quotes Valerie Kilfoil, spokesperson for Service New Brunswick as saying: "Service New Brunswick is holding roughly $30 million in security deposit money for ongoing and outgoing tenancies and there is approximately $900,000 in security deposit funds that "have been identified as tenancies that have ended and funds remain." (2) Section 8.1 Interest paid into the Consolidation Fund: To help defray the administrative expenses of the offices of the residential tenancies officers, all interest earned on money held by a residential tenancies officer under this Act is the property of Her Majesty in right of the Province and shall be paid into the Consolidation fund. (Residential Tenancies Act).

What a beautiful concept

Do we need to re-think what we need ? (February 5th, 2021) If the whole family could sleep in one bedroom, or all kids in one room, and parents in another, would that work ? If it would, you might be able to move to a smaller place, or bring in a grandparent to help share the rent and living expenses.... If you are single, can you live in one room ? It might be better to think outside the box, while you still have a box. Good luck, Elizabeth Vickers (506) 343-6826 [email protected] #newbrunswick #saintjohn #moncton #fredericton #damagedeposits

Maybe we’ve been making this process too complicated ? . . . (January 29th, 2021) New Brunswick's rental regulation is different from other provinces in that you, the tenant, have to apply yourself to get your damage deposit back. You should call the Residential Tenancies Tribunal, (RTT), 1 (888) 762-8600 (1)(3), and ask them if they have a damage deposit under your name.... If you want us to help you, just fill out the attached consent form, which gives us permission to speak to the RTT on your behalf, and we can find out for you. https://1drv.ms/b/s!AvOIHHW61TNzgYQf82_Whuln9rcLWQ?e=8pxDis Good luck, Elizabeth Vickers (506) 343-6826 [email protected]

Are you moving this month ? . . . (January 22nd, 2021) We wanted to show you the Move in/Move out Check List that the Residential Tenancies Tribunal (RTT) has on its website. It’s not compulsory for landlords or tenants to use this, or any form, but it can save both parties, a number of headaches.... The form is called the Accommodation Inspection Report: https://www.pxw1.snb.ca/snb7001/e/1000/CSS-FOL-45-3617E.pdf Another important thing that a lot of tenants don’t know, is that the tenant has to apply themselves, to the RTT to get their damage deposit back. The form you use for this is called the Application for the Return of the Security Deposit. We’ve attached a pdf version as well as the link to it: https://www.pxw1.snb.ca/snb7001/b//CSS-FOL-SNB-45-0102B.pdf https://www.pxw1.snb.ca/snb9000/Product.aspx Another new development is for a situation where you and your landlord agree to how much he/she wants to keep of your damage deposit, if any. In this situation, you and he/she can fill out a form called the Security Deposit Refund Agreement and get your damage deposit back quicker from the RTT. Just don’t be bullied into signing this form: if you don’t agree, let the RTT do their work and determine how much is fair. Be aware though, you still need to apply for your damage deposit back. Here is the link to the Security Deposit Refund Agreement form: https://www.pxw1.snb.ca/snb7001/b//CSS-FOL-SNB-45-7023B.pdf Good luck, and feel free to give us a call, message or email if we can help you. Elizabeth Vickers (506) 343-6826 [email protected] #newbrunswick #saintjohn #moncton #fredericton #damagedeposits

Good news for tenants . . . (January 15th, 2021) I don’t know if there ever has been a point when there has been more support for tenants than there is right now. My business partner, Mr. Loai Jaouni, and I attended the first virtual meeting hosted by Raven Blue of the newly formed group New Brunswick ACORN.... The purpose of this meeting was to plan how to ask Premier Higgs to re-introduce the ban on evictions during the pandemic. The 20 very diverse people who attended the meeting ranged from tenants to the former Minister of Finance, Cathy Rogers. With the launching of this group, and the NB Coalition of Tenants’ Rights, Mr. Jaouni and I have decided to re-focus our energies on our original goal of helping tenants access their unclaimed damage deposits. In Noushin Ziafati's March 3rd, 2020, Telegraph - Journal article "There Are Other Avenues to Get That Money Back"; she quotes Valerie Kilfoil, spokesperson for Service New Brunswick as saying: "Service New Brunswick is holding roughly $30 million in security deposit money for ongoing and outgoing tenancies and there is approximately $900,000 in security deposit funds that "have been identified as tenancies that have ended and funds remain." My business partner, Mr. Jaouni, and I, found this dollar amount quite difficult to believe; $900,000 out of $30,000,000 ? But for now, let’s liquidate that $900,000. That’s what Mr. Jaouni and I want to focus on. Feel free to give us a call, message or email if we can help you. Elizabeth Vickers (506) 343-6826 [email protected]

** EDIT: The correct link to join the meeting: http://bit.ly/EvictionBanNow ** Save the date ! ! ! (January 8th, 2021)...Continue reading

There’s amazing hope out there for tenants ! ! ! (November 13th, 2020) We have had a great week and found out there’s a tremendous amount of support for tenants with regard to rent control. We, Mr. Jaouni and I, had a meeting with Minister Dorothy Shephard on Monday, and what a wealth of information and encouragement !... Apparently to change legislation, a private member meaning a member of the legislation, but not a Minister, needs to champion, or present the proposed change to the House. So that’s good information; I thought private member meant someone like me, a private person. Minister Shephard encouraged us to contact Randy Hatfield of Saint John’s Human Development Council. Mr. Hatfield was extremely receptive to meeting with Mr. Jaouni and I, and a wealth of knowledge about groups that are concerned for tenants regarding increasing rents and decreasing availability of affordable housing. We are going to meet with him next week, November 20th, and our hope is to have something to present to the House for the spring sitting ! So, chin up, things are going to get better . . . soon. Elizabeth Vickers (506) 343-6826 [email protected]

Good News ! We’re getting somewhere ! . . . (November 6th, 2020) What an encouraging week ! We’ve heard back from Steve Gourdeau, the Deputy Chief of the Residential Tenancies Tribunal (RTT), and we have an appointment to meet with Minister Dorothy Shephard, Saint John Lancaster’s MLA, on Monday, November 9th.... We had written to Mr. Gourdeau with questions about pet fees, and the process of amending the Residential Tenancies Act (RTA) to introduce rent control. Here is his reply regarding the pet fee questions: A Landlord can only charge for rent and security deposit. The latter can’t exceed a single month’s rent. Any other amounts, other than for some exceptions for specific services, are prohibited if collected over and above the amount for rent. o In the case of prohibited fees as noted above, we do not have the authority to order restitution. If a Landlord requests a security deposit which exceeds the amount of rent for a single month, the excess amount is prohibited and we have the authority to order reimbursement. With regard to amending legislation, he referred me to a government website which was beyond my understanding, so I called Minister Dorothy Shephard’s office to ask how to go about it. Mrs. Shephard has met with my business partner, Mr. Loai Jaouni, and I, and given us guidance and encouragement as we were developing Damage Deposit Refunds. She offered to meet with us Monday, and we look forward to getting a clearer explanation of the steps involved. The other decision Mr. Jaouni and I have made is that we are going to shift our postings away from the Facebook Groups we belong to and focus them on our Damage Deposit Refunds Group. The reason we want to do this is because some very good comments, and discussions, get shared in some groups and unfortunately people in other groups don’t get to see them. We are inviting people who have like our posts to our Group, so hope you will accept our invitation. If you missed our last posts about rent control, you can find them here. We would really like to have your opinion. I’d like to thank those individuals who have offered their help with this cause, and we will keep you posted on our progress. Elizabeth Vickers (506) 343-6826 [email protected]

Rent Control in New Brunswick ? (October 30th, 2020) Are we going to do it, or not ? https://www.cbc.ca//rent-apartment-moncton-increase-1.5773... Elizabeth Vickers Loai Jaouni (506) 343-6826 [email protected] #newbrunswick #saintjohn #moncton #fredericton #damagedeposits

And ask him this . . . (October 9th, 2020) In May, 2020, my business partner, Mr. Loai Jaouni, and I, asked the Deputy Chief of the Residential Tenancies Tribunal, Steve Gourdeau, if we could meet to discuss introducing rent control in New Brunswick. Mr. Gourdeau was willing to meet with us, but he and his office were extremely busy at that time, and asked to meet later when things calmed down.... We’ve requested another meeting, and want to tell you what we plan to discuss with him in case you have some points you would like to add. 1) Rent control: What are the steps required to introduce rent control ? 2) Pet fees: a. With regard to Section 8 (4) Prohibited payments, our understanding of the RTT’s interpretation is that any amount detailed in a lease, for pet fees, for carbon tax, anything, is okay, as long as that specified amount is included in the total rent figure. Any tenant who was charged any pet fee in addition to rent is eligible to collect that amount back, retroactive to July 31st, 1985, with the RTT’s assistance. Moving forward, if we would like to see the Residential Tenancies Act changed to make an initial one-time, refundable pet deposit, administered by the RTT, the same as a regular deposit, how would we make that happen ? If you have anything to add to these two points, or another point while we have his ear, please let us know. Thanks very much for your comments and interest. Elizabeth Vickers (506) 343-6826 [email protected] #newbrunswick #saintjohn #moncton #fredericton #damagedeposits

Where did it go ? Where did it go ? . . . (October 23rd, 2020) Hmmm; our October 9th post disappeared from our Facebook page, and all the other groups we posted it to. It was up for a while because we got a few replies right away, and I remember replying to them.... It had a cartoon picture of a detective with a magnifying glass, and was saying we, my business partner, Mr. Loai Jaouni, and I, were requesting a meeting with Steve Gourdeau, the Deputy Chief Residential Tenancies Officer, to ask a few questions, and we were asking people if they had any other questions they wanted us to ask him while we were meeting. Mr. Jaouni published it to our Damage Deposit Group, and to our Facebook page, then shared it to the other pages/groups we usually share with. So, while preparing today's post, Mr. Jaouni noticed the October 9th one was missing. It wasn't on our Facebook page, nor any of the pages/groups, but it did stay on our Damage Deposits Group page. I have a sneaky suspicion that like Dr. Grant in Jurassic Park, I might have touched the wrong button and deleted it myself; good thing I don't work at Point Lepreau. Computers . . . @#!!**. We'll post the missing October 9th post a bit later this afternoon. Elizabeth Vickers (506) 343-6826 [email protected]

Do me a favour ? I've been seeing a number of "Notice of Detailed Claim" letters that the RTT (Residential Tenancies Tribunal) sends tenants when their landlord has submitted a claim against their damage deposit. The landlord has 7 days to submit a claim to the RTT. If they don't submit the claim within 7 days, they forfeit their right to any of the damage deposit....Continue reading