This Tenant Had To Pay His Landlord's Taxes: $43,000! A Lawyer Explains
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- Опубліковано 24 кві 2024
- Original Case: canlii.ca/t/jwg9p
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All comments for information only. Do not take anything as legal advice--if you have a legal issue, contact a lawyer directly so that you can received advice tailored to your situation. All views expressed are solely those of the creator.
Forcing someone to pay taxes on someone else's property is disgusting. How about we end foreign ownership.
Agreed.
But somebody might callnus racist.
We need to adjust the laws, certainly, but ending foreign ownership would be a much bigger problem. Allowing foreigners to buy property is a key way to slow inflation and stabilize the currency. If you think the C-Dollar fluctuates now, you haven't seen anything. And that's even before the higher tax rate. The overly-simplified way of thinking about it is that a country with no trade is a closed system; as you open that system, prosperity requires that more value comes in than goes out. With foreign ownership the money coming in as purchase price is going to be greater than money going out as rent and the land doesn't go anywhere, so it's a net gain.
@@cmlemmus494lol how do you define “prosperity”. Banks can often just control the value of there currencies, and there are other ways of bringing in money like…idk…lots of people now able to afford a better life thus improving productivity, which then leads to a better economy thus a more stable currency
@@cmlemmus494 I think you meant to say increase inflation. The reason the prices are so high, at least in certain locations, is due strictly to foreign buyers overpaying while also leaving them empty
I think you missed the scale of this. Your government legislated an absurd injustice. Your Tax department pursued the absurd injustice. Your court supported the absurd injustice. Your police will enforce the absurd injustice.
Well said.
and MAID for failure to pay (coming soon) will make permanent this injustice.
Yep. Expect nothing more from the regime.
That’s exactly what it is, and it’s disgusting.
Normal day in Trudeu’s communist dictatorship.
Who ever made this law needs to be removed. The law is wrong.
I think the tenant should now be entitled to live in that unit as if he'd prepaid $43,000 of rent without any risk of eviction.
Someone else bought the property from the Italian landlady; to do that would only punish the new owner.
@@starrywizdom How was it sold with a tax lien on the property? Do they not do those in Canada? Here in South Carolina your property is up for auction 12 months after the tax is unpaid.
@starrywizdom buyer's be aware. That's why you don't sign unconditional offers. And if there are tenants or squatters inside already, good luck with that.
This Italian chick is one amazing scam artist
@@saintelohim squatters are less an issue in canada, think its only an issue here in winter. but come spring you can get them out. i am not sure 100% this applies to all of Canada but here in quebec tenants are very protected but squatters are not. a gray zone i can see is old tenants that stop paying those could be an issue for some months though.
If the tenant pays the taxes, then the government should recognize them as the owner.
Exactly.
Tax sale, govt gets their 45000 and the tenant gets the rest :)
Seize her property , don’t screw the tenant
I agree. So easy to put a tax lien on the property.
She already sold it
The original rug pull
Absolutely. If the tax is on the property, place a lien on the property.
This result is both frustrating and nonsensical.
um... what property? she sold out and pulled out.
I'm a landlord in the US. This is absolutely absurd. Our governments are out of control.
They now expect the tennant to vet the landlord! Backwards society!
A "High degree of diligence"! Higher than that of government themselves!
And in a process where like Ian said, the landlord kinda holds all the power. Why vet yourself to a potential tenant when there’s ten more who aren’t asking stupid (to you) questions? And they have NO incentive to care if their tenant gets it wrong and has to pony up, at least until they start getting successfully sued for the damages
@@FlameDarkfire Canada Revenue has no incentive, you mean? I get the impression that Canada Revenue could double dip, and say, well how we know that he is the landlord?
tenant's should always vet the landlord. Look the place over. Do they mow the lawn? Are there holes in the wall? are 90% of of the units recently empty? Vet everyone you do business with.
@@natyong while I see what you're saying from a general sense, checking if property is maintained does nothing to prove "high due diligence" in this case
How the heck could anybody know where their landlord lives? Or even know this law? This case needs to go to the Supreme Court.
It's communist slave Canada not the USA.
This just gave every foreign landlord the idea to not pay taxes. Then evict non payers and start again
They just gave every renter the idea to never rent from a non-resident too.
@@nobodynoone2500how many tenants do you think will learn about this?
@@nobodynoone2500 beacuse renters have so many options.....
@@nobodynoone2500 The vacancy rate is at an emergency level... reducing it further for any reason would push people into homelessness.
@@otsigo As a renter, I love browsing around, and bluffing. Landlords always get nervous and fold. I even talked down rent to $100/month for a 10 bedroom 2 floor house in Vancouver...and then there was the mansion in Toronto.
Canada is so affordable!!
Wow. How is it possible for a tenant to owe a landlord's taxes. That's insane.
Amen 🙏..it's wrong in a big way..
It's Canada.. avoid Canada at all Costs.
@@marcgrundfest1495 I live in Canada.......
@mariannewm26
My condolences.
Rethink that while there is still time.
It is insane and I hope a video like this will get Canada Revenue to see the light. If I were in this man's position, I would not have been able to fight this in court unless representing myself and in this case, the guy had a lawyer and still lost. Wow! I'd be hooped.
This is Disgusting. If the property owner owes money, they should go after the property owner, not the tenant. At worst the property can be seized and sold to get the money, but going after the tenant is wrong.
When my friend worked at Canada Revenue, he said that Canada never seizes property. This is good in a level playing field, because it makes it harder for government to oppress people. The US government abuses property seizure, but we do it backwards and create different problems.
Since the property was sold for tax evasion purposes... criminal charges is actually what should happen here with a severence jail sentence
Why don't they just lien the property as opposed to literally putting someone in the poorhouse? Just disgusting.
You obviously never watched the whole video. The landlord sold off the property during the proceedings and the money went offshore.
@@patrickbuick5459 Why should the renter pay the taxes? Give the taxes to the buyer or the seller easy. The argument that the renter should pay is stupid since the renter never had ownership and thus never invested into the property. You could also just hold the seller accountable even if they do not reside in the country or hold any assets.
@swedishboomstick3362 Could you point out where I said the renter should pay, since that appears to be what you are saying?
@@patrickbuick5459 "The landlord sold off the property during the proceedings and the money went offshore." But you seem to have missed the part where the renter alerted the tax authority about the sale and they did nothing about the sale. The original comment litteraly asked why they did not intervene in the sale, when they knew about it.
The CRA is pawning off their job on unsuspecting under-resourced renters. It is _not their property_ and they should have _no obligation_ to be responsible for taxes, but the CRA has basically said "it's too difficult for us to claw back taxes from foreign owners so we're going to dump that responsibilty on renters" who have orders of magnitude less chance of being able to recover those taxes from the rightfully responsible parties than the CRA itself.
Real slick move, and also something that should be clearly and obviously illegal. How did this law ever get passed? What is the justification for implying that a renter has any tax responsibility for a property at all, other than "it's a convenient way for us to steal money from somebody else instead of doing our jobs"?
Agreed! Government seldom represent the actual people. They need the tax money to fill their troughs.
This is literally evil.
If its not just it's not law
He has no ownership of that property. How many other people are in jeopardy now?
This needs to be addressed immediately because this is a whole new level of bull💩!
Foreign landlords should be legally REQUIRED to inform & disclose the tenant’s tax liability if they don’t make the landowner liable.
Their just shouldn't be foreign landlords at all....
This is why we just need to directly tax any foreign property owner for simply having an asset. If they owe taxes and don't pay, seize the asset and sell it at auction. Seems pretty simple.
I agree. If the tenant has to relocate as a result, that's better than a $43,000 tax bill plus paying a lawyer to assist you in court. Again...Wow!
I'd rather give the tenant first dibs at receiving it for free under the condition that taxes will be paid at a reasonable pace.
This law is criminal. CRA is the organization with the authority to require answers from property owners, so CRA should be who figures out who's a foreign owner and then notifies the tenants.
That's logistically not a possible undertaking by the CRA. That's aside I've never seen such an egregious job by the CRA. If she sold the property then the taxes should have been withheld immediately as a non-resident so I'd say someone did a bad job.
Why do I feel extreme levels of rage?!
Justifiably
Because its
You are a compassionate human being?
@@millaamankyyro6348 I like to think I am.
Probably because you are a spoiled brat that has never experienced true adversity
How can you be responsible for someone else's taxes
Technically yes, but you withhold 25 percent of the rent from the landlord in this case. So the tenants rent doesn't really change, just who is paid.
The Act is written such that the obligation to remit applies to both the payor and payee.
Kind of sounds like guilt by association.
@@Oblithian Their reasoning is really it's really hard to collect taxes from someone who doesn't have assets in Canada if they don't voluntarily cough up the money.
It makes me frustrated knowing how desperate people are for housing and all the CRA can say is "too bad",. So foreign landowners can screw over desperate Canadians. Sickening.
It makes me angry, also because any communist laws will strengthen foreign ownership.
@@eugenetswong How the fuck is this law "communist" what are you on about?
Landlord gets paent and pushes liability for taxes to tenant? Nah your right.
This is capitalism at its finest.@@LilFeralGangrel
Why you racist?
CRA's too busy covering up its own shady BS to do anything about other people's BS.
This law brings the administration of justice into disrepute.
Why doesn’t the government put a lien on the property, like they do for unpaid property taxes? That would make far more sense.
Greed.
CRA is too lazy to do that
Because the government sees renters as less than human and has a burning need to make sure renters know it
*the judge's application of the law brings the admin of justice into dispute.
Everybody already knows that the CRA is high-handed and malicious.
"Just do a title search and demand an indemnity clause" = "let them eat cake!"
How about before we allow any foreign owner to sell a property they prove that they have paid all taxes in full, if not, CRA seizes the property. This should NEVER land on the renter. Beyond insane.
CRA not acting quickly enough should have been grounds for dismissing it. They should file criminal charges and ask for extradition.
Because had the tenant known, something could have been done, but also the property could have had money deducted from the sale at the time of its sale.
If my landlord gives me a lease agreement with a Canadian address, that's where I'd have stopped asking questions.....
If i have to pay a landlords delinquent taxes, i better get the fuckin property. Otherwise its gonna have a unfortunate mishap.
This is pure BS this is an out of control government. No person in Canada renting should ever have been put through this.
WTF where are the politicians who care for the renters
But she has income from rent? So she's not filing income tax returns?
Not Canadian tax returns at least. If she’s Italian she’s probably filing in Italy
@FlameDarkfire really? Hard to believe...... income earned in Canada should be taxed under Canada law........
@@georgesjunk It is. She would need to be filing in Canada too
@@georgesjunk Canada law has double taxation agreement with Italy where income will be taxed where the person resides, looks like CRA jumped the whole agreement, Imagine being taxed in canada 40% and then in Italy 40%, 20% remains where it's taxed when spent
@@fishingpol5195not true, income from real estate is always taxed in the country where the real estate is located, the double tax treaty exempts that income from taxation in the country of residence, in this case Italy
So is that it? Can nobody intervene here? No politician? This is crazy. Can he sue CRA for failing to act in time even after he notified them of the sale??
Every politician in the country sees renters as a group of people that need to suffer. Especially the fake populists
Classic social engineering, hold the unknowing renter liable rather than the wealthy international land owner. Hard to believe!
how is that social engineering?
It’s postulated that all tax code is social engineering, in the traditional sense. There is a newer, alternative definition of the term if that’s the source of confusion.
@@yapper1200 Because they're trying to create a system where people are used to kowtowing to their moneyed overlords, whether that's the government or wealthy land owners. The powers that be want you helpless and used to it. Welcome to neo-feudalism, enjoy your stay.
Just more corrupt government aiding and abetting in fraud, extortion, racketeering, predatory practices,grand larceny.
The lesson of this and other recent cases is:
When a prospective landlord runs a background check on you, do a background check on them.
too bad theyll just use that as a reason to not let you rent
How?
Did CRA do a title search for any other properties she might own?
Maybe the government needs to add a clause for foreign ownerships that 25% of property value gets an immediate lien so it can't be sold.
CRA joining after the renter is criminal in itself.
This is simply just wrong! Unconscionable!
The best may be if the comment by somebody saying they are a Canadian CPA is accurate. They say there is mandatory withholding on the sale of Canadian Real Property by foreign owners so she either represented herself as a Canadian during the sale or it was released despite the nonpayment of the real estate taxes
I can't wrap my head around this. If people can earn money via rent and not pay taxes, then why can't we earn money and do likewise?? This is so insane.
If this is true, then they should intercept payments...and if the tenant gets evicted, then CRA should freeze accounts and inform the police that they are not allowed to evict the next tenant, and give the tenant temporary ownership/control of the home.
@@eugenetswong no, what the CRA should have done is put a lean on the house. Then, when taxes still aren;t remitted: Seize the property, and auction it off. But why go through the hastle when a person renting can't reasonably defend themselves in court?
This country has become a shit hole. And PM's named Trudeau are absolutely responsible for it.
Do you guys even listen to the video? The tenant is supposed to withhold 25 percent of the rent to pay the tax, not on top of rent. If anything the landlord here should pay the tenant back 25% of all rent paid.
That's probably up to the tenant too😢
The problem with all of the CRAs suggestions is that the landlord has more power than the tenant. This is an indefensible stance from the CRA in the long term, what are they thinking
"What do you think, Jacob?" "I dont!"
The apartment was being rented BY a corporation (not an individual). If they didn't enforce the Canadian corporation having to withhold the tax on that rent... Then this would leave a tax loophole open for exploitation.
I fail to understand how this can be made the renter's problem. If the owner fails to remit taxes you put a lien on the property, if they fail to make good on the taxes owed you seize the property and satisfy the tax bill and remit any excess to the former owner.
Sounds like she scammed him. She screams fraudster.
I live in arkansas..... I'm listening and cooking when I hear my husband say "are you watching a video on tax law...? Freaking CANADA tax law!!!" 😅 yes.. yes I am
Canadian CPA here. This section is possibly the worst part of the Income Tax Act. I am amazed the CRA did not recommend to this individual that which they recommend to landlords, which is to deal through a Canadian based agent who will undertake to collect and remit the tax.
Also, there is a mandatory withholding taxes on the sale Canadian Real Property by a non-resident, so the owner either represented as a Canadian resident for the purpose of the sale or CRA choose to release the funds to the owner.
Well now I’m curious, if this is possibly the worst, do you have any other sections that are awful that Ian could search for cases about? I find this wild!
She isn't the seller, she was the purchaser of the property after the renter was already living there. Or maybe I misunderstood your point.
@@MIfarmboy she sold the property after the case came to court. 11:22 should be the beginning of that section.
The lawyer handling the sale released the funds. Either because of a lie on the former owners part or knowingly...
I feel like there is more to this story.
@@johnqpublic407 The lawyer was required to make a payment to CRA on the sale by a non-resident. If the lawyer failed to do so the lawyer is on the hook for that tax payment. I've never seen a lawyer screw this detail up.
The UK requires foreign-resident landlords pay tax in the UK on the rent received. When my parents moved to France they told me that as a foreign resident they HAD to use a UK agent to rent the property out. That ended up being me, and *I* was required to withhold the tax on the rent received before sending them any money.
Absolutely ridiculous.
???
12:31 The government should first seize the property, then commence a tax sale with the tenant having right of first refusal. Tax bill settled, house in hands of Canadian resident for future taxes, tenant now a home owner for $43k
I think it is easier to ban foreign ownership at this point. The government could have seized the property for the taxes, they simply chose not to. They had the authority, but chose not to do it. If the government can't manage something like this correctly, then remove the need to manage it.
@@_PatrickOKlaus Schwab has penetrated ze cabinet, Canadian citizens are now the enemy. And have been for a while.
It should be an easy loan of $43k with $0 of interest to pay over 4 years.
So all Canadian renters should start withholding 25% until their landlord process proof they are Canadian. Then store that information for any future need.
That sounds good to me, but there are foreign renters, who would cheat and screw us over.
dont forget you can change your residence any point in your life, so you need to hold it a year in advance for when landlord files taxes, i think the courts got it wrong, CRA should go after landlord if anything and their assets in Canada, but I think they skipped the double taxation agreement with italy
Generally with holding rent gets you evicted tho
@@anniealexander9911squat legally
This
If only you were a squatter instead of a decent paying, law abiding citizen, this wouldn't even be an issue.
Why wouldn't the Canadian government just put a lien on the house, or forclose on the home? Why would this ever be the tenant's responsibility?
you are right this is the most bs awful way to collect taxes . just bastards
Most rich people stay rich by spending like the poor and investing without stopping then most poor people stay poor by spending like the rich yet not investing like the rich but impressing them
People prefer to spend money on liabilities, Rather than investing in assets and be very profitable
You are so correct! Save, invest and spend for necessities and a few small luxuries relatives to one's total assets ratio.
very true, a huge part of my portfolio growth has come during this bear market. I've been able to scale from $180K to $572K in a short period of time
Hello how do you make such monthly ?? I'm a born Christian and sometimes I feel so down 🤦 of myself because of low finance but I still believe in God.
Thanks to my co-worker (Alex) who suggested Ms Olivia Renae Marks
Do you have any idea how many internationals own property in Vancouver??? This is disgusting. Dude should be given the property at this point.
I would not pay a single cent and squat until the end of time and make this cost the landlord ten times the amount no matter how I had to do it. Then hire Ian to defend me on my insanity case.
She managed to sell the property without the CRA recouping the taxes, despite the tenant notifying the CRA
@@jayman912 Does Canada favour renters?
@eugenetswong no our government solely favours internationals and people who have never paid taxes it's the same problem as the rest of the west government hates its own people
@eugenetswong yes, for the most part. It takes months to get rid of a bad or non-compliant tenant, if not years. And if they have children or are elderly and it's cold, forget about it.
This is already insane and I'm only 1/3 of the way through the video.
I was bored until I reached near the end, and started to realize that Ian wasn't going to deliver any good news. I thought that this video was about how something bad would be fixed.
Who brokered this rental? The broker or landlord must have a duty to disclose.
You would think. 🙃
Easy solution. And one done in most countries. And I know because I have lived abroad. Non citizens cannot purchase or own property. Done.
It's not about citizenship, it's about residency. They could still be a citizen, but not a resident.
But their whole market is propped up by china so they can't or prices would crash. They know chinese property is worthless.
@@createachanneltopostwell then citizen non resident selling houses goes into a trust until all liens are resolved.
@createachanneltopost citizenship, too. If she were a citizen, that would be much easier cus she would have economic ties in Canada and much easier to claw back tax owed, unless she never comes back to Canada and not collecting any government benefits and pension and closed all canadian bank accounts. China forbids foreigners from buying any types of properties. For residential property, they have to be physically living in china and paying taxes for 3-5 years and only 1 property in the city where they live. They also have to sell the property once they move out of the country. Our weak government won't do that because the Canadian economy is too dependent on real estate, and real estate is too dependent on foreign buyers. They can solve the housing crisis right now, but that means the collapse of the housing market and the economy. So why would they?
@@saintelohim It's an excellent point that Canadian home owners, and that means Canadian politicians love high real-estate values, which is why affordable housing is gone and is never coming back.
That’s insane! Who would ever know that! It’s ridiculous!
This wouldn't be as bad if it was legally required to be disclosed in full before signing the rental agreement
Just when I thought Canada couldn't get any worse.
This is insane. I thought the US had bizarre unfair renting laws, but I don't think we have anything quite like this
WHOAH. This is upsetting. Thanks for covering this!
This is absolutely infuriating. I am really angry and I don't even live in Canada!
I rented a condo for a year in Myrtle Beach, SC. The owner lived somewhere in Europe but all any of us had to pay in that building he owed was rent. We only knew where he lived because the real estate person said so. Holy crap that would make me mad. Wow. Crazy how different things are. Thanks Runkle.
He even alerted then she was selling!! This is crazy
Feel very disgusted with this. Law in favour of the wealthy, shocking!
Greedy greedy grabby grabby... smh Shame on you Canada.
What a strange scenario! I feel bad for the renter.
This is crazy
Normally I wouldn't believe this, but Canada lives in a new dystopian reality.
This is absolutely insane.
If I pay the taxes, I OWN THE PROPERTY.
There should be a law about really unfair cases where they can be overturned by a human being with common sense.
It's really terrible. In general, the owners have more money than the renter. How on earth can they do this to an innocent party. Disgusting.
That is insane. Unfathomable. Even in the US this wouldnt occur.
You are making a generalization based on they own a home and you don't.
To assume I have more money than you because I own a home is simply insane. A more accurate assumption is the landlord took a lot more risk in life than you and has way more debt to income ratio.
This shouldn't even have to do with who has more money, the property owner could be dirt poor for what it's worth but they are the one who owns the property.
If you can't compel the owner to pay their taxes then you should start seizing their assets not going after a Tennent.
The tenant should be able to recover the money from the owner and put a lien on her property if she can’t pay.
@@EC_ATV_Outdoors assuming the property owner has more money than the renter is a perfectly valid assumption to make?? And is by in far the truth. Especially when the landlord hasn't been paying property taxes. Landlording is one of the lowest risk investments you can do and you HAVE to have wealth to start in the first place because you have to pay for the property. If most renters could own they would! But they don't have the money for that
He paid the taxes ? He owns the property now. I would be willing to go to jail for this
Down in the states there's just no way in hell that a tenant would be liable for landlord's property taxes.
Don't say that out lou...
Dang it, there's the jinx.
California governor, Gavin Newsome, is listening.
Tenants should not be liable here either. Revenue Canada should change this. Call your MP!
There are several statutes like this in the States. If you pay a contractor, in the course of your business, more than $600 and they don't provide their ID info (Name, Address, Tax ID #, like a SSN or EIN) then you are required to withhold the tax from the payment and remit it to the IRS. If you weren't aware of this rule, like the renter, and fail to withhold and remit the required tax, you can be required to pay it ( usually 20% of the payment amount). This is an important reason to get a W-9 filled out from them, BEFORE you make your payment to the contractor, because after they are paid you have ZERO leverage to get the information from them. It's also a good plan to let them know that you will have to give them a 1099 at the beginning of the job so this can all be settled before you get to the payment and ID issues once the work is done.
In the US, the person could claim the property by just living in the home and tending to the property. I can't remember the law, but it so foreign to me. Steve Lehto talked about this. I'm not talking about squatting. Squatting is a variant of that, I think. I don't know.
This needs to generate national outrage
This is disgraceful. EVERY CANADIAN GOVERNMENT ALLOWS FOREIGN OWNERSHIP. It is a Fiduciary responsibility of Government to ensure they can act against foreign owners who refuse to pay their dues. Governments have the powers to confiscate property rather than take it out on unsuspecting citizens!!!
I had no idea this law existed!
It would be fascinating to know the history of that tax law. You would think that if a landlord was not paying taxes to the Canadian government, they could take them to court and seize the property and pay the bill. So why is the tenant the target?
Probably pretty recent, smth smth lobbyists, pissy landlords who feel they don’t have enough “rights” 😂😂😂
I wouldn't be surprised if it has something to do with extractive colonialism. I don't use that term lightly but seeing as how preferential that law is to foreign ownership I wouldn't be surprised if it originated before WW1.
The landlord apparently sold the property to another individual before the renter got a judgement against them. So the new owner is probably does live in Canada.
With the privacy laws in Canada , if a landlord refuses to provide information, how does one get the info.
People struggle to pay rent and just get by. Now they want tenants to pay the owners taxes??
He can sue her for this though, right? She misrepresented herself to him and caused him Damages.
He would most likely win such a lawsuit. But how to collect?
If he wants to owe even more money. To me the worst part is he told the CRA she was selling the property and they let the sale close without recouping the money from her
@@Julia-543 They didn't need to go through the hassle of seizing and selling the property, because they could simply go after the tenant. Bad incentive.
Wow 😮 I haven’t given this a thought before hearing this.. Good heavens.. you need a lawyer to rent an apartment… this is appalling!!
Defective law, requires tenants to know that owner is out of country, requires tenant to know the taxes were not paid.
Due diligence can only be done or claimed to be done until after a person knew of the obligation requiring due diligence.
Why doesn't he get to live their for free until the back taxes with interest are paid off?
Great video, thanks for posting!
I am Canadian real estate lawyer and have some comments from that perspective. This case is unfortunate but not particularly surprising - given how our tax code functions.
I have 6 comments:
1) the suggestions by CRA on conducting due diligence on the landlord were all ridiculous.
First, conducting a title search would not have helped, as it is likely the vendor would have used a Canadian address. (the vendor had relatives in Canada, recall);
Note, I disagree with Ian about his concerns regarding timing. Basically, there is no legal requirement that the due diligence (either title search or requesting a certificate of residency) need be satisfied PRIOR to commencing the tenancy. In fact, it really only makes sense to run these checks AFTER you've actually secured the tenancy (otherwise you may just be wasting time and effort).
Second, in my jurisdiction (B.C.) Title searches are very fast and cheap. They can be done instantly online and they cost about $12. But importantly, if this tenant ran the search, and it showed an address in Canada, would CRA have dropped their claim against the Tenant? (no, absolutely not);
2) Asking for a certificate of residence is silly. I suppose you could ask for one, but the landlord is not obligated to provide it to you. Not a good way to make friends with your landlord.
3) the most ridiculous suggestion by the CRA was to obtain a representation and warranty as to residency for tax purposes. An indemnity is only as strong as the creditworthiness of the person granting it... and if the CRA is having trouble collecting TAXES from the non-resident vendor, what chance does Joe Tenant have at enforcing a misrepresentation breach and indemnity? (none, not even a snowball's chance).
4) Definitely, the wildest part of this whole ordeal was the fact that the CRA allowed the sale to close without slapping a tax lien on the property. As a real estate lawyer, we encounter non-resident vendors from time to time. The act is pretty clear that the onus to withhold the non-resident vendor withholding tax is on the purchaser. That is, the purchaser is legally obligated (i.e. required) to apply the holdback (often 25% of the purchase price, sometimes 50% of the purchase price), UNLESS the purchaser is satisfied that the vendor is "not a non-resident". Typically, the non-resident vendor must provide a sworn declaration as part of the closing documents, indicating that they are "not a non-resident". Failure to do so is grounds for the purchaser to unilaterally administer the holdback.
5) This brings us to the last issue that I disagree with Ian about. Namely, a tenant (and purchaser) can absolutely legally withhold and remit the non-resident vendor/landlord taxes directly to CRA unless and until the tenant is satisfied as to residency. So, in a hyper vigilant world, a prudent tenant would land the tenancy, pay his first month's rent, then raise all these issues and attempt to satisfy his due diligence. Likely force the landlord to go to a lawyer or notary and swear out a statutory declaration as to residency, AND until that happens, simply pay 75% rent to the Landlord and 25% to CRA. Put differently, a landlord cannot lawfully evict you for adhering to your legal obligations under federal law. Recall, this is a legal requirement, it isn't 'optional'. And the consequences can be severe.
6) Again, the strangest part is that whomever bought would definitely have requested a stat dec re. residency. Presumably, they either got it (and it was false) OR they didn't, and the purchaser withheld 25% of the purchase price as a non-resident vendor withholding tax. One would assume that this would greatly exceed the vendor's overall tax liability, and thus the CRA wouldn't have to chase down Joe Tenant.
That is the bit of this fact pattern that truly stinks.
I don't know if this was argued in the case or considered by the judge, but by putting the Canadian relative's address on the lease or purchase agreement, aren't they naming them an agent of the landlord? Especially if they were in the same area that the rented property was located.
That's bullshit.
This law is nuts
Evil Government.
Imagine if a business didn't remit their taxes and the governments went after every customer. This has the same sort of feel.
If forced to pay someone else's taxes should be able to put a lien against that property and take ownership of that property
LMAO, the fact that it was sold after he became a tenant....
This is one of those times where the government passes laws that a predatory towards its citizens at the expense all decency. There is no justification for these types of laws. Period.
How is she not a 'resident for tax purposes'? She has a Canadian income. So, she didn't file her Canadian taxes for the income derived in Canada, and that's somehow the tenant's fault? This is a shitty law.
This feels like a food subscription company not paying taxes, so the government comes to us consumers to foot the tax bill.
At this point, if people are able to avoid paying taxes, but still pay anyways, then i consider them to be traitors.
On this week's episode of News that Erode my Faith in Canada...
Right?!?
My thought exactly!
If a person is forced to pay somebody else's taxes then that person should own that property legally
I can’t comprehend how anyone, even a politician, could make this make sense. This law absolutely needs to change.
I would think the fairest thing would have the law specify a retroactive lien on the property.
This has nothing to do with the tenant, their name isn't on "any" ownership document of that property stating ownership so how is this even legal?
Because the government says it is.
Lemme guess, the law was drafted and passed by people that have never rented.
This is a disgrace.
How exactly is the average renter supposed to know all this stuff?
Renters already contribute to taxes of the landlord. The rich get richer, that's the law of the land.
CRA can't get this person and they expect average citizen too? They are the victim here.
Forcing a tenant to pay taxes on property they do not own is just evil. I now understand why so many Canadians move to the U.S. .
Could the resident claim overpayment and deduct the 43k from future payments somehow? 🤔 EDIT: I didn't realize the foreign owner sold the property so that's off the table.
That's what I would start doing. It's the landlord's fault for not paying taxes so the payment plus interest should be taken out of future rent, plus the necessary tax amount to withhold.
My question exactly, the 25 percent the renter is to hold back supposedly comes from rent, right? So deduction from future payments
@@its_VAFELZ The landlord might be able to make a reasonable argument the interest and legal fees are owed by the tenant but the base seems 100% the landlords responsibility unless there was some fine print somewhere.
I suspect the only problem with this is that the property was apparently sold, so the tenant is basically SOL because the new owner doesn't have the contract or rent agreement that the previous owner did. That woman basically ran for the Alps and yeeted
If I were evil, then I would begin evicting, because I'm planning on turning the basement into a rec room...and then 1 year later, I could turn it back into a suite, and then rent it out for $4k/month. I would still be further ahead, and the poor tenant is still on the hook for $43k, and the new wave of tenants are required to pay $4k/month.
Foreigners have no incentive to comply, and we have to stop letting them participate.
Sounds to me like a good argument to disallow non-Canadian citizens/residence from owning Canadian soil.