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The toilet is overflowing at 11 PM. The furnace stopped working in January. Your ceiling has a mysterious brown stain. As a tenant, you need to know how to get repairs done fast and correctly. As a property management company, Green Casa has handled thousands of maintenance requests. I have seen tenants get ignored for weeks because they sent a casual text, and others get same day service because they followed the rules. Today, you and I will walk through the exact steps to handle maintenance requests like a professional. By the end, you will know how to get your repairs done without stress or delay. What Counts as an Emergency Repair Let me start with the most urgent category. An emergency repair is something that threatens your health or safety or causes serious damage to the property. Examples include a major gas leak, a complete loss of heat in winter, a severe flood, a sewer backup, a broken lock on an exterior door, or an electrical fire hazard. For true emergencies, you do not need to wait for regular business hours. Call your landlord or property management company immediately. If you cannot reach them, you may have the right to authorize the repair yourself up to a reasonable amount, typically 500 to 1,000 dollars. Keep receipts. For non emergencies like a dripping faucet, a broken drawer, or a slow drain, follow the standard process. Knowing the difference saves everyone time and money. The Right Way to Submit a Maintenance Request Never rely on a verbal request. You need a paper trail. Most professional property management companies have an online portal or a dedicated email address for maintenance. Use that. In your request, include the date, the specific problem, the location within the unit, and any photos or videos. For example, instead of saying “the sink is leaking,” say “the hot water pipe under the kitchen sink has a steady drip every two seconds. I have placed a bucket underneath. Here is a photo.” Clear descriptions help the landlord prioritize and send the right tradesperson. After you submit, note the time and date. If you do not hear back within 48 hours for a non emergency, follow up. A written record protects you if the landlord later claims you never told them. Your Landlord Legal Obligations for Repairs Under the law in both BC and Alberta, landlords must maintain the property in a state of reasonable health, safety, and cleanliness. They are responsible for repairing structural issues, heating, plumbing, electrical, and appliances they provided. You are responsible for damage you caused and for replacing things like light bulbs or batteries unless your lease says otherwise. If your landlord ignores a serious repair request, you have options. In BC, you can apply for a dispute resolution order forcing repairs or a rent reduction. In Alberta, you can apply to the Residential Tenancy Dispute Resolution Service. Document every communication. A pattern of ignoring maintenance requests can also give you grounds to end your lease early without penalty. How to Handle Urgent Repairs When Your Landlord Is Unreachable Sometimes landlords disappear. I have seen tenants wait weeks for a furnace repair while the landlord is on vacation. In both BC and Alberta, if a landlord fails to respond to an emergency repair that affects health or safety, you can arrange the repair yourself and deduct the cost from your rent. However, you must follow strict rules. First, try multiple times to contact your landlord by phone, text, and email. Second, get at least two quotes for the repair. Third, keep all receipts. Fourth, provide written notice of your intent to deduct before repairing. Fifth, only deduct the actual repair cost, not extra for your time or inconvenience. If you do not follow these steps, the landlord could dispute your rent deduction. When in doubt, call your local tenancy branch for guidance. What Is Not Your Problem to Fix Many tenants waste money fixing things that are clearly the landlord responsibility. You should never pay for a new water heater, roof repair, foundation crack, window replacement, or major appliance failure unless you caused the damage. You should not pay for pest control unless the infestation started from your lack of cleanliness. You should not pay for plumbing blockages caused by tree roots or old pipes. If your landlord asks you to pay for these things, say no politely and refer them to the Residential Tenancy Act. I have also seen tenants try to fix things themselves and cause more damage. That makes you liable. Unless you are a licensed professional, do not attempt electrical, gas, or major plumbing repairs. Call your landlord. Sample Maintenance Request Letter You Can Use Let me give you a template. Send this by email or through your tenant portal. Subject line Urgent or Non Urgent Maintenance Request at Unit Address. Dear Property Manager, I am writing to report a problem with the bathroom sink. The hot water tap does not turn off completely. It has been dripping constantly since yesterday evening. I have placed a bowl under the drip to prevent water damage. This is not an emergency, but I would appreciate a repair within the next week. Please let me know when a plumber can attend. Thank you, Your Name, Unit Number, Phone Number. Attach a clear photo. This professional approach gets results. Many landlords prioritize tenants who communicate clearly and respectfully. How Green Casa Handles Maintenance for Tenants At Green Casa, we make maintenance simple. Our tenants use an online portal to submit requests 24/7. For emergencies, we have a live phone line answered by a real person at all hours. For non emergencies, we respond within one business day. We then dispatch a licensed, insured tradesperson from our pre screened network. You do not need to coordinate or pay anything. We also send you a confirmation when the repair is scheduled and a follow up survey after it is done. If you are not satisfied, 10

Moving out of a place is always a bit scary. You worry about getting your money. I work at Green Casa, a property management company in Calgary. I have helped many tenants and landlords go through this process without any problems. The secret is knowing the security deposit rules in Alberta before you move out. Today I will tell you what the law says, how to protect your security deposit money and what we do at Green Casa to make sure everyone is treated fairly. What Is a Security Deposit and How Much Can a Landlord Take? Let me explain this simply. A security deposit is money you pay when you move in. It covers any damage you might cause that is not normal. In Alberta your landlord cannot ask for than one months rent as a security deposit. So if your rent is 1,200 dollars a month your security deposit cannot be higher than 1,200 dollars. Even if they want a deposit the total cannot be more than one months rent. I always tell tenants that this security deposit rule is important. Knowing the limit stops you from being taken advantage of when you’re excited about a new place. Understanding security deposit rules from the start saves you from a lot of trouble on. When Must Your Landlord Return Your Security Deposit Money? This is the part that everyone cares about. The Alberta security deposit rules are clear. Your landlord has ten days to return your security deposit money after you move out or give them your address, whichever’s later. Within those ten days they must. Give you back your full security deposit or send you a written breakdown of what they kept. If you forget to leave your address the law says the landlord must still try to find you and return your security deposit money. At Green Casa we remind our tenants to write down their address on move out day. We even have a form ready. That starts the ten day timer. Stops a lot of confusion. Following security deposit rules is not hard. It just takes a minutes of attention. What Deductions Are Actually Allowed From Your Security Deposit? This is where things can get tricky. A landlord can only take money from your security deposit for damage that’s not normal wear and tear. So what is normal? If you lived in a place for a couple of years the walls might have holes from hanging pictures. The carpet might be a little flat in the hallway. The paint might have faded a bit. That is all normal. Big holes in the wall broken windows or burn marks on the counter are not normal. If you leave furniture or trash behind that is not normal either. The return of your security deposit really comes down to one question. Would a reasonable person say that the damage is from living? If the answer is no you might lose some security deposit money. How to Protect Your Security Deposit Before You Even Unpack You have a lot of power. It starts on day one. I always tell tenants to do a move in inspection with their landlord. Walk through every room open every closet and test every switch and faucet. Get down on your hands and knees. Look at the carpet. Take photos with your phone. Make notes on the inspection form. Then both you and the landlord sign it. That piece of paper is important when you move out. It proves what was already broken before you moved in. Without it a landlord could blame you for a stain. At Green Casa we give tenants inspection forms. Want them to add their own notes. We are not trying to trick you. We want the move out to be fair for everyone. Interest and Receipts For Your Security Deposit Most tenants do not know about this part. Alberta law talks about interest on your security deposit. The truth is, landlords do not have to pay interest unless your tenancy started before 2009 or your lease says so. For tenants today interest is not required. Your landlord must give you a receipt when you pay your security deposit. That receipt needs to show the date, amount and property address. If you paid in cash you really need that receipt. I recommend paying by cheque or e transfer so you have a record in your bank account. We at Green Casa give out receipts away. If your landlord does not offer one just ask. These little details can save you from a headache later. What If Your Landlord Simply Refuses to Pay Your Security Deposit? Sometimes landlords break the rules. If your landlord does not return your security deposit or send a breakdown within ten days or if they make deductions you have options. Do not just get angry. Give up. First send them a letter or email asking for your security deposit money back. Give them five business days to respond. If they still ignore you you can file a claim with the Residential Tenancy Dispute Resolution Service. The fee is 75 dollars and you do not need a lawyer. Just gather your evidence, like the move in inspection move out photos and proof of your address. The service is usually fair to tenants when landlords break the rules. I have seen tenants get awarded double their security deposit when landlords were dishonest. Knowing your rights gives you power. Do not be afraid to stand up for yourself. How We Do Things at Green Casa At Green Casa we believe that a security deposit should not start a fight. Our process is simple and fair. When you move in we do an inspection. Sign a digital report with photos. During your tenancy we stay in touch about maintenance issues. When you leave we send you a move out checklist that tells you what to clean and fix. After you move out we do another inspection within 48 10

I live in Calgary. I love it here.. Sometimes my neighbors can be really loud and it keeps me awake. As a property management company in Calgary Green Casa gets complaints from tenants and owners about noise all the time. So I think it is an idea to learn about the City of Calgary noise bylaw. This way you can avoid getting fines and upsetting your neighbors. Today I will explain the rules to you. You will learn when you have to be quiet what things you cannot use on Sundays and how much you might have to pay if you get a ticket. Breaking Down the City of Calgary Noise Bylaw Let me explain this in a way. The City of Calgary noise bylaws is a set of rules that says how loud you can be in your neighborhood. The goal is that everyone should be able to enjoy their home without being disturbed by people. These rules apply to all areas of Calgary, including where you live, where you work and where they are building things. They even talk about dogs that bark much car stereos that are too loud and construction that starts too early. As a property management company in Calgary we tell all our tenants to read the rules so they know what to do. If you know the rules you will not get in trouble. You will get along with your neighbors. Specific Calgary Noise Bylaw Times You Must Remember This is the part. The City of Calgary noise bylaws hours says you have to be quiet from 10 at night until 7 in the morning. This is every day on weekends and holidays. During this time you cannot make much noise that might bother your neighbors. So you cannot vacuum at midnight use power tools at 6 in the morning or yell on your balcony at 2 in the morning. Between 7 in the morning and 10 at night you can make some noise. It still has to be reasonable. For example you can practice playing music at 3 in the afternoon.. Using a leaf blower at 9 at night might still bother your neighbors. Calgary Construction Noise Bylaw What Builders Cannot Do There are rules for construction projects. The City of Calgary Construction noise bylaw says that builders can work from 7 in the morning until 10 at night Monday to Saturday.. On Sundays and holidays they cannot make any noise. There are some exceptions like if there is an emergency and they have to fix something. For projects builders also have to be careful not to make too much noise with their trucks and equipment. If someone starts making noise outside your window at 6 in the morning on a Tuesday you can call the city to complain. At Green Casa we always check if there are any construction projects near a property before we rent it to someone. How the City Determines If Noise Is Illegal You might wonder how the city decides if someone is being too loud. The City of Calgary noise bylaw uses sense and special tools to measure noise. If someone complains about noise an officer will. Listen from the neighbors property. If they can hear the noise it might be a problem. For businesses they use a machine to measure how loud it is. A normal conversation is 60 decibels. A garbage truck is 85 decibels. A live band can be as loud as 110 decibels. In areas where people live if the noise is too loud the city might give you a ticket.. Even if the noise is not that loud it can still be a problem if it bothers someone. Frequent Noise Complaints We See in Calgary Rentals We see a lot of Calgary noise complaints at Green Casa. The common one is about parties that go too late. The second common one is about dogs that bark too much. The third common one is about snow blowers that start too early. The fourth common one is about people who use power tools during quiet hours. The most common one is about loud TVs or music that can be heard through thin walls. We also see complaints about swimming pool pumps, hot tubs and even doorbells that play music. Our advice is to get to know your neighbors and exchange phone numbers. If you are being too loud a simple text message can solve the problem before it gets serious. Financial Penalties for Ignoring the Rules Let me be clear about this. If you break  noise bylaw Calgary rules you might get a ticket. The time you get a ticket you will have to pay 250 dollars. If you get another ticket within a year you will have to pay 500 dollars. If you keep breaking the rules you might even have to go to court and pay up to 10,000 dollars. The city can also take away the equipment that is making the noise. If you rent a place and you get many tickets you might get evicted. I have seen people lose their homes because they did not follow the rules. Do not let that happen to you. Permitted Exceptions You Should Know About Not all loud noises will get you in trouble. The  noise bylaw Calgary has some exceptions. If there is an emergency, like a fire or a police car they can make noise. Snow plows can also make noise at any time because they have to keep the roads clear. If there is an event, like the Calgary Stampede they can make noise too. Farmers can also make noise during harvest season. If you want to have a party or an event you can get a permit and make noise.. You have to ask the city first and make sure it is okay. Steps to Take When Noise Disturbs You If someone is being too loud and it is disturbing you here is what you can do. 10