BC landlord restricting laundry to a "5-hour window" and locking the door - need advice after past housing trauma.
Hi everyone, I'm looking for some advice on a BC housing situation. I live in a basement suite ($1,450/month), and my tenancy agreement specifically states that "laundry is included" with no restrictions on hours or loads.
For the past three weeks, the landlord has kept the laundry room door locked, and we have to ask him to open it every single week. Now, he's trying to "implement a change" where we are being restricted to one 5-hour stretch. I work during the day and usually try to get a load in before I start work. My roommate leaves a 5:30 am and doesn't get home till around 6PM and our laundry time cuts off at 9:30 pm. Our landlord claims because our tenancy agreement does not specify "a whole day" he has the right to set the hours based on his own past experience living in basement suites.
My roommate and I are honestly terrified to push back. Our last two rentals ended in nightmares: one landlord tried an illegal rent increase, and when we refused were "bad faith" evicted for "family use". We went to the RTB/court both times and lost. We feel like we are being bullied again but are scared that if we stand up for ourselves, we will face another eviction and be back in court.
- Can a landlord unilaterally unilaterally change "laundry included" to a 5-hour window with out 30 days notice or a rent reduction?
- Does that fact that laundry room is now kept locked constitute a reduction of service, or a breach of quiet enjoyment?
- Since the tenancy agreement is vague does that give him the right to choose exactly when we can do laundry. We have been here for over a year and the he's just changing it now.
We are now considering buying our own portable washer/dryer to avoid the conflict entirely, but it feels unfair to pay for machines when laundry is in the agreement. Would buying the machines be "giving up" or is this a valid way to protect our peace of mind?
I also want to mention I am also disabled. So even though I am working my income is generally fixed as the hours I can work are very limited. The landlord expects me to do my roommates laundry because I get home earlier than him and can sometimes work from home. This place is nice and quiet and really love the area being on a fixed income limits me on what I can afford.