"We already have a
communications channel for
maintenance requests, so
why would we want to set
up a second channel?"
tenant leases. However,
landlords can direct
tenants where to send notices.
To address the GAP lease issue
landlords can let tenants know
where to send communications.
Landlords can accomplish
this by publishing a simple
statement to tenants: eff ective
August 1, 2019, you should send
us any statutorily required
notice to us at the online
tenant/ maintenance portal or at [insert
appropriate email address].
Giving notice to GAP lease tenants should
substantially increase tenant compliance.
When tenants direct communications to
a single source, landlords are in a better
position to comply. The disadvantage is that
you can’t make GAP lease tenants comply and
some will not. Further, some landlords may
be concerned that publishing a statement will
increase tenant claims. This is for individual
landlords to determine. However, in our
experience, the red fl ag theory is over-hyped.
Tenants either have an issue or they don’t,
and the ones that tend to fi le claims are going
to do so no matter what you do.
Many landlords already have electronic
communication systems designed to handle
tenant maintenance requests. If you don’t,
you will need to set one up right away. If
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you have a communication system, you
will need to analyze its capabilities to meet
statutory requirements. If you have a system,
you may want to consider the advantages of
deploying a second communications channel
specifi cally designated for statutory notices.
We already have a communications channel
for maintenance requests, so why would we
want to set up a second channel? A second
designated communication channel for
WHB and BBB communications has several
advantages that you may not have considered.
If you have a maintenance communication
pipeline, it already has a certain fl ow because
tenants are currently using it to make
maintenance requests. When WHB and BBB
communications are added to this fl ow, they
may become indistinguishable from routine
maintenance requests. Since both laws
mandate specifi c action by a landlord when
a tenant gives electronic notice, somebody
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is going to have to monitor
the communication pipeline,
identify the WHB and BBB
requests, and initiate the
proper response. Since tenants
won’t necessarily accurately
label maintenance requests and
your current pipeline regularly
has hundreds or thousands
of maintenance requests, this
could be a formidable task.
These issues are potentially
solved by having a second communications
channel specifi cally designated for WHB
and BBB claims. With a second channel, staff
doesn’t have to pick out the WHB and BBB
claims from routine maintenance claims. A
second designated channel also has another
signifi cant advantage. Liability under both
the WHB and the BBB is initiated by the
tenant giving “proper” notice. If the tenant
doesn’t send the notice to the designated
electronic address, the tenant hasn’t given
proper notice and landlord’s obligations and
liability doesn’t commence.
However, several potential problems could
arise with running a second communications
pipeline designated only for statutory notices.
Tenants may not be able to distinguish
between routine maintenance claims and
statutory claims (WHB and BBB). As a result,
tenants may clog your statutory pipeline
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