Port Moody is a fine city to live in if you’re looking for a place to relax and maintain a laid back lifestyle. It is one of the smaller cities in Metro Vancouver and doesn’t get a lot of coverage outside of its surrounding areas, but the city is called “City of the Arts” for a good reason. If you’re someone who likes to swirl brandy while viewing art paintings and photographs, Port Moody might just be the place you’re looking for.

The city of Port Moody is actually the smallest of what Canadians call the Tri-Cities, consisting of Coquitlam to the south and east of Port Moody, and Burnaby to the west. The villages of Anmore and Belcarra lies to the north of Port Moody.

When looking for an affordable apartment, you need to be aware of something they call “illegal steering”. Illegal steering is the act of “steering” a prospective tenant away simply because the broker or landlord decided not to rent the apartment for reasons considered unethical or illegal. Take note illegal steering happens everywhere and not just in Port Moody apartment for rent. In any case, it pays to be aware especially when you’re out apartment hunting.

Here are some tips on how to spot illegal steering.

1. The landlord discourages you for no good reason
They used to do it this way: “We do not rent to large families” or “No black people allowed”. But things have evolved since then. Now the landlord would simply find ways to discourage you by suggesting other places when you’re very much satisfied with his or her apartment unit.

Ask him or her to rent you the apartment. If you’re flat-out refused for no reason, you are being illegally steered, no doubt.

2. The landlord points out the undesirable features of his apartment unit
A normal situation is the landlord can’t keep talking about benefits of taking his apartment unit and downplaying the negative aspects of living there, such as old electrical wirings or a loud neighbor. When you’re being illegally steered, however, the landlord would point out 10 things about why you shouldn’t rent his apartment and zero things about why you should rent it.

For example, he might say something like “I’m not sure my other tenants are going to live the fact that you have five kids.” That is flat out discrimination.

3. The landlord insists on you renting a different part of the building
Some landlords will try and persuade you to rent a different unit – one that’s located in a different section of the building – simply because of your race or religion. He won’t say this of course, but you should observe changes in his attitude or tone of voice during your meeting when you tell him more about yourself. If he doesn’t want you to take Unit 201 and insists on you taking Unit 504 instead simply because you mentioned you’re a Muslim, that’s illegal steering.

It should be noted that illegal steering is called “illegal” for a reason – you can take legal action against a landlord you suspect of committing illegal steering against you or someone you know. Be observant during an apartment inspection, not just on the apartment but the personality of the landlord as well.

Author Bio: Looking for an apartment in Port Moody? Check out our website at Port Moody apartment for rent. Our website features numerous properties for rent (apartments, townhouses, home rentals, etc.) in and around Port Moody area. So if you’re interested in Port Moody apartment rentals, feel free to visit us for more information.

Category: Real Estate
Keywords: port moody apartment for rent, port moody apartment rentals