A Conversation With Student Legal Services Part One

A few weeks ago, one of our community members reached out to us about recurring  problems and issues he was having with his roommate that were making his living situation unbearable. We advised him to reach out to student legal services at his campus, but we decided to have a question and answer session with Student Legal Services of Edmonton just in case there are any other students who could use their services but aren't aware of it. 

Note: Due to Covid-19 Student Legal Services Edmonton is no longer taking walk-ins until future notice; however, we still wanted to share the details of the QnA session in case it could help a student or tenant immediately. A special thanks to Student Legal Services for taking the time to do this interview. 

RentWhiz (RW), interviewer: What services are available at Student Legal Services?

Student Legal Services (SLS): Student Legal Services is a non-profit organization run by law student volunteers that offers free legal assistance. We can provide legal information and referrals to callers, and in some cases, we may be able to open a file to assist an individual with their legal matter in either Provincial Court or RTDRS. We cannot provide advice, as we are law students and not lawyers, however if we do open a file our advising lawyers supervise our actions and provide direction.

Student Legal Services has several projects that can assist in different areas. For a landlord/tenant dispute, the Civil Law project would be the appropriate project to reach out to. SLS also offers assistance in family law matters and criminal matters through our other projects. 

RW: Are these services exclusive to University of Alberta students or are they available to students from other post-secondary institutions as well?

SLS: Any member of the public is able to access our service over the phone if they are interested in seeking legal information. You do not have to be a University of Alberta student or a student at all. 

If you are interested in having a file opened, which is necessary in order for an SLS student to assist you in going to court and in creating any legal documents you may need, we do require income verification documents. SLS’s mandate is to assist low-income individuals in accessing the justice system, therefore financial information is necessary in order for us to assess your application. If you do not fit within our income threshold, or if your matter is outside of the scope of what SLS can handle, you will be referred to other services that may be more appropriate. 

RW: What are some of the most common problems you deal with from students?

SLS: We frequently deal with landlord/tenant issues, such as recovery of a security deposit and rent abatement. We can also provide assistance in other civil matters, such as breach of contract, recovery of a loan, employment, etc. 

RW: What services do you offer specifically for students who are living in rented accommodation off campus?

SLS: None of our services are exclusive to students living in a particular location. Anyone who requires assistance with a live legal issue that falls within the scope of what SLS can handle can apply to have a file opened. Many types of landlord/tenant issues fall within our scope, and therefore we are often able to either take the file or provide information to people accessing our service. If we take the file, we can assist in writing demand letters, drafting Civil Claims or applications for Residential Tenancy Dispute Resolution, writing dispute notes, and in representing individuals in Provincial Court or at a Residential Tenancy Dispute Resolution Service (RTDRS) hearing. However, all of the applications are subject to Civil Coordinator and Advising Lawyer discretion, therefore completing an application is not a guarantee that SLS will be able to take your file. 

RW: What is the first piece of legal information you would give to a student who is considering rented accommodation?

SLS: Typically, the answers to many tenants' questions can be found in their lease. It is therefore helpful to keep a copy of your lease to refer to throughout your entire tenancy period. The remainder of most tenants’ questions can be answered in reading the relevant sections of the Residential Tenancies Act (RTA). It is important to note however that the RTA does not apply to shared living arrangements, which means that many issues roommates experience do not fall under this act. 

The rest of this QnA will be in our next blog, A Conversation With Student Legal Services Part 2, so stay tuned and follow us on our social media. If you have any other ideas or questions, please comment below, contact us or comment on our social media.

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