BC Tenancy Law Reforms Aim to Prevent Bad Faith Evictions

On May 16, 2024, Bill 14 – the Tenancy Statutes Amendment Act (the “Act”) was granted royal assent. The Act presents significant changes to the Residential Tenancy Act, with some provisions already in force, and the remainder being introduced in phases.

The most notable change of the Act was made in response to bad faith evictions. Beginning July 18, 2024, landlords are required to use the Landlord Use Web portal (the “Portal”) to generate Notices to End Tenancy (the “Notice”) for evictions relating to personal occupancy or caretaker use. By generating a Notice, landlords will be required to provide information regarding the new occupants of the residence, and are reminded of the potential penalties levied for bad faith evictions.

Aside from the Portal, the Act also amends the Notice period for evictions relating to the landlord’s use of property, which has increased from two to four months. Further, the Act provides tenants with 30 days as opposed to 15 days, to dispute the Notice.

Further, a landlord is now liable to pay a tenant 12 times the monthly rent if the stated purpose justifying an eviction lasts less than a year, as opposed to less than 6 months.

In addition, when a tenancy agreement includes a term whereby rent varies with the number of occupants, a landlord cannot increase rent when a minor is added as an occupant or when an occupant who was a minor when the tenancy was signed reached adulthood.

It’s worth noting that if a building where a rental unit is located has 5 or more rental units and is not stratified or is stratified with all rental units owned by the same owner, landlords are now restricted from ending the tenancy for their own or close family’s use, or a purchaser’s or their close family’s use.

To date, reactions regarding the changes have been mixed, as landlord’s continue to advocate for a less tenant favoured rental market in British Columbia. Regardless, landlord’s should take note of their increased responsibility. In particular, landlord’s should ensure the Portal is used to generate Notices when necessary. Failure to do so could result in eviction notices deemed void.

In late August 2024, additional provisions of the Act came into force, and the Residential Tenancy Regulation was amended to establish time periods related to ending a tenancy for personal use. These changes affect situations where a landlord sells a rental unit and the purchaser requests the landlord to give notice to end the tenancy because the purchaser or a close family member intends, in good faith, to occupy the unit. In such cases, the notice period must be at least 3 months after the tenant receives the notice. A tenant may dispute the notice by applying for dispute resolution within 21 days of receiving it. If a notice was given before August 21, 2024, the previous notice period and dispute period rules continue to apply.

For more information on the Act and its potential impacts, please contact Hugh Claxton of our Real Estate Group.

*This article was written in collaboration with our summer student, Travis Bassra.