A new web portal aimed at improving the residential eviction process in B.C. will be launching on July 18, 2024. Landlords will soon be required to use the new web portal to generate ‘Notices to End Tenancy’ for personal occupancy or caretaker use.
Through this process, landlords are informed of the significant penalties they could face if they are found to be evicting a tenant in bad faith. By requiring landlords to include the information of who will be occupying the home on the notice, the government says tenants will have a better sense of the landlord’s intentions and may provide this information at the dispute hearing if they believe the landlord is acting in bad faith.
“With this new tool, we’re taking action to better protect tenants from being evicted under false pretences and ensure that landlords who need to legitimately reclaim their units have a straightforward pathway to do so,” said Ravi Kahlon, Minister of Housing. “The portal will also provide government with a window to better understand when and how often these evictions occur so that we can continue to build on our work to improve services for renters and landlords.”
While some landlords do need to reclaim their units for the right reasons (i.e. to take over occupancy for a family member), others continue to evict tenants under the guise of landlord use, only to rent out the unit again at a significantly higher rent.
“We’ve worked tirelessly through our BC Eviction project and systems change work to affect this type of change,” said Amanda Burrows, executive director, First United, a community provider for Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside. “Today, we see that advocacy works and this new web portal to help prevent bad-faith evictions is a positive first step toward housing security for over one million B.C. renters. There is still work to do and we will continue to advocate for changes to prevent homelessness and displacement because housing is a human right.”
Effective July 18, 2024, the Province will increase the amount of notice a tenant must receive and the amount of time they have to dispute an eviction. Landlords will also be required to give tenants four months’ notice instead of two months when evicting for personal or caretaker use. Tenants will then have 30 days to dispute Notices to End Tenancy instead of the current 15 days. The person moving into the home must occupy it for a minimum of 12 months and landlords who evict in bad faith could be ordered to pay the displaced tenant 12 months’ rent.
“Protecting a landlord’s right to reclaim a rental unit for personal use is critical to maintaining a balanced rental housing market,” said David Hutniak, CEO, LandlordBC. “It is also important that landlords know their responsibilities when exercising this right and that they understand the risks of bad-faith evictions. The Landlord Use Web Portal will not only educate landlords about the process, but it will also standardize the process for improved efficiency while increasing transparency.”
To learn more about this and other government initiatives to address housing issues, visit: https://news.gov.bc.ca/releases/2023HOUS0019-000436
