Website Launching To Protect Renters From Bad-Faith Evictions

A new website will be launched later this month, aimed at better protecting renters from being evicted in bad faith, while bringing improvements to the process for landlords.

“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 example, a first-time homebuyer who wants to live in their new home), others evict tenants under the guise of landlord use, only to rent out the unit again at a significantly higher rent.

Beginning July 18th, landlords will be required to use the Landlord Use Web Portal and will be required to include information about the persons moving into the home.

That would give tenants a better sense of the landlords’ intentions and may provide this information at a dispute hearing if they believe the landlord is acting in bad faith.

Also, the Province is increasing the amount of notice a tenant must receive and the amount of time they have to dispute an eviction.

Landlords will be required to give tenants four months’ notice instead of two months when evicting for personal or caretaker use. Tenants will have 30 days to dispute, up from 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.

To see the full release, visit Government of British Columbia.