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The Canada Landlords Association is a leading organization for small residential landlords across Canada. We provide a unified voice for private landlords and promote and protect residential landlord interests to national and local government. We provide a unified voice for private landlords and promote and protect landlord interests to national and local government.

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A chance to "get involved!"

B.C. maximum allowable rent increase for 2019 is 4.5%

This is the largest rent increase since 2004

Successful BC landlords know how important it is to raise your rents every year. With inflation and rising costs if you don’t raise the rent you can quickly fall into the trap of not only losing your cash-flow but even being cash-flow negative! Losing money every month can be a stressful and scary experience!

Many landlords across British Columbia were worried this year the rent guideline would be very low.

After all, BC landlords are facing a lot of challenges these days. For many of us, it feels like investing in real estate, creating jobs and great rental properties is a ‘bad thing’ in BC.

Many landlords are even thinking of investing outside of BC now.

The good news is the rent increase guideline for 2019 is very fair. The BC government has set the maximum allowable rent increase at 4.5% in 2019. It was only 4% for 2018.

This is the biggest increase since 2004 (When it was capped at 4.6%). Alberta landlords can raise the rent as much as the market can bear each year with property notice.

Many Ontario landlords are furious that despite the same type of inflation and rising costs as we have in BC they can only raise the rent by 1.8% in 2019.

BC Landlord Landlord Rent Increase Guideline 2019

BC landlords you can raise the rent 4.5% in 2019. According to the CBC this has many BC tenants angry but this is a great step by the gov’t to help us small landlords succeed (and not sell and invest in friendlier markets).

Tags: bc landlord, Landlord BC, legal rent, raise rent
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BC Landlords Speak Out: “There Are Lots of Good Renters Out There, But You Need To Screen Carefully These Days!”

BC Landlords Speak Out: “There Are Lots of Good Renters Out There, But You Need To Screen Carefully These Days!”

As part of our “Let’s Improve the British Columbia Rental Industry” we have invited landlords and tenants to share their opinions on how we can make these improvements. These opinions are from individual contributors and are not the opinions of the BC Landlords Association. We believe by fostering communication between landlords and tenants we can improve the BC rental industry. Landlords and tenants can share your thoughts and opinions by emailing us at landlordtenantsolutions@groupmail.com

BC Landlords Need To Make Tenant Screening a Priority To Find Good Tenants and Avoid the “Pros” Out There

I keep hearing about how bad things are for renters these days. Sure, it’s never been easy as a renter. I rented for years and know this from first hand experience. During my student days in the early 90’s rent was already high considering what students could save during summer jobs. Unlike many people at the time I couldn’t get a loan at the Bank of Mom and Dad because said after age 18 people should be self-dependent.

Some Of The Current Tenant Issues I Keep Reading About And My Take As A Former Renter and New Landlord

Here’s what I think of the current issues that are all over the news and the radio talk shows. Hey, I rented for years and don’t belittle anyone having problems with their landlord or their rental. The thing is we need more “balance” in the discussion .

1. Pets

This has been a big issue over the past few weeks with talks we will copy the Ontario rental model where landlords can’t legally refuse tenants just because they have a pet. Sounds good but as a landlord I have to be very careful of my costs and pets can lead to extra costs. They can also lead to headaches if they bark or whatever early in the morning or crap in the area. It’s just something to consider.

2. Fixed Term Lease “Loophole”

We need to get some balance on this. I’m sure some rich overseas landlords were raising the rent by $1000’s of dollars at the end of a lease but not all of us are rich overseas landlords! Most of us are like me and want to keep good tenants renting from us so we don’t even raise the rent. There is some interesting information how this BC landlord and tenant loophole came to be but for most of us it just doesn’t apply

3. Rents Are Too High

Again not all of us are rich overseas investors with luxury Vancouver rentals in prime time areas. Many of us have saved to buy a rental and we only charge rents what people can afford and what we need to charge just to cover our mortgages, fees, taxes and the rest. Many of us small landlords are struggling and you need to keep us separate from the rich fat cats.

Help For BC Landlords – Screen Your Tenants Carefully!

The good news for people wanting to become small landlords is there are a lot of good renters around. I think this is because we have people coming from Alberta where the economy is in a downturn and Alberta landlords are suffering. And prices are really high in British Columbia so a lot of people are renting and saving up for a deposit.

Be Careful Who You Rent To And Run A Credit Check

I have some good renters now who I just signed a lease with in September after the last couple moved out. When I was advertising there were a lot of very aggressive people applying who seemed to be winners. But many didn’t have references and when I ran a credit check I saw they had screwed over a lot of people and owed a lot of money.

Be careful because one bad tenant can really be a nightmare and cost you a ton of money.

What Does a Credit Check Show You That Is Helpful For A Small Landlord Who Wants To Rent To Excellent Tenants?

First of all it shows you a ‘credit score’ from Equifax Canada.

This is very helpful because it’s a good way to see if people are financially responsible. A low score shows they don’t pay their bills on time, or at all! They might have ripped off Rogers or Bell but they also might have ripped of lots of small landlords too.

BC Landlords Be Careful and Run A Credit Check

I joined the BCLA and am running checks for ten bucks and one-time fee, no annual fee!

It’s a great deal and with good tenant screening you can make sure you find the real good tenants and avoid the professional scammers out there who will bleed you dry.

Tags: British Columbia landlords, credit checks, landlordbc, Vancouver landlords
Posted in BC landlord success, BC landlords, BC Landlords Association membership, tenant screening | Comments Off on BC Landlords Speak Out: “There Are Lots of Good Renters Out There, But You Need To Screen Carefully These Days!”

How Much Can BC Landlords Raise the Rent in 2018?

B.C. Landlords Can Raise the Rent 4% in 2018

With low vacancy rates throughout British Columbia it’s important to encourage more people to become landlords.

When more good people are motivated to invest their hard earned savings into creating secondary suites in their homes or buying an investment condo it helps tenants. More landlords means more supply of high quality rental housing and gives tenants more options in finding a nice place to live.

Landlords Are Running a Business and Need To Keep Up With Increasing Costs

One of the biggest challenges we hear from small residential landlords across B.C. is that their cost keep increasing each year. The reality is it’s becoming more expensive to create safe and well maintained rental units that service-oriented landlords provide.

Successful Landlords Know the Importance of Maintaining Their Rental Property

Keep your property up can be expensive. Some repairs are urgent and obvious. The furnace might break. A toilet might need to be replaced. A fence might need to be repaired. A tree might need cutting down.

Other improvements might be upgrades to keep your current tenants happy or to make the property attractive to new prospective renters. This could mean new paint, new stairs, and lots of other expenses.

This is why BC landlords know it’s important to raise the rent each year. Especially as lots of new restrictive rule changes coming for landlords in BC.

How Much Can British Columbia Landlords Raise The Rent In 2018?

Annual rent increases are an important part of running a successful rental business. In 2018 small residential landlords can raise the rent by a maximum of 4%

Why only 4%? My Costs Are Much Higher Than That!

In British Columbia the allowable rent increase is based on inflation plus 2 percent.

According to the BC Residential Tenancy Act website:

Annual rent increase

22 (1) In this section, “inflation rate” means the 12 month average percent change in the all-items Consumer Price Index for British Columbia ending in the July that is most recently available for the calendar year for which a rent increase takes effect.

(2) For the purposes of section 43 (1) (a) of the Act [amount of rent increase], a landlord may impose a rent increase that is no greater than the percentage amount calculated as follows:

percentage amount = inflation rate + 2%

Are Tenants Aware of The Challenges Small Landlords Face?

The good news is that most tenants are aware of the challenges small landlords face in running our rental businesses. The price of gas goes up, the price of utilities, the price of groceries.

Rent isn’t something special…it also need to go up to cover costs. Small landlords are not immune to rising costs.

Of course there are people out there who think all landlords are billion dollar corporations with unlimited funds.

The reality is the typical BC landlord is someone who has a regular job and is hoping to make a good investment or create a secondary suite to help them cover their mortgage.

The CBC reports some tenants believe the rent increase is gouging tenants and there should be a “rent freeze.”

How Does The 2018 Guideline Compare to Previous Years?

Last year it was 3.7%. In 2012 the increase was higher at 4.3%

How Does The BC Rent Increase Guideline Compare to Other Provinces?

Ontario landlords can only raise the rent by 1.8% in 2018. So compared to them we are doing okay.

However, Alberta landlords don’t have rent control and can raise the rent as much as the market can bear (as long as they provide property notice, etc.)

BC Landlords Are You Going To Raise the Rent in 2018?

Experienced and successful landlords across British Columbia know that it’s important for landlords to raise the rent according to the guideline each year.

Good tenants demand attractive and well-maintained properties and you need to be charging rents that allow you to offer what good tenants want. In order to keep your property great for tenants and also make sure you are running a profitable business it’s important to raise the rent in 2018.

Tags: B.C. landlords help, British Columbia landlords success, landlord advocacy, landlordbc
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BC Landlords Speak Out: “It’s My Property And If I Don’t Want To Rent To Tenants With Pets That’s My Right!”

Landlords Speak Out And Submit Their Experiences Regarding Changes in BC Rental Laws

BC Landlords Speak Out: It’s My Property And If I Don’t Want To Rent To Tenants With Pets That’s My Right!

This is my first contribution here and hope is will help fix this crazy debate about making “no pets” illegal for landlords in British Columbia.

First of all I will disclose that I am a businessWOMAN and a Feminist who has had to fight hard in our patriarchal system to just get to where I am now. After decades of facing male bullying, much of it under the guise of “we have no choice” rhetoric what is happening to landlords in BC this year is just more of the same. Bullying under the guise of “fairness” or whatever. It’s all coded and those who want to destroy our property rights are just using rhetoric.

This whole issue is not about pets at all, it’s about property rights. I am the one who saved for years to afford to buy a rental in the hopes it will help me in my retirement. I’m not a government bureaucrat with a gold plated pension. As a small business person I won’t get anything from the government when I retire and have to make wise investments to protect myself.

Poverty Rates For Women Over 60 Are Higher Than For Men

As a woman and a Feminist soon to be in retirement age it’s especially frightening what can happen if I don’t invest and save wisely. My rental property is a key tool for me to survive.

Pets Are Being Weaponized As A Way To Take Away My Rights

As a woman I’ve seen this types of campaigns before. These type of “moral” arguements were common in the 1970s when a woman’s right to an abortion was framed as ‘evil’ even if the woman was raped!

I Don’t Want To Rent To Tenants With Pets, And It’s My Right To Make That Decision!

With the recent decision to basically end fixed term leases it looks like the “social justice warriors” and the “millennial who want everything for free” are dead set to use the “pet issue” as a tool to continue to take away property rights. They are using the tactics of communist agitator Saul Alinksy to tug at the public heartstrings instead of showing the real issue at hand.

For example, you can see Saul Alinsky’s Rule #11

This person was a notorious commie who influenced people like Hillary Clinton and Barrack Obama! Alinksky wrote:

Pick the target, freeze it, personalize it, polarize it.

Don’t try to attack abstract corporations or bureaucracies. Identify a responsible individual. Ignore attempts to shift or spread blame.

Why I Don’t Want Pets?

Am I heartless? Am I some evil Trump-like entity who want to put animals to slaughter and I profit because I own the slaughterhouse?Am I just a bad person?

No, no, no. I’m a working grandmother who was a single mom and worked damn hard to get to a point where I can take care of myself and help my daughter who went married an abusive alcoholic and has successfully brought up three excellent children with my financial help.

As A Landlord and a Woman Let Me Run My Rental Business As I See Fit And Don’t Tell Me What I “Must Do!”

There are many reasons for me to refuse to rent to renters with pets. There is no need for me to explain this or justify my actions. My whole purpose is to help me, my daughter, and my grandchildren from the type of poverty so many women and girls face in our society. My actions and decisions as a landlord are business decisions for the property I have invested in and I own.

No Pet Clauses Are All About Big Brother (Men) Telling The Rest of What To Do (and threatening us if we disagree)

If the male social justice warriors really care about pets (which I am highly suspicious of) they should lobby the government to provide more government house that accepts pets.

The Push For “Pet Rights” Is BS. If The Push For “It’s Illegal To Refuse Pets” Really Cared They Would Demand This in Government Housing (and lobby the gov’t to build this type of housing!)

Don’t try to take away my property rights with your Saul Alinsky tactic of saying “oh, all the pets are abandoned because of private landlords.” We all know this is simply bullsh*t and if you really cared about pets you would be lobbying the government to invest in pet friendly housing and not trying to take away our landlord property rights.

Fellow BC Landlords Need to Fight Back

I worked hard to invest in my rental property and we need to fight back against the male communist millennials who want to take over our every thing we own and tell us what to do. The male elite continue to use debatable issues such as “low vacancy” and “pets” as an emotional cover to take away the property rights of hard working people who have invested in rental property in British Columbia. Just say no.

Actually, with all the bullying all landlords must yell out “NO!”.

Tags: BC Landlord Advocacy, bc landlord rights, landlord rights
Posted in British Columbia landlords, Landlord BC, Pets, Rental Property | Comments Off on BC Landlords Speak Out: “It’s My Property And If I Don’t Want To Rent To Tenants With Pets That’s My Right!”

BC Landlords and BC Tenants Working Together in 2018

We Invite BC Tenants To Join Us In An Important Conversation On How To Improve the BC Rental Industry

An amazing group known as OK Pets BC has worked hard to get an important message out about tenants and pets. Thanks to the hard work of OK Pets BC it’s become known that in British Columbia many tenants are having to give up a family member (their pet) just to rent an apartment.

According to OK Pets BC our province of British Columbia has a huge shortage of rental housing that is open to tenants with pets. In BC lease terms such as “no pets” are legal and can discriminate against pet owners.

Dogs and Cats Are Being Abandoned Because of No Pet Lease Terms?

This is a question many small British Columbia landlords asked us when we informed them about what OK Pets BC told us.

The answer is Yes. The British Columbia SPCA says that thousands of animals were turned into shelters because of no pet policies by landlords. That’s an average of about five pets per day! It also doesn’t count all the pets dropped off at non SPCA locations.

Small BC Landlords Were Unaware of This and Many Are Really, Really Angry

In British Columbia landlords can charge a two week damage deposit if tenants have pets. So why do many landlords still refuse applicants who admit they have pets? We can hear the most radical activists should “Landlords Hate Animals!” and “Landlords Just Want To Abuse The Powerful Position They Have”.

We asked this in our BC Landlord forum and there was a terrific discussion and lots of important information and debate. Do BC landlords hate animals? Nope. Do BC landlords in our community want to abuse some mysterious position they are in (as they pay their mortgages every month).

As part of the discussion a Surrey landlord wrote something was a bit of bombshell of knowledge:

People who are blaming tenants or blaming landlords don’t get it. The reality is most of us small BC landlords don’t have anything against dogs, cats, gerbils, snakes, chipmunks or pet owning tenants. The problem is the two week deposit equivalent of rent is too low and won’t cover our costs if the pets do damages. If the BC residential tenancy act was changed to allow for a larger deposit many of us small BC landlords would be happy to rent to good tenants with pets!!

A Vancouver landlord replied:

I agree with you! Pet owning renters are a huge market and I could just make sure any potential pee stains or chewed furnitures or whatever would be covered who would ignore his huge demographic?

A Tenant Renting In Vancouver Joined the Discussion

So this is all about damages? Is that the real issue because the way it has portrayed is evil and nasty landlords being nearly satanic in how they screen tenants! I thought some landlords just hated animals!

Issues Can Be Resolved By Mature Discussion and Mediation Not Confrontation

This is just another example of how BC tenants and BC landlords are not communicating with each other. And when they do begin to speak directly to each other good things and bright ideas happen.

We Want BC Tenants To Communicate and Cooperate With Us To Make Fix These “Fixable” Issues

Let’s be realistic. Good landlords are looking to rent to good tenants and good tenants want to rent from good landlords. So let’s work together. We are inviting good Alberta tenants to join us in the following capacities:

1. Share Your Stories and Opinions With Us

By sharing your experiences and ideas you can help other tenants, landlords and educate people and play a role in improving the Alberta rental industry.

2. Become A Tenant Community Leader for the BC Tenant Forum

We are looking for 5-10 experienced BC tenants to help run our Tenant forum and make it as helpful as possible for other BC tenants to learn from. As Tenant Community Leader who will be able to invite other verified tenants to join our forum to help educate the community.

3. Provide Us With Your Ideas for Policy Changes

Do you think some things need to change? Share your policy ideas with us.

BC Landlords and Tenants in our BC Rental Community

Let’s work together in 2018 for our mutual success. Let’s improve the rental industry and play a role in forming new policies. We invite tenants to join our community. If you are interested please email us at tenantexperiences@groupmail.com by January 15, 2018. Make sure you let us know about you and your renting experience and how you want to help (please note only those accepted with receive a reply).

Update on January 15, 2018

Thank you for the overwhelming response of Tenants across British Columbia! We now have filled the available positions for BC Tenant Community leaders. Keep watching for our next recruitment drive!

Tags: BC rentals, Landlords in BC
Posted in BC renters, BC Tenant Rights, BC tenants, British Columbia Tenants | Comments Off on BC Landlords and BC Tenants Working Together in 2018

BC Tenants Speak Out: “Close the Fixed Term Lease Loophole”

Tenants Speak Out and Share Their Concerns and Opinions on the Rental Industry

BC Tenants Speak Out: We Need To End This Ridiculous Loophole That Allows Landlords To Jack Up Rents Now!

This is just my opinion and hopefully others will agree with me. It’s about time landlords actually invited BC tenants to speak about our how stressful it is to even find a half decent, affordable apartment these days. It’s hard for us hard working tenants to even begin to understand how landlords think.

After all, the reality is you need us to pay your mortgages and with the high rents you charge you are probably not only paying off your mortgage but also raking in lots of extra cash for the next Ferrari or Porche SUV for your teenage son.

I think one of the first things we need to do to improve the rental industry is quickly close the ridiculous loophole that gives free reign for bad landlords to jack up rents on hard working tenants who are struggling already just to make ends meet.

From my own experience this is how bad landlords use the loophole to rip off tenants. When I was looking for my last apartment the landlord only offered me a what is called a fixed term lease for one year only.

In the lease they demanded I sign a tiny weird little box they said to “check”.

The little box seemed so insignificant at the time and the landlord never even tried to explain what it really meant. So I checked off that tiny little box without even thinking about it. Only later did I find out how that tiny little box could influence my life and hurt me financially as well as giving me unneeded stress that led to migrains and physical ailments.

By checking off on the “little box” I found that even though I told the landlord I was going to stay at least a couple of years I would have to vacate the apartment at the end of one year or sign a new lease, kind of like starting over like I was a new applicant, like I didn’t just spend a year of my life there and pay 12 months of hard earned, too high rent money.

After one year was over I thought what the landlord and I agreed to the year before would apply. We agreed for me to stay two years but would sign an annual lease because that was their policy. “Sure, fine, at least it’s a home for me and my five year old and close to work” I thought at the time.

Let’s face it, if you are a Tenant in British Columbia these days you don’t have a lot of choices and need to get what you can just to survive.

At the end of the lease the landlord told me for me to stay I would have to sign a brand new lease instead of just changing the date on the current one. I thought at least the lease would go month by month on the same terms.

“Shouldn’t the landlord work to keep a good paying client like me in their rental unit for as long as possible?” I thought.

When the landlords presented the new lease for me saying “if you want to continue living in MY apartment” everything was the same except for the date and…a much higher rent!

In British Columbia we have a rent increase guideline so landlords can’t gouge tenants with huge rent increases.

Or so I thought. After challenging the landlord on the much higher rent she explained because this was a new fixed term lease, the terms can change…because I checked that little tiny, apparently insignificant at the time, little box.

The little box impacted my life in a negative way. I never expected to pay so much higher, and with my already tight budget for healthy food, extra classes I was taking, and some clothes and recreational activities for my child, it meant big changes in my life just to keep living in my home.

I’m no fool and learned an important lesson.

The system allows unscrupulous landlords to gouge hard working BC Tenants by allowing them to bypass the annual rent increase guideline.

After doing some research it looks like a landlord group called ROMS BC lobbied to get this “little box” added to leases.

I don’t know if it’s true, but if this is so it makes the situation even worse because if landlords specifically made this happen it’s not fair because tenants didn’t have a say in the process.. It’s really shocking and every BC landlord and BC tenant should read it, if that’s how things really happened. The weird thing they say the fixed term lease box actually helps tenants.

Maybe the “box” makers had good intentions, but at least in my honest opinion and experience it’s being abused.

The problem is landlords network and they are kind of ‘unified’ in all making us check that little box. That little, nasty, life-altering box that is playing a key role in destroying the entire social fabric of our province is becoming less fair every day.

Fixed term leases with that little box are creating leases that are weaponized to create harm and grief for thousands of people. It’s time to end this loophole, now! This way we can make things more fair for landlords and all the tenants here in need of housing stability to build our lives and help our children be successful for the future of our province.

It’s time to end this loophole now! This way we can make things more fair for good landlords and tenants who need housing stability to protect our families. This is just my opinion but hopefully others will read it and agree and it will lead to positive change.

Thank you for your time reading this.

Tags: fixed term lease, landlord in bc
Posted in B.C. landlords, BC Tenant Rights, BC tenants, British Columbia landlords, British Columbia Tenants, Tenant rights | Comments Off on BC Tenants Speak Out: “Close the Fixed Term Lease Loophole”

BC Landlords Want To Hear From BC Tenants – How Can We Improve The British Columbia Rental Industry?

BC Landlords BC Tenants Win Win Campaign

Landlords and Tenants: Let’s Work Together To Improve the British Columbia Rental Industry

There has been a lot debate on the state of the BC rental industry recently. Everything from landlords dealing with serious damages to their rental properties and tenants who don’t pay rent and rent increases that are too low to tenants complaining about ‘renovictions‘ and the high cost of rent.

Because this our landlord members have come together to try to get past all the confusion and want to work with BC tenants to form solutions. The reality is good landlords are looking for good tenants and good tenants are looking for good landlords and high quality, affordable rental housing. So let’s make this happen!

BC Tenants Let Your Voices Be Heard By Small BC Landlords

Many of the rental properties in our province are due to the investment of small investors who become small landlords. Some people call us “mom and pop” landlords but whatever you call us we are the stake holders who have invested our hard earned money into BC rental properties.

Many Small Landlords Were Renters Not That Long Ago

You won’t usually see this in the media, but the reality is many small landlords were renting ourselves not that long ago. We rented while studying at university or while looking for a job. So we know how important it is for landlords to offer high quality, afford housing from our first hand, personal experiences.

A Vancouver landlord wrote in:

“I invested in my condo and made sure it was exactly the type of place I always wanted to rent. I also want to make sure I’m the ideal landlord who is service oriented and caring. Did anyone see that silly movie a few years ago called “Hot Tub Time Machine”? Well if I could go back in time I would want to rent from me now.”

Let’s Get More People Investing and Creating High Quality Rentals

Good landlords know it’s important for us to have high quality, well-maintained properties that will attract good paying tenants. We also need to make sure we have fair rules that will lead more good people to invest.

A Surrey landlord explained her goals and why she became a landlord:

“As a small business owner I don’t have a pension. My rental property is to protect me and help me when I’m retired. Nothing nefarious here, only my investment property and my hope to keep finding good renters who appreciate me and respect the rental property.”

In What Ways Do BC Tenants Want to Improve the BC Rental Industry?

Help us help you by providing your thoughts and opinions on how we can improve the BC rental industry.

1. What are you looking for when choosing a rental property?

2. How important is it for you to be near public transportation?

3. Where is your “go to” place to look for a rental?

4. What qualities are you looking for in a landlord?

5. Do you have any thoughts or opinions on improving the BC rental industry?

Landlords and tenants can share your thoughts and opinions by emailing us at landlordtenantsolutions@groupmail.com and let us know your answers to these questions or about anything else to improve the BC rental industry. We won’t edit or censor anything and are looking for your side of things.

British Columbia Landlords and Tenants Working Together For Success

Both landlords and tenants play an important role in the success of our province. Let’s work together to make things better and improve the BC rental industry for years to come.

Tags: bad tenant, leases, pets, renovictions, Vancouver landlords
Posted in B.C. landlords, BC landlords, BC tenants, British Columbia landlords, British Columbia Tenants | Comments Off on BC Landlords Want To Hear From BC Tenants – How Can We Improve The British Columbia Rental Industry?

British Columbia Landlords Can Raise the Rent 3.7% in 2017

B.C. Landlords – The 2017 Rent Increase Guideline is 3.7%

Are you going to raise the rent in 2017?

With costs rising, and the risk of damages to your rental property it’s important to keep your rents high enough to cover your expenses.

In 2017 B.C. landlords can raise the rent a maximum of 3.7% for current tenants.

In 2016 residential landlords can raise the rent by only 2.9%.

If you are planning on raising the rent remember you can only do so once a year by the legal permitted amount. You also need to provide proper notice and use the proper forms.

For more information on how to raise the rent in 2017 go to the residential tenancies website.

B.C. Landlords Are You Going To Raise the Rent in 2017?

Remember to follow the rules for rent increases carefully and let 2017 be a successful year for your rental business!

Tags: investing in rental properties, Rent, Vancouver landlords
Posted in 2017 Rent Increase Guideline 3.7%, landlord advocacy | Comments Off on British Columbia Landlords Can Raise the Rent 3.7% in 2017

BC Landlords Pet-Friendly Rental Housing Campaign

BC Landlords Pet Campaign – Let’s Get Good Landlords and Good Tenants Working Together To Create Safe and Successful Pet Friendly Rental Properties in British Columbia!

We receive a lot of forum messages and emails from BC Landlords and Tenants. One of the most common topics is about pets.

On the one hand tenants says they are having hard times finding rental properties because they have a pet. They find many landlords get wary when they find out they will have their pet living with them. Some landlords will even refuse the tenant applicant outright.

On the other hand we also get tonnes of messages from BC landlords and their side of the issue. Many landlords say they are animal lovers and understand the importance of having pets. After all, many landlords have dogs, cats, fish, birds, etc. themselves.

The problem they face is they are small, residential landlords and not corporate landlords. This means they have limited budgets and worry about the costs involved in cleaning up after tenants who were irresponsible owners move out.

What’s the Solution for BC Landlords and Tenants with Pets?

The key is for all parties to work together with the shared goal of creating a great situation for everyone involved. In order to help do this it’s important to take a fact based approach that serves all members of the community.

In order to get these facts we contacted the BC SPCA. Their very helpful and informative Outreach Team provided some very useful information:

Question 1: Are companion animals often surrendered to the BC SPCA for housing related reason?

Unfortunately yes, we see a high number of animals surrendered every year because people cannot find a place to live with their companion animals.

Question 2: What type of numbers are we talking about?

The numbers fluctuate year to year, but on average 20% of our surrenders province wide cite problems relating to housing as the reason for surrendering. In 2015 we adopted out 15,811 animals, meaning approximately 3,100 of those animals were surrendered by their original guardians because they could not find a place to live that would take animals.

These situations are always heart breaking- no one should have to give up a family member because they cannot find pet-friendly living space.

Question 3: Can you share some general tips on what types of fair questions might be helpful for small landlords to ask when a potential pet owning tenant wants to rent from them?

Aside from general questions about the type of animal, age, and spay/ neuter status it is often good to ask about what kind of care plan they have in place for their animal.

-Does their dog go to daycare or do they have a dog walker that takes them out while the guardian is at work?

-What kind of exercise plan do they have for their animal?

-How regularly do they visit a veterinarian?

-Does their dog go to daycare or do they have a dog walker that takes them out while the guardian is at work?

-What kind of exercise plan do they have for their animal?

-What kind of enrichment items or activities do you have at home to keep their animal occupied while they are out?

Getting answers to these kinds of questions can give the landlord a better idea of how responsible the guardian is, and what type of behaviour they can expect from the animal.

A well socialized, entertained, exercised animal will usually express less troublesome behaviour than one who is not.

Question 4: Landlords are often worried about responsible grooming habits for pets. What are some fair and helpful questions a landlord might ask that could help them feel more comfortable with this worry?

Questions about nail trimming for cats & dogs is a good to ask as there is sometimes a concern about scratching floors or furniture.

Having regular nail trimmings, and scratching toys can reduce the risk of that kind of damage- however it is fair to note that scratched floors can happen by pushing a chair back from a table, or wearing shoes indoors just as easily.

A FIREPAW study found that “there is no statistically significant damage between tenants with pets and tenants without pets”.

On average FIREPAW found that “tenants with pets in pet-friendly housing stay an average for 46 months compared to 18 months for tenants residing in rentals prohibiting pets”.

For a landlord this means less lost income looking for tenants, and less hassle arranging for move outs/ins, cleaning, advertising, and interviewing new tenants.

Question 5: We read about the idea of pet resume. Could you tell us how that works and how it can be helpful for both small landlords and tenants?

The BC SPCA has a sample pet resume available online that we encourage potential tenants to use when looking for housing.

We find that many landlords are hesitant renting to tenants with animals simply because they do not know what the animal will be like; a pet resume that clearly outlines the personality of the animal, any training and experience the animal has had, and what kind of health and grooming considerations he/she may have can alleviate the fear of the unknown.

It gives a great snapshot of what to expect from the animal- just like an interview assists a landlord in knowing what to expect of the tenant.

Question 6: Do you have any general tips to help pet loving landlords encourage other landlords to be open about renting to tenants with pets?

Focus on the benefits of having pet friendly rentals: longer tenancy, alleviating the problem of homeless animals and potential for higher rental income (pet guardians tend to be willing to pay more for a pet-friendly space).

The greatest impact for changing someone’s mind is to focus on the positive results of a choice, instead of just trying to dispel myths.

Question 7: Does the BC SPCA have any workshops or events to help landlords learn to be good ‘pet friendly’ landlords?

We do not have anything at the moment, however please feel free to get in touch with us if you have any questions and we will be happy to accommodate.

BC Landlords and Pets

We again want to thank the very helpful BC SPCA Outreach team for their advice and information.

The reality is there are a lot of tenants out there who have pets and it’s a terrific market for small residential landlords.

Tenants should know the financial concerns that small, residential landlords face.

By understanding each other, both landlords and tenants (and their pets) can find nice, safe homes.

Tags: BC landlords advocacy, BC SPCA, British Columbia landlords, FIREPAW, Landlords BC, Rental property
Posted in BC Landlords Advice, Pets, Victoria landlords | Comments Off on BC Landlords Pet-Friendly Rental Housing Campaign

B.C. Landlord Rent Increase Guideline for 2016 is 2.9%

British Columbia Landlords – The 2016 Rent Increase Guideline is 2.9%

Are you going to raise the rent in 2016? As costs rise many BC landlords are going to raise the rent and want to know how much they can raise rents in 2016.

British Columbia landlords can raise the rent only one annually. Furthermore the rents can only be raised by amount allowed by provincial law. Landlords also must provide their tenants with at least three months notice and use the property forms. The rent increase is a percentage equal to the rate of inflation plus 2%. For more information see the province website here: Rent Increases.

Tags: B.C. landlords, British Columbia landlords, rent increase, residential tenancies branch
Posted in BC rent increase guideline 2016, Landlord BC | Comments Off on B.C. Landlord Rent Increase Guideline for 2016 is 2.9%

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