Welcome to the Website for BC Landlords

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.

Network with top professionals
Get advice from experienced landlords
Learn how the Landlord and Tenant Board works

Meet our recommended partners
Take part in landlord activities, social events.
A chance to "get involved!"

B.C. Activists Want to Copy The Ontario Landlord and Tenant System

July 2nd, 2013

Do B.C. Landlords and Tenants Really Want To Follow the Failed Ontario Landlord and Tenant System?

According to an article in the Vancouver Sun a coalition of legal and tenant’s rights groups want to change the rules for landlords and tenants in British Columbia.

They want to put emphasis on the need to enhance the provincial laws protecting renters.

Because B.C. landlords have it so easy, right?

Not quite

Several groups recommend to make modifications to the B.C. Residential Tenancy Act that governs the renters and landlords relations.

It was pointed out that the B.C. law hasn’t been changed for years and the tenant’s protection has plunged after other provinces like Ontario.

Yes, Ontario.

Where small landlords are struggling to keep afloat and losing thousands of dollars is common.

Where landlords don’t have the tools to deal with serious problems.

Proposed changed to B.C.’s residential tenancy system are as follows:

1. Putting Off Landlord Retaliation

Supposedly tenants have no defense against their landlord’s retaliation for exercising their rights, like getting their landlord to the Residential Tenancy Branch.

2. The Right of First Refusal

When tenants are removed from their units for renovation, they should be permitted to return to their units at the previous rental rate. This is the case in other provinces like in Ontario.

3. Increased Amount of Compensation

When the unit is under repair, the amount of compensation for eviction should be higher from the present one month’s rent to three months, just like in Ontario.

4. Reinforce Rent Controls

The most permissible rental increase is base on the annual rate of inflation with additional 2%. According to the coalition, the permissible increase is either the inflation rate or a maximum of 2.5%, if the inflation rate is lesser.

5. Increased Grace Period for Delayed Rent

The eviction notice for nonpayment can be cancelled if the tenants are able to pay their rent and utilities in 5 days. The coalition proposed giving tenants 10 days instead.

Fortunately the NDP lost the recent election. We are calling on the government to start focusing on helping small landlords succeed.

Successful small landlords means more high quality, affordable housing for good tenants. If this is the goal of our provincial government, Ontario is the last place to look for true solutions.

To discuss this and other B.C. landlord and tenant rules and issues go to the B.C. landlord forum

Tags: Landlord Forum, Landlord Legal, tenant problems
Posted in Ontario Landlord and Tenant System | Comments Off on B.C. Activists Want to Copy The Ontario Landlord and Tenant System

B.C. Supreme Court Favours Landlord in Email Dispute with Renter

June 1st, 2013

Tenants thinking of using email to harass their landlords should think again

We thought we had heard all the issues BC landlords face before. And if we haven’t heard it in British Columbia, we thought it must have happened before in the rest of Canada.

This is a new one: email harassment.

According to a report in Straight.com, a B.C. Supreme Court ruling sends a very clear message for tenants who bombard their landlords with emails.

The tenant filed an application for a judicial review of a Residential Tenancy Branch decision ending their tenancy.

In February of 2012, one tenant put up an advertisement for a roommate to help pay the rent for the unit they were living in.

A potential tenant saw the ad, replied and paid two months of rent plus a security deposit. On April 19^th, 2012 the first and this new roommate got into an argument.

The landlord is Commonwealth Holding Co. Ltd. They issued an eviction notice.

A Residential Tenancy Branch dispute-resolution officer upheld the order in part because the first tenant “had unreasonably disturbed the landlord with a large volume of emails”.

Also included as grounds were “Subletting the unit and interfering with other tenants’ enjoyment of the building.”

Justice Miriam Gropper dismissed the first tenants application for a judicial review of a Residential Tenancy Branch decision ending their tenancy.

In dismissing her appeal, Gropper wrote, “I find the DRO’s conclusion that the volume and tone of the tenants e-mails to the landlord constituted an unreasonable disturbance of the landlord reasonable.”

To discuss this and other landlord and tenant issues go the the British Columbia landlord forum

Tags: email
Posted in Residential Tenancy Branch | Comments Off on B.C. Supreme Court Favours Landlord in Email Dispute with Renter

Thinking of Becoming a Landlord? Secondary Suites May Be The Answer

May 1st, 2013

Living on the North Shore may be desirable, but it is incredibly expensive. For this very reason, many people are looking into becoming a landlord by incorporating a secondary suite into their home in order to cover a little bit of mortgage, while also providing a small bit of profit.

Being a landlord can be challenging and there are potential challenges ahead, the rules and laws in British Columbia are very fair for landlords compared to other provinces such as Ontario, as this Barrie, Ontario landlord story shows.

The definition of a secondary suite in a building is a dwelling which is completely separate from the main dwelling. For example, this could mean a basement suite, which is perhaps the most popular on the North Shore.

If you are planning to incorporate a secondary suite into your home then it is important that you follow a few rules and regulations to ensure that you are not only acting legally, but also to ensure that you will not be putting anybodys life in danger. Follow these rules, and you should be fairly fine, and may be able to even turn a profit if you have a bit of space to rent out.

1. It doesn’t matter how much space you have in your property, the law currently states that you can only have one secondary suite in a single-family building. You are also unable to divide this and sell it out. You can only rent it.

2. The owner of the property must live in the property. They are either allowed to occupy the primary dwelling or the secondary suite.

3. The secondary suite cannot cover an area more than 40 per cent of the entire area of the property. However, it can only be a maximum of 969 square feet.

4. The secondary suite must have its own exit to the exterior of the property. You cannot exit through the primary dwelling.

5. There must be an off-street space to park a car for those that will be residing in the secondary suite.

6. All of the floors and walls within the suites and any corridors need to be fire rated to ensure they are not a hazard to the residents in the event of a fire.

7. There must be an electrical sub-panel especially for the use of those that live within the secondary suite.

8. The minimum height of the ceiling has to be six feet and eight inches. This needs to be everywhere within the secondary unit.

9. Both the primary and the secondary suite should have their own separate heating and ventilation system.

If you want to get the most value out of your property then it does make sense financially to add a secondary suite to the building, even if you do have to carry out a couple of modifications. You may want to get in touch with the local building inspectors to check if you are doing it right, after all, this will help avoid fines and any other penalties in the future.

To discuss this and other landlord issues and opportunities for people in British Columbia go to the free BC Landlord Forum , the #1 landlord forum in BC.

Tags: BC Landlord Forum
Posted in Secondary Suites | Comments Off on Thinking of Becoming a Landlord? Secondary Suites May Be The Answer

BC Landlords – Should the Residential Tenancy Act be Changed To Allow Pets?

April 1st, 2013

According to a report in the Vancouver Observer, when Renée Stephen and her cat moved from Ontario to Vancouver in 2010 she came with huge aspirations.

However, she explained when she started rooting through the house listings on Craigslist she hit a problem. She found BC landlords didn’t seem to accept pets. There was next to nothing which was ‘cat friendly’ and those that were ‘cat friendly’ were of an incredibly poor quality. This was a stark difference to Ontario landlords where almost everything listed was able to accept cats.

Tenant Anthony Incardona suffered the same problem except he face it with his three year old dog. He found that only around 5% of the accommodation available in Vancouver was able to accept dogs. He also found those places which did accept them were of a very poor quality.

So why is this?

Well, Vancouver has one of the lowest amount of vacancies available in Canada, which means that landlords can pretty much pick and choose who they want in their accommodation. It is bad enough for a normal renter to find accommodation, but when you throw pets into the mix it gets a great deal harder. Tenants complain the can scroll rental ads for hours every single day and still not come anywhere close to finding the right accommodation if you have a pet.

There may be a solution in the near future however, and that involves the BC Residential Tenancy Act Section 18 changing. This is the section of the legislation which allows Landlords in the area to exclude pets if they wish. A couple of years ago there was an attempt to change the legislation, but sadly there was too much support on the landlord front.

The problem is, many owners are actually finding accommodation that is completely pet free. Nowadays, one of the top reasons as to why pets are brought into shelters is because they can’t find the right accommodation, so they need to give up their pets. As a result, these animal shelters are pushed to overflow.

One of the main reasons as to why landlords exclude pets is to protect their properties, and nobody is disputing that they have the right to do that. This is why the SPCA has developed a toolkit which includes a pet policy so that the owner’s responsibility with their pets around is set in stone, which means there can be no arguments.

It was back in 2009 that Hollyburn Properties attempted to evict all of the pet owners after their latest rental acquisition. The main reason behind this was potential health risks that could be a result of animals in the building. Their policy still hasn’t changed since that time.

What many landlords need to realize is that families are looking to rent, who some see as the best tenants, and yet nowadays, the majority of families include pets.

Pet-friendly housing remains an issue here, but it isn’t in Ontario. In fact, tenants have a right to pets and there is nothing that landlords can do to prohibit them. All tenants are responsible for any damage caused to their unit by a pet.

The people in this story eventually managed to find accommodation for them and their pet, but it wasn’t plain sailing, and they certainly did not end up with the accommodation that they wanted.

BC Landlords What Do You Think? To Discuss This And Other Landlord Tenant Issues Welcome to the BC Landlord Forum

Tags: BC landlords news, pets
Posted in Residential Tenancy Act | Comments Off on BC Landlords – Should the Residential Tenancy Act be Changed To Allow Pets?

Vancouver Tenants Celebrate! Vacancy Rates Edge Up, Landlords Offering Incentives

February 21st, 2013

…

BC landlords vancouver vancancy rates tenant competition

…

Increase in vacancy rate in Vancouver Leads To Competition Among Landlords

Hollyburn representative Allen Wasel says their incentives are designed to get good tenants to come and view their apartments.

Spencer says she thinks it clearly a good time to be a tenant looking for a rental property.

Joy Pecknold is one of these renters. She feels it’s about time tenants received some good news as a lot of renters feel they have been given the “shaft” in 2012.

…

Vancouver Landlords, As Vacancy Rates Rise What Type of Incentives Are you Going to Offer in 2013? To Discuss this and other issues British Columbia landlords are talking about, go to the BC Landlord Forum.

Tags: incentives, Vancouver tenants
Posted in Rental Property | 1 Comment »

Ontario Landlords Association – Congratulations As the OLA Landlord Forum Reaches 75,000 Posts!

February 13th, 2013

We want to offer congratulations to the Ontario Landlords Association and their landlord forum for reaching 75,000 posts in February 2013.

Small landlords in British Columbia have challenges. And our challenges are growing each year. You only need to read about the recent Human Rights Commission ruling saying a landlord must pay their tenant $15,000 over a ramp!

Things also haven’t been easy in Alberta recently.

If we think landlords have it bad in British Columbia and Alberta, (and we do) have to take a look at the Ontario Landlords Association website. Now that is a tough system to be in as small landlord.

Here is a brief overview of some the Ontario rules:

1. No damage deposits

That’s right. No legal deposits are allowed. If the tenants leave garbage or damages behind you have to chase them, find them, and sue them. Good luck with that!

2. No pet deposits

Tenants have pets? Of course pets can cause some damages. Except in Ontario you can’t collect a cent as a pet deposit.

3. No pet clauses are illegal

Tenants says they don’t have pets. Then, after moving in they brings lots of dogs and cats. In Ontario there’s nothing you can do about it.

4. All tenants get free government paid for legal representation (even if they are rich)

Facing your tenant at the Landlord and Tenant Board? Tenants get free government paid for lawyers with no income checks.

5. Tenants can file claims (true or not) against landlords for free

Is your tenant angry at you? Or wants an excuse not to pay rent? They can file against you at the Ontario Landlord and Tenant Board free of charge. And if they lose there are no consequences.

These points are only the start of the problems Ontario Landlords face.

We are happy our sister site is helping landlords in Ontario after years of landlord there being voiceless.

They even are approved by the Ontario government!

“The Ministry greatly values the role the Ontario Landlords Association and its members play in providing quality, affordable rental housing in Ontario and recognizes the OLA provides an important voice for small private residential landlords.”

Ontario Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing

…

Excellent work by the Ontario Landlords Association and your Ontario Landlord Forum

Tags: ottawa landlords, Toronto Landlords
Posted in Ontario Landlords Association | Comments Off on Ontario Landlords Association – Congratulations As the OLA Landlord Forum Reaches 75,000 Posts!

Tenants Watch Out! Thief Acts As the Building Manager of the Rental Property

February 7th, 2013

Tenants Need to Be on Alert After Thief Acts As the Rental Property Building Manager in Order to Enter the Unit

It’s not only B.C. landlords who have to be cautious about their rental properties.

The RCMP are warning tenants after yet another scam involving a rental property.

A woman residing in a rental apartment complex in Langley was approached by a man claiming to be the building manager last Saturday.

He said his name was Grey. The so-called ‘building manager’ told the tenant he needed her to give him access to her rental apartment so he could look into and repair a water leak.

Water leaks are serious business so the tenant was of course concerned about this and allowed him to enter.

After he left her apartment she noticed her purse wasn’t where she left it.

She was approached by the ‘building manager’ who said he needed access to her unit because there was a water leak.

She allowed the man access and when he eventually left, she noticed her purse was missing.

Her purse was eventually spotted in the stairwell area. Except one thing was missing – her cash!

The imposter was described by witness as being Caucasian, in his late 40s, and around six feet tall with a slim physique. He was also describes as having a very strangely coloured ‘red face’ which could have been due to severe acne.

This shows that scammers target tenants like they target landlords.

The RCMP encourages tenants living in rental property apartment complexes to take the time to get to know who the building manager and other property staff are. This way tenants can make sure they are only allowing real staff into their homes.

It’s also a good idea to call the property management company if you are unsure someone is who they say they are.

To discuss this and other BC landlord and tenant issues, go to the #1 landlord forum in British Columbia and network with thousands of other landlords across Canada.

Tags: crime, Langley
Posted in Rental Property | Comments Off on Tenants Watch Out! Thief Acts As the Building Manager of the Rental Property

B.C. Human Rights Tribunal Orders Landlord – Pay $15,000 To Your Tenant!

January 12th, 2013

…

Feelings, Dignity, Self-Respect For a Tenant Who Wanted a Ramp, B.C. Human Right Tribunal Orders the Landlord to Pay Up

According to the Vancouver Sun, a landlord has been ordered to pay over $15,000 to a tenant who says she was discriminated against.

The tenant is 68 year old Joyce Stewart.

Stewart first began renting her Campbell River apartment in 1999. She suffers from club foot and a medical condition called osteoporosis. In the past few years she’s required the use of a walker for mobility.

She told the B.C. Human Rights Tribunal she requested asked the owner of her rental building, Sartoras Enterprises, to build a ramp to assist her in getting around. She said there were 5 steps made out of concrete at the rental property’s entrance and it can become a huge challenge for her to go up and down the steps.

Because the building only had these 5 steps and no ramp, her ability to leave the apartment became limited and she had to prepare days before to get both physically and mentally ready to go up and down the steps.

The B.C. Landlord Refused

Sartoras Enterprises refused her request to build a ramp for her. This refusal led Stewart to file at the B.C. Human Rights Tribunal.

It was ruled by Marlene Tyshynski (a Tribunal member) that the landlord pay $15,000 to tenant Stewart for:

“…injury to her dignity, feelings and self-respect.”

The landlord was also ordered to:

* Build a ramp for Stewart

* Pay $500 extra because the company didn’t send in documents needed for the case.

Could a Small Landlord Afford to Pay Such a Huge Sum of Money?

The 2013 rent increase for B.C. is only 3.8%.

Many landlords aren’t even going to increase the rent out of fear of losing their current tenants.

Now we have tribunals ordering landlords to build ramps. What’s next for landlords?

Will this ruling and huge fine lead investors to avoid rental properties in B.C.? Will it lead landlords to try to avoid renting to elderly people?

B.C. Landlords Are Facing Huge Challenges in 2013. Make Sure You Are Aware of What’s Happening and Find Great Tenants.

…

To Discuss this with other B.C. landlords and landlords across Canada go to the B.C. Landlords Forum.

Tags: fines, Landlord Legal Issue
Posted in Uncategorized | 3 Comments »

BC Landlords Question – How Much Can I Raise the Rent in 2013?

January 1st, 2013

It’s the New Year and Landlords Can Raise the Rent 3.8% in 2013

British Columbia has rent control. This means the government dictates how much you can raise the rent every year for current tenants.

A BC landlord can raise the rent 3.8% in 2013.

(In 2012, the allowable rent increase was 4.3%)

Many landlords have emailed in asking how the government comes up with this number. It is the inflation rate, with an additional 2% added on.

How Does This Compare With Other Provinces?

In Ontario the 2013 allowable rent increase is capped at 2.5%

In Manitoba the allowable rent increase is only 1%

In Alberta? The government keeps their hands off.

So how do you calculate the 3.8% rent increase?

Here is an example:

If your tenants currently paid rent of $500/month, you can increase their rent by $21.50 in 2013.

This means the tenants will have to pay $521.50/month.

What if you want to charge your tenants more?

To do this you will have to either get your tenants to agree with it (and have this written down) or serve your tenants with a dispute resolution officer’s order which approves of the higher rent increase.

How can a landlord inform their tenants about the new rent price?

According to the law in British Columbia, the landlord must serve the tenants notice of the rent increase at least 3 months before the new rent price is charged.

Make sure you give at least 3 months notice or the tenants can legally refuse to pay the rent increase.

Should a landlord give their tenants a rent increase?

Yes. Use the rent increase to improve your property. Good tenants will understand. Remember, the key is finding Good Tenants!

BC Landlords You Can Raise the Rent by 3.8% in 2013. Use This Opportunity To Generate More Cash-flow and Use This Extra Money To Improve Your Rental Property Making It Better Than Ever

Tags: Rental property
Posted in Rent Increase 2013 | Comments Off on BC Landlords Question – How Much Can I Raise the Rent in 2013?

B.C. Landlord Fined for Renting Her Garden Shed

December 26th, 2012

A B.C. landlord has been fined $500 for renting out a garden shed to a homeless couple and their 3 dogs

Renting Out Their Shed?

It sounds unbelievable but it actually happened. It’s like a strange story you would see on television.

Where Did This Happen in B.C.?

It happened in Kelowna. A woman rented out her shed to a homeless family with three dogs.

Was She Actually Charging For It?

Yes. Rent was set at $200/month. The unit was supplied with electricity via a power cord to the landlord’s house.

How Long Was the Family Living There?

Bylaw officers are not sure. However they warned the landlord renting her shed out was not legal accommodation and the arrangement would have to end.

Did the Landlord Comply?

No. The landlord ignored the warning according to city of Kelowna spokesperson Stephen Fleming.

What Type of Shed Was It?

The spokesperson described it as a typical shed you would put out in your garden. It was metal. He made clear it was not a suitable place for a family to be living in.Not only is it a huge fire hazard, it’s also not winterized to handle the rapidly falling temperatures we are facing. No insulation, no central heating, nothing.

What’s Going To Happen to the Renters?

Fleming said the renters won’t be blamed. And he said the landlord could easily rent the family a room in her own house. Or they would help the family find a shelter that accepts pets. There are also rent banks available in British Columbia.

What’s Going to Happen to the Landlord?

The landlord was fined. We recommend is she wants to be a landlord she needs to seriously consider either renting out rooms in her house or buying an investment property. She can hire professional property managers to avoid issues with bylaw officials.

Tags: Kelowna, rental bylaws
Posted in Rental Property | 1 Comment »

Landlord Stories

Residential Tenancy Act

The Advice Forum