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Changes to residential tenancy will provide renters with more security and protection to prevent renovictions.
This comes as the Rental Housing Task Force made this their number one recommendation, to stop renovations by shifting responsibilities to the landlord to apply to the Residential Tenancy Branch (RTB) for pre-approval.
Tenants will be able to participate in a dispute resolution hearing and provide evidence that the tenancy does not need to be terminated for renovations to be completed.
The landlord must provide required permits and approval, and must prove that the renovations are necessary and the only way to complete them is by ending the tenancy.
This change will help eliminate most renovictions, and landlords will only be able to end tenancy agreements if upgrades or changes are in dire need of repair.
In rare cases, tenants must now be given four full months' notice after the RTB approves the landlord's application.
Additional compensation will be given to tenants for bad-faith evictions, cases where a tenant has been evicted but the landlord does not follow through on a stated purpose for ending the tenancy.
Should a landlord want to make repairs or improvements to a rental unit or building, and want to apply a modest rent increase to pay for them, the landlord must apply to the RTB for approval. The tenants are also able to participate and submit evidence if they believe the increased costs are ineligible.
For more information on the legislative change to tenancy laws click here.