As discussed in our previous blog post, on July 18, 2024, British Columbia made changes to the Residential Tenancy Regulation ("RTR"). Under these new changes, landlords and homebuyers are required to give four months' notice, rather than two months, when evicting for personal or caretaker use. In addition, the amount of time a tenant has to dispute such a Notice to End Tenancy ("NTE") has increased from 15 days to 30 days. These changes, however, are short-lived.
Effective August 21, 2024, British Columbia will amend the RTR to allow a three-month notice, rather than four months, for scenarios when a landlord issues a NTE on behalf of a purchaser following an acquisition. In addition, the dispute period will now be 21 days, not 30 days, following the ownership change.
Landlords who intend to personally move into the rental property, or have a close family member move in, are still required to give four months' notice if they are issuing a NTE. Tenants of these properties will also have 30 days to dispute the NTE.
According to the British Columbia Government, the changes on July 18, 2024, presented a major hurdle for first-time homebuyers. While originally introduced to address bad-faith evictions, a four-month notice period could prevent buyers from purchasing a tenanted property, especially those under Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation ("CMHC") programs, which require the property to be vacant at possession. In addition, a four-month notice period may affect the purchasers' mortgage commitment, which could expire prior to the closing date. With a CHMC requirement that purchasers with insured mortgages must take possession upon closing, the fourth-month notice period could potentially disqualify them from financing.
View the full statement from the British Columbia government.
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