Government Reacts - Tenancy Act Pushback affects changes but is it enough?

In our July Newsletter, we highlighted the changes to the BC Tenancy Act and their potential impacts to landlords and purchasers of tenanted properties. Read our article here

Some of the changes, we identified to have a high potential to detrimentally impact the ability to sell and purchase tenanted properties . Realtors, mortgage brokers and other professionals publicy voiced our concerns to the government and offered solutions to mitigate these potential challenges.

Responding to public outcry, the BC Government has revised two recent changes to the Residential Tenancy Act (RTA) impacting buyers of tenanted properties.

The original changes, introduced in Bill 14 and effective as of July 18, 2024, extended the notice period for evictions due to personal or caretaker use from two to four months. Additionally, the dispute period was increased from 15 days to 30 days.

The government has now amended these regulations, reducing the personal-use notice period to three months and the dispute period to 21 days when a landlord serves notice on behalf of a purchaser. These adjustments will be effective from August 21, 2024.

However, not all the concerns were addressed. The BC government has launched a new online portal to combat bad-faith evictions, effective July 18, 2024. The Landlord Use Web Portal requires landlords to issue eviction notices for personal or caretaker use via this platform. Landlords must provide details about the new occupants, which will be shared with the tenants. This initiative aims to ensure transparency and fairness in eviction processes and helps the government track the frequency and legitimacy of personal-use evictions. The portal also informs landlords about significant penalties for evictions conducted in bad faith​ (CityNews Vancouver)​ (Techcouver.com).

The requirement for landlords to provide personal and confidential details about the new occupants raises serious privacy and security concerns for property owners. This new mandate involves sharing sensitive information on the Contract of Purchase and Sale with tenants, potentially compromising the privacy of new buyers. Contracts of Purchase and Sale, which are confidential, should not be disclosed to tenants​

To protect privacy, existing publicly accessible systems should be used as the source of information on new buyers reported by landlords to former tenants. Developing a standard Statutory Declaration form can help carry out necessary disclosures without compromising confidential information. Furthermore, the reporting requirement for buyers intending to occupy their unit should be eliminated. The buyer's intent could be documented through a Statutory Declaration or included in the Property Transfer Tax return process. Tracking early sales of the unit could be managed through the Land Titles or BC Assessment systems​

In its open letter, BCREA reiterated its call for the government to establish a permanent housing roundtable comprising housing policy experts and stakeholders from across the BC housing sector, ensuring such feedback is considered before legislation takes effect.

For the full letter of the recommendations from BCREA to address the BC Tenancy Act and the new eviction rules click here: