Posted December 30, 2022 | by Keaton Bessey, Managing Broker
This is a very common consideration among Landlords and Homeowners when thinking about their options and plans for their investment property, apartment, condo, etc., otherwise known as the "Property". The answer--as always--is...it depends! Below I'll lay out some of the most common scenarios and how to go about this in British Columbia.
1) 2 Month Notice to End Tenancy for Landlord Use (Standard 2 Month Notice Form Link HERE)
If you are planning on moving back into the Property, you are required by the Residential Tenancy Act (the "RTA"), to draft and issue the form linked above. The form is very straight forward and most of if not all the information you need is right there on the form. Use only this form when sending to your tenant and understand the most commonly misunderstood requirements:
- You will be required to compensate the tenant 1 month's rent
- You must provide the tenant 2 full "rental periods" (in most cases, calendar months) notice. If the tenant pays rent on the 1st of the month, you need to provide notice before the end of the month prior. This is not 60 days or 2 months worth of time, its 2 full rental periods (date tenant pays rent to the date before the tenant has to pay rent again times 2).
- You must serve the document legally and abide by the service requirements (this adds days to the timeline, more information found by CLICKING HERE (scroll to "Serving Notices to Tenants")
- The Landlord or their immediate family member (child or parent) must use the property for the intended use, in good faith (this is a very grey area, so make sure you're doing this to utiliize the property and not to re-rent or sell) for a duration of at least 6 months. Landlords are most frequently confused about this item. This requires "good faith" AND "6 months" not one or the other. If this is disputed by your outgoing tenant, and they win the dispute, they can be awarded a montary order equivalent to 12 months rent.
The BC Government does a great job supplying resources for this information. Visit the following link and read through:
2) 10 Day Notice to End Tenancy for Non-Payment of Rent (Standard 10 Day Notice Form Link HERE)
This must be the most frequent notice issued--not as hot button as the 2 month notice right now, but by far the most frequent. This notice must be served to end the tenancy for non-payment of rent. This notice should be served immediately the day following the non-payment of rent regardless of whether or not the tenant has already notified you. There are countless cases of tenants reaching out to inform their landlord that the rent will be a couple days late, which turns into a week or two, and the landlord considers issuing the notice as the "final straw". This notice can be issued with a kind note or further explanation, but it must be issued. If you do not issue these notices and you wish to terminate the tenancy for frequent late payments in the future, or if you take a week or two to issue the notice, this will further delay your rights to the property and costs you even more money than it would have otherwise.
Same as above, you must serve the document legally and abide by the service requirements (this adds days to the timeline, more information found by CLICKING HERE (scroll to "Serving Notices to Tenants")
Review the form in detail as a common misconception is that if the tenant does not pay in 10 days, they need to get out. The notice actually provides 5 days to pay, and then 5 days to vacate the property. If the notice is served, the days pass from the notice requirements, and 5 days pass and the tenant has still not paid the rent, in full to the penny, the tenancy has now been terminated and they need to move. If they do not move following the 5 day period, you will need to file a Direct Request with the RTB for an order of possession (more on that by CLICKING HERE).
The BC Government does a great job supplying resources for this information. Visit the following link and read through:
3) 30 Day Notice to End Tenancy for Cause (Standard 30 Day Notice Form Link HERE)
This notice is less common than the 2 above, and is less black and white as far as enforcability, however, it is a very useful tool to help you manage your Property. This notice is used for when material terms of a tenancy are broken, or repeated smaller offenses. Its great for showing a troblesome tenant that you are serious about their compliance following other notices/reminders that you may have sent them regarding their late rent payments, noise, unauthorized occupants, etc.
There is a full list online as to the reasons you can select for issuing this notice (More information by CLICKING HERE).
As with the above 2 notices, you always want to use the standard form drafted by the government as it helps if the notice is disputed and you need to go to an RTB hearing to argue your case. Be cautious with why you are issuing this notice, as this should be a "last straw" notice to send. If the RTB sees you are continually issuing this notice for minor things, they will look poorly on your disputes in the future, even if they are more serious. Make sure to read the resources online, read the form, and make sure its worth sending this one.
In many cases, a conversation with your tenant can help avoid this issue. Failing that, send them an official warning letter/notice about their conduct with a request to have them stop by X date. If the behaviour does not change from there, the 30 day notice would be the next step.
The BC Government does a great job supplying resources for this information. Visit the following link and read through:
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