Proposed changes to legislation around residential rentals will mean more protection for both renters and landlords, according to the provincial government.

On Tuesday, the province announced amendments to the Residential Tenancy Act and the Manufactured Home Park Tenancy Act intended to protect people from bad-faith evictions, lengthy rental disputes and rent increases when a child is added to a household.

Premier David Eby said Tuesday that the proposed changes attempt to “close loopholes” that both renters and tenants have used during tenancies.

“While most landlords and tenants play by the rules and have respectful relationships, too many people in B.C. are still facing unfair rent hikes and evictions under false pretenses,” Eby said.

“At the same time, many people who have chosen to rent [out] part of their home are struggling to end problematic tenancies.”

  • @SamuelRJankis@lemmy.worldEnglish
    7•8 months ago

    Solid list of improvements:

    • Now, the time landlords must occupy a rental unit after ending a tenancy will be 12 months, instead of six.

    • Landlords will also be required to use a web portal to create eviction notices when they intend to use the unit for personal reasons, which the province said will allow for audits post-eviction.

    • Proposed legislative changes will restrict rent increases when a tenant adds a child under 19 to their household — meaning landlords can no longer increase rent if their tenant has a baby, for example.

    • Eby said the province has added additional staff to the RTB to help reduce wait times to resolve rental disputes, and claims wait times have been reduced by more than 50 per cent. In particular, the dispute process for unpaid rent or utilities is down from 10.5 weeks to under five, the province said.

    • @NotMyOldRedditName@lemmy.world
      3•8 months ago

      Landlords will also be required to use a web portal to create eviction notices when they intend to use the unit for personal reasons, which the province said will allow for audits post-eviction.

      That sounds like a great way to do this, but it’s going to come down to how many evictions get audited.

      It’d be nice if there was a way to trigger an audit at the same web portal as a tenant if you have a reasonable suspicion. Not sure how you’d just stop everyone from triggering an audit though off the top of my head short of charging a fee.