BC Government Responds to Industry Feedback on Residential Tenancy Act Changes
In the immediate wake of publicly voiced concern from the BC Real Estate Association (BCREA), the
BC Government has reversed course on two recent changes to the Residential Tenancy Act
(RTA) as they relate to buyers of tenanted properties.
The initial changes laid out in Bill 14, which came into effect on July 18, 2024,required four months'
notice – instead of the previous two months' notice – for evictions due to personal or caretaker use.
The legislation also raised the dispute period from 15 days to 30 days.
Now the government is amending the regulation to lower the personal-use notice period to three
months and the dispute period to 21 days for situations when a landlord gives notice to a tenant
on behalf of a purchaser. These changes come into effect on August 21, 2024.
"Since the amendments came into force, government has listened to feedback from industry
stakeholders that a four-month notice period could prevent first-time buyers from purchasing a
tenanted property," the government said in a statement on Thursday.
The BCREA Government Relations department is proud to have been a key part of the industry
response, along with partners from the Canadian Mortgage Brokers Association – BC (CMBA-BC). In
open letters and a joint press release, the two organizations pointed out the flaws with lengthening
both the personal-use notice period and the dispute period, including their effect on first-time
homebuyers.
"We appreciate the government responding quickly to our concerns," said Trevor Hargreaves, BCREA
Senior VP, Government Relations, Marketing &Communications. "This legislation caused confusion
and concern amongst both REALTORS® and the public, including buyers and sellers, and we're
happy to see changes made to alleviate that."
In BCREA's open letter, the organization reiterated its call for government to launch a permanent
housing roundtable made up of housing policy experts and other stakeholders from across the BC
housing sector, as it would have allowed for this round of feedback to be delivered before the
legislation took effect.
