Guidelines and Resources for Landlord and Tenant Law (19:XVII)
A. Legislation and Regulations
Residential Tenancy Act, SBC 2002, c 78 [RTA]. Website: http://www.bclaws.ca/civix/document/id/complete/statreg/02078_01
Residential Tenancy Regulation, BC Reg 477/2003, [RTR]. Website: http://www.bclaws.ca/civix/document/id/complete/statreg/477_2003
- The RTA and RTR set out the law of residential tenancies in BC. They will often hold the ultimate answer to questions relating to disputes between landlords and tenants.
- For the current status of the RTA and RTR, refer to CCH British Columbia Real Estate Law Guide, Robert J. Maguire, Rose H. McConnell, loose-leaf (Toronto, ON: CCH, undated).
Manufactured Home Park Tenancy Act, SBC 2002, c 77 [MHPTA]. Website: http://www.bclaws.ca/civix/document/id/complete/statreg/02077_01
Manufactured Home Park Tenancy Regulation, BC Reg 481/2003 Website: http://www.bclaws.ca/civix/document/id/complete/statreg/481_2003
The Residential Tenancy Act, SBC 2002, c 78 [RTA] and Residential Tenancy Regulation [RTR], BC Reg 477/2003 as well as the rules of procedure are amended occasionally; check the Residential Tenancy Branch (RTB) website (http://www.gov.bc.ca/landlordtenant) to get the most up to date information.
B. Resources and Policy Guidelines
TRAC Tenant Resource & Advisory Centre Website: www.tenants.bc.ca
Provides a variety of publications relating to tenant law, including the Tenant Survival Guide (also available online as a wikibook, via the Clicklaw website: wiki.clicklaw.bc.ca/index.php/Tenant_Survival_Guide) Other print materials are available in the following 19 languages: English, French, Arabic, Burmese, Chinese Simplified, Chinese Traditional, Filipino, Japanese, Karen, Kinyarwanda, Korean, Oromo, Portuguese, Punjabi, Persian, Spanish, Swahili, Tigrinya, and Vietnamese.
| Main Office
400 - 5021 Kingsway Burnaby, B.C. V5H 4A5 Website: www.rto.gov.bc.ca Office Hours: M-F 9:00 am - 4:00 pm |
Information line:
Metro Vancouver 604-660-1020 Victoria 250-387-1602 Elsewhere in BC 1-800-665-8779 Fax: 604-660-2363 E-mail: HSRTO@gov.bc.ca |
| Downtown Satellite Office
520 Richards Street Vancouver, B.C. V6B 3A2 Office Hours: M-F 9:00 am – 11:30 am (closed on the last Tuesday of every month) | |
| Downtown Eastside Satellite Office
Four Corners 390 Main Street Vancouver, B.C. V6A 2T1 Office Hours: M-F 12:30 pm - 4:00pm | |
| NOTE: The main office in Burnaby is a full service office. The Richards Street and Downtown Eastside are satellite offices and do not handle money. Dispute applications can only be filed there by low income applicants who are eligible for a fee waiver. Those offices are staffed with information officers. | |
The RTB website (www.gov.bc.ca/landlordtenant) contains forms, legislation and RTB interpretation guidelines, and includes the following useful publications:
Residential Tenancy Branch Dispute Resolution Rules of Procedure Website: http://bit.ly/1Igbqmg
Residential Tenancy Information Sheets Website: http://bit.ly/1KTmo6l
Residential Tenancy Act: A Guide for Landlords and Tenants in British Columbia, (B.C. Office of Housing and Construction Standards, rev. April 2011). The guide is available in English, French, Punjabi, and Chinese Traditional. Website: http://bit.ly/1SixTX7
Manufactured Home Park Tenancy Act: A Guide for Landlords and Tenants in British Columbia (BC Office of Housing and Construction Standards, rev. January 2011). This Guide is available in English. Website: http://bit.ly/1SixTX7
RTB Policy Guidelines: detailed information on common problem areas; drafted by RTB Arbitrators. Website: http://bit.ly/1ei1NfH
RTB Calculators: Help in calculating rent increases, dates, deposits and more. Website: http://bit.ly/29tvVCU
B.C. Housing
Suite 101 - 4555 Kingsway Burnaby, B.C. V5H 4V8 Website: www.bchousing.org Toll-free: 1-800-257-7756
Information for tenants living in public, subsidized housing.
Landlord BC
Website: www.landlordbc.ca E-mail: info@landlordbc.ca Direct: 1-888-330-6707
Vancouver members (formerly BCAOMA): 203 - 1847 West Broadway Vancouver, British Columbia V6J 1Y6 Telephone: 604-733-9420 Fax: 604-733-9420
Victoria and province-wide members (formerly ROMS BC): 830B Pembroke Street Victoria, British Columbia V8T 1J9 Telephone: 250-382-6324 Fax Local: 250-382-6006 Fax Toll-Free: 1-877-382-6006
C. Books
Margaret Carter-Pyne, Residential Tenancy Law in British Columbia: Everything you need to know to prevent a disaster (Victoria, BC: Sunnymead Publishing, 2009).
- A useful resource for tenants in preparing for a hearing.
Allan Wotherspoon, Annotated British Columbia Residential Tenancy Act (Aurora, ON: Canada Law Book, 2005).
- This is a loose-leaf volume updated once or twice annually.
CCH British Columbia Real Estate Law Guide, Robert J. Maguire, Rose H. McConnell, loose-leaf (Toronto, ON: CCH, undated).
- A summary of the state of the RTA and RTR.
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