Governing Legislation and Resources for Landlord and Tenant Law (19:XIX)

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A. Legislation and Regulations

Residential Tenancy Act, SBC 2002, c 78 [RTA].

Website: 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: www.bclaws.ca/civix/document/id/complete/statreg/02077_01


Manufactured Home Park Tenancy Regulation BC Reg 481/2003

Website: 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 (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)


Residential Tenancy Branch


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 Eastside Satellite Office

Four Corners 390 Main Street (Entrance on Hastings) 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 Downtown Eastside office is a satellite office and does 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: https://www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/housing-and-tenancy/residential-tenancies/rop.pdf


Residential Tenancy Information Sheets

Website: http://bit.ly/1KTmo6l


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: https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/housing-tenancy/residential-tenancies/calculators-and-resources/calculators


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 Office:

1210-1095 West Pender Street

Vancouver, British Columbia

V6E 2M6

Telephone: 604-733-9420 Fax: 604-733-9420

Victoria Office:

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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