Recently I was speaking with a prospective applicant for a property we had available. After some discussion about our property, they advised they wouldn’t be able to rent our place due to their landlord raising the rent. This surprised me and I inquired about the rent increase. They advised their landlord had informed them that if they didn’t sign a new lease that evening they would need to move out at the end of the month when the “fixed term expired”. As a property manager without knowing more details three things are of concern. 

One, due to the pandemic the Province of BC currently has a rent freeze in place restricting Landlords ability to increase rents. A rent increase means the rent paid must not change, requiring tenant’s sign a new lease at a higher rate is a rent increase.   

The second issue is more concerning as it disregards the Residential Tenancy Act fixed term lease requirements. In 2017 the BC Government changed laws around fixed term leases, preventing a Landlord from evicting tenants at the end of a fixed term and then renting the unit to another party at a higher rent.

A tenancy agreement can begin with a “fixed term,” it is what happens at the end of the fixed term that was changed in 2017. Landlords are now required to declare their “intention” for the property when the term ends, at the start of the tenancy. If the landlord has no intention of moving back into the property when the fixed term expires, the tenancy agreement must state it becomes a month to month tenancy. If the landlord indicates on the agreement at the beginning of the fixed term they or a close family member will re-occupy the unit, they must move back in for a minimum of six months. 

These laws were changed because many landlords choose to vacate tenants and re-rent their properties at higher rates then the allowable rent increase limit determined by the government. If a landlord requires a tenant to vacate at the end of the fixed term and fails to move in, a past tenant could be entitled to compensation equivalent to 12 months rent for bad faith negotiations.   

The third item is signing of the new lease. A tenancy agreement is a contract between two parties which requires both parties agreeing to sign. Due to the changes of fixed terms the agreement must state the tenancy becomes month to month when a landlord won’t occupy the unit. This prevents landlords from forcing tenants to sign a new lease in order to continue renting the property.

All of the issues above are why tenants feel poorly treated by landlords, and why legislators change laws that appear to be more favourable to tenants. Being a landlord requires one to ensure they know and understand the laws, regulations and processes of managing a rental property.  

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https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/housing-tenancy/residential-tenancies/ending-a-tenancy/landlord-notice/two-month-notice#Use