You owe me more money?

Damage and Pet deposits are part of the process when renting a property in BC. Returning damage and pet deposits is often a situation which creates conflict between Landlords and Tenants.  Both parties should be familiar with the requirements for damage and pet deposits at the start and during a tenancy. 

Landlords are permitted to collect the equivalent of 50% of the first month’s rent for a damage and pet deposit from a tenant at the start of a tenancy. What this means is when  the rental amount was $2000 a landlord would collect $1,000 for a damage deposit and $1,000 for a pet deposit. 

One often misunderstood part of deposits is, the amount can’t change. Once the tenancy has started the amount collected by the landlord remains the same during the entire tenancy. Tenants may live in a property for multiple years where rent increased annually. If a landlord increases the rent they are unable to request a tenant increase the amount of damage or pet deposit they have already paid. 

At the end of a tenancy Landlord’s are required to return the damage deposit to the tenant when no damage has been identified including interest payable. Since 2009 the amount of interest payable to tenants has been zero. This means any tenancy started after 2009 owners aren’t responsible for paying interest on the deposit money.  

It’s important for owners and tenants to understand there are steps both parties must participate in before damage deposits are returned to tenants, which we will explore in a future post. 

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