On July 3, 2024, the Provincial Government announced significant changes that came into effect on July 18, 2024, to protect residential tenants from being evicted in bad faith. According to the Residential Tenancy Act, a landlord can end a tenancy for personal or caretaker use.
Changes already in effect include:
- Prohibiting personal occupancy evictions in purpose-built rental buildings with five or more units;
- Increasing the minimum landlord’s occupancy period from six months to 12 months, where a tenancy ends for the landlord’s use;
- Prohibiting rent increases for additional occupants who are minors and making it an offence to do so; and
- Prohibiting a landlord from giving frivolous notices to end the tenancy.
Changes coming into effect on July 18, 2024
- Requiring landlords to use the new web portal to generate Notices to End Tenancy for personal occupancy;
- Increasing the notice period that a landlord must give a tenant for eviction for personal use from two months to four months, and
- Increasing the tenant dispute period from 15 days to 30 days.
When a tenanted property has been sold
After a property is sold, the buyer becomes the new landlord, and existing tenancies carry on under the same conditions. The buyer and the tenants are not required to sign a new tenancy agreement, but can do so if they agree. If neither the buyer nor the seller gives proper notice to terminate the tenancy, it continues under the terms of the original agreement.
Compensation for the tenant
When a landlord gives a two or four-month notice to end a tenancy, they must compensate the tenant with an amount equal to one month’s rent. This compensation should be paid on or before the effective date of the notice period. The landlord still owes the compensation even if the tenant gives notice to leave earlier. Alternatively, the tenant may choose not to pay rent in the last month of the tenancy instead of accepting payment from the landlord.
