BC Government Responds to Industry Feedback on Residential Tenancy Act Changes

In the immediate wake of publicly voiced concern from the BC Real Estate Association (BCREA), the BC Government has reversed course on two recent changes to the Residential Tenancy Act (RTA) as they relate to buyers of tenanted properties. 
  
The initial changes laid out in Bill 14, which came into effect on July 18, 2024, required four months' notice – instead of the previous two months' notice – for evictions due to personal or caretaker use. The legislation also raised the dispute period from 15 days to 30 days. 
  
Now the government is amending the regulation to lower the personal-use notice period to three months and the dispute period to 21 days for situations when a landlord gives notice to a tenant on behalf of a purchaser. These changes come into effect on August 21, 2024. 
  
"Since the amendments came into force, government has listened to feedback from industry stakeholders that a four-month notice period could prevent first-time buyers from purchasing a tenanted property," the government said in a statement on Thursday. 
  
The BCREA Government Relations department is proud to have been a key part of the industry response, along with partners from the Canadian Mortgage Brokers Association – BC (CMBA-BC). In open letters and a joint press release, the two organizations pointed out the flaws with lengthening both the personal-use notice period and the dispute period, including their effect on first-time homebuyers. 
  
"We appreciate the government responding quickly to our concerns," said Trevor Hargreaves, BCREA Senior VP, Government Relations, Marketing & Communications. "This legislation caused confusion and concern amongst both REALTORS® and the public, including buyers and sellers, and we're happy to see changes made to alleviate that." 
In BCREA's open letter, the organization reiterated its call for government to launch a permanent housing roundtable made up of housing policy experts and other stakeholders from across the BC housing sector, as it would have allowed for this round of feedback to be delivered before the legislation took effect. 
  
Related links:

To read the full statement from the BC Government, click here.
To read CBC coverage of these latest developments, click here.
To read BCREA's letter to the BC Government, click here.  
To read BCREA and CMBA-BC's joint press release, click here.