Pop Quiz: How Well Do You Know the Rules of Renting?

Topic expert? Clueless? Answer these five questions to find out.

Are you up to date with the recent changes to the Residential Tenancy Act and the rules that regulate rental properties in B.C.?… Whether you’re a tenant or a landlord (or professional property manager), we all need to keep up. Take this quiz to see what you know (and what you should know).

1. Cannabis

If a Residential Tenancy Agreement has a “No Smoking” clause that was in existence before the Oct. 17, 2018 BC Cannabis Control and Licensing Act, the tenant:

(a) can smoke, vape, and grow cannabis
(b) can’t smoke or grow cannabis, but can vape
(c) can’t smoke, but can vape and grow cannabis
(d) can’t smoke, grow, or vape cannabis

2. Rent Increase

The maximum allowable rent increase for 2021 is:

(a) 0%
(b) 2.0%
(c) 2.5%
(d) 4.0%

3. Ending a Tenancy

If a landlord wants to move in, he/she must provide the tenant:

(a) 1 month’s notice
(b) 4 months’ notice
(c) 2 months’ notice, no compensation
(d) 2 months’ notice and 1 month of free rent

4. Vacancy Tax

If you’re a foreign owner, you are exempt from BC Speculation and Vacancy Tax if your tenant is:

(a) a good friend who is a Canadian citizen, but not earning BC income
(b) your daughter, who is attending a qualifying post-secondary educational institution
(c) a foreign student, who responded to your Craigslist ad and signed a residential tenancy agreement
(d) your retired parents

5. Fixed-Term Lease

When a fixed-term tenancy agreement expires:

(a) a tenant must move out by 1 p.m. on the lease expiry date
(b) a tenant must notify the landlord of “intent to stay” two months prior to the lease expiry date
(c) a lease automatically becomes month-to-month
(d) a lease automatically renews for 12 months

Answers

1. (b) All pre-existing residential tenancy agreements continue to prohibit tenants from growing cannabis in the rental unit, and a pre-existing general “No Smoking” clause will continue. Vaping; however, is not considered smoking, and is allowed unless the agreement is explicitly revised to prohibit its use. To restrict cannabis activity in a rental unit, all new residential tenancy agreements commencing after Oct. 17, 2018 require explicit prohibitions against smoking, vaping, and growing cannabis.

2. (a) The province has banned rent increases for 2021, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In previous years, the maximum allowable rent increase included a margin of 2% added to the annual CPI percentage change. For example, the maximum allowable rent increase in 2018 was 4.0%. For residential tenancies, the standard allowable rent increase for 2022 will be announced in late summer 2021.

3. (d) If a landlord, his/her parents, or his/her adult child wishes to move back into a property, he/she must provide the existing tenant with at least two months’ notice and one month’s rent as compensation.

4. (c) A foreign owner of a residential property is not required to pay the BC Speculation and Vacancy Tax if he/she rents the property out to an arms-length tenant. However, there are stringent rules around a foreign owner renting the property to a non-arms-length tenant (e.g. friend, family, or economic relationship not based on market economics).

5. (c) In October 2017, the BC government passed Bill 16, the Tenancy Statutes Amendment Act that determines all fixed-term leases default to month-to-month upon lease expiry. This means landlords can no longer strike new fixed-term leases with existing tenants at rents beyond the maximum allowable rent increase.

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Birds Nest Properties is a boutique rental property management company that specializes in serving owners of condos and houses in and around Vancouver.

Thinking about renting out your property?
Call us at 604.260.9955 to learn about how we work.