VICTORIA – The Province is amending the personal use-notice period for home purchasers in B.C. to three months to improve conditions for first-time homebuyers, while ensuring that tenants have more than two months notice to find new housing.
On July 18, 2024, the Province brought into force amendments to the Residential Tenancy Regulation requiring landlords and homebuyers to give tenants four months’ notice, instead of two months when evicting for personal or caretaker use, giving displaced tenants more time to find a new home. The amount of time a tenant has to dispute such a Notice to End Tenancy (NTE) was also increased, from 15 days to 30 days.
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, particularly for those under Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) programs, which require the property to be vacant at possession. In addition, a four-month notice period may not align with the purchasers’ mortgage commitment, which could expire prior to the closing date. There is a CHMC requirement that purchasers with insured mortgages must take possession upon closing, which requires vacancy of the property. The extended notice period could have an impact on this requirement and potentially disqualify them from financing.
In response to this feedback, government is taking action by amending the regulation to allow a notice period of three months and dispute period of 21 days for when a landlord issues a notice to end tenancy on behalf of the purchaser. The new notice period will be effective Aug. 21, 2024.
Government included provisions in the initial amendments to be able to make changes like this quickly, in case urgent action was needed.
Landlords who intend to personally move into the rental property, or have a close family member move in, are still required to give tenants four months notice if they are issuing a notice to end tenancy. Tenants of these properties also still have 30 days to dispute landlord NTEs. The person moving into the home must occupy it for a minimum of 12 months and landlords who evict in bad faith could be ordered to pay the displaced tenant 12 months rent.
People with questions about these changes, or who have submitted a NTE since July 18, can call the Residential Tenancy Branch between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. at 604 660-1020 in the Lower Mainland, 250 387-1602 in Victoria and 1 800 665-8779 elsewhere in B.C., and can visit the Residential Tenancy Branch website: https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/housing-tenancy/residential-tenancies/help
Personal-use notice period for homebuyers changing to three months in BC
