VICTORIA – A new website launching on July 18, 2024, will better protect renters from being evicted in bad faith and bring improvements to the process for landlords.
“With this new tool, we’re taking action to better protect tenants from being evicted under false pretences and ensure that landlords who need to legitimately reclaim their units have a straightforward pathway to do so,” said Ravi Kahlon, Minister of Housing. “The portal will also provide government with a window to better understand when and how often these evictions occur so that we can continue to build on our work to improve services for renters and landlords.”
While some landlords do need to reclaim their units (for example, a first-time homebuyer who wants to live in their new home), evictions initiated under false pretences continue to happen, either deliberately or unknowingly. Some landlords evict tenants under the guise of landlord use, only to rent out the unit again at a significantly higher rent.
Starting July 18, 2024, landlords will be required to use the Landlord Use Web Portal to generate Notices to End Tenancy for personal occupancy or caretaker use. Landlords generating notices to end tenancy will be required to include information about the persons moving into the home. Through this process, landlords are informed of the significant penalties they could face if they are found to be evicting a tenant in bad faith. By requiring landlords to include the information of who will be occupying the home on the notice, tenants can have a better sense of the landlords’ intentions and may provide this information at the dispute hearing if they believe the landlord is acting in bad faith.