How to Become a Landlord in BC

At the provincial level, no registry, licence or registration duty for long-term residential landlords appears in the Residential Tenancy Act, the Residential Tenancy Regulation or the RTB pages. The one province wide registry is for short-term rentals: short-term rental hosts must register each unit with the provincial registry. That registry does not apply to long-term tenancies, and local governments set their own short-term rental bylaws.

What you must do is follow the Act. It applies to tenancy agreements, rental units and other residential property, and it covers oral agreements as well as written ones. You cannot contract out of it, and a term that conflicts with it has no effect.

The Residential Tenancy Branch (RTB) is the tribunal that handles landlord and tenant disputes. Most applications cost $100 to file.

Many cities also have standards of maintenance bylaws. Check with your local government.

Section 4 of the Act lists housing it does not cover. Several matter to a first time landlord:

• Living accommodation where the tenant shares a bathroom or kitchen with the owner.
• Vacation or travel accommodation.
• Housing owned or run by an educational institution for its students or employees.
• Co-op housing rented to a co-op member, and manufactured home park sites, which have their own Act.

Renting a room in your own home where you share a kitchen or bathroom is therefore outside the Residential Tenancy Act, although the Human Rights Code also stops applying where the landlord shares sleeping, bathroom or cooking space. Short-term guests are a different category with their own registry. When in doubt, treat the arrangement as a tenancy until you have confirmed otherwise.

1. Screen applicants without discrimination and without fees. See our guide to screening tenants in BC.
2. Prepare a written tenancy agreement. Every agreement made on or after January 1, 2004 must be in writing, and both sides sign and date it.
3. Include the standard terms. You can write your own agreement if it contains all of them, or use the government form, the Residential Tenancy Agreement (Form RTB-1), which includes all standard terms.
4. State the rent, due date, preferred payment method and which services are included.
5. Give the tenant a copy within 21 days of entering the agreement.
6. Collect any deposit, then do the move-in condition inspection together.

The Regulation sets 14 standard terms that cannot be changed or removed. Other terms can be added only if the landlord and tenant agree, in writing and initialled by both. You cannot change terms on your own. If a fixed term ends and the agreement has no valid vacate clause, it continues month to month on the same terms. See the Residential Tenancy Act for the full text.

A security deposit is capped at half of one month's rent, and a pet damage deposit at half of one month's rent. Return rules are strict: within 15 days after the later of the end of the tenancy and receiving the forwarding address, return the deposit with interest or apply to the RTB. Read our BC landlord security deposit guide before you collect anything.

You cannot charge application fees or guest fees. Monthly pet fees are not allowed. If the agreement provides for it, you may charge an administration fee of up to $25 for late rent or a returned cheque, plus the bank's actual service fee on a returned cheque. Give a receipt for rent paid in cash.

Condition inspections at move-in and move-out are required. Skipping them costs you the right to claim against the deposit for damage.

Rent increases. Rent can go up once every 12 months, within the yearly limit, with three full months' written notice on Form RTB-7. The limit is 2.3% for 2026 and 2.2% for 2027, taking effect January 1, 2027.

Repairs. You must provide and maintain the property so it meets health, safety and housing standards required by law and is suitable for occupation. Heating, hot water and electricity count among the basic features. Tenants must keep the unit reasonably clean and pay for damage they cause, but not for reasonable wear and tear.

Entry. You need written notice at least 24 hours and no more than 30 days ahead, with a reason, date and a time between 8 a.m. and 9 p.m., except in an emergency.

Smoking. A smoking or cannabis ban must be in the tenancy agreement.

Insurance. The files read show no provincial law requiring tenant insurance, but you can make it an additional term of the agreement if the tenant agrees.

You need a reason to end a month-to-month tenancy, and you cannot end a fixed term early except for cause or by agreement. The common routes:

For landlord's use and the other s.49 reasons, you owe the tenant one month's rent in compensation. See our BC notice to end tenancy guide for details. If a tenant does not leave, you need an order of possession from the RTB, then a Writ of Possession from the BC Supreme Court and a court bailiff. Changing locks or removing belongings yourself is illegal and can bring a penalty of up to $5,000.

Forms, guidelines and dispute resolution live with the Residential Tenancy Branch on the BC government residential tenancies pages. The tenancy agreement form RTB-1 is at the RTB form page. Policy Guidelines explain how arbitrators read the Act. Guideline 17 covers deposits.

Before you advertise, decide on your rent and set aside time for the paperwork. Our Ask pages cover how to become a landlord and how to write a lease agreement.

Your own insurance and tax obligations were not part of the sources read for this guide, so confirm them separately.

This guide explains the rules in general terms; for a specific case, ask the tribunal or a licensed legal professional.