Landlord Notice to End Tenancy in British Columbia

A BC landlord cannot end a periodic tenancy without a reason the law recognises. The reason picks the notice, the form and the tenant's time to dispute. The RTB says there is no such thing as a 24 hour or 5 day notice to vacate in BC.

Reason	Notice and form	Tenant's time to dispute
Unpaid rent or utilities	10 Day Notice, Form RTB-30	5 days
Cause	One Month Notice to End Tenancy for Cause, Form RTB-33	10 days
Landlord's use (you or a close family member)	Three Month Notice, Form RTB-32L	21 days
Purchaser's use (buyer or a close family member)	Three Month Notice, Form RTB-32P	21 days
Tenant no longer qualifies for subsidized housing	Two Month Notice	15 days
Demolition or conversion (strata, co-op, caretaker or non-residential use)	Four Month Notice, Forms RTB-29 and RTB-29C	30 days
Renovation or repair that needs the unit empty	No notice: you apply to the RTB for an order	Decided at the hearing

The tenant's side of these notices is in the BC notice to end tenancy guide. The RTB landlord notice page lists the forms.

Use the 10 Day Notice, Form RTB-30. It can be served when rent is late by even one day or short by any amount. It takes effect no earlier than 10 days after the tenant receives it. The tenant has 5 days to pay in full or dispute, and paying in full within the 5 days cancels the notice.

If your agreement makes the tenant pay utilities, unpaid utilities more than 30 days after a written demand can be treated as unpaid rent for the same notice. The whole route, from notice to money order, is in our guide to a tenant not paying rent in BC.

Use the One Month Notice to End Tenancy for Cause, Form RTB-33. The tenant has 10 days to dispute it. The Act lists the grounds, and in plain terms they include:

• significantly interfering with or unreasonably disturbing another occupant or the landlord;
• seriously jeopardizing health, safety or a lawful right, or putting your property at significant risk;
• illegal activity;
• extraordinary damage, or failing to repair damage within a reasonable time;
• an unreasonable number of occupants;
• breaking a material term of the tenancy agreement after you gave written notice and a reasonable time to fix it; and
• the unit having to be vacated to comply with a government order.

For urgent and serious cases, you can instead apply to the RTB to end the tenancy early. If a unit is uninhabitable or the tenancy is frustrated, a separate application is available. See the RTB special circumstances page and the Residential Tenancy Act.

If you or a close family member will move in, use the Three Month Notice, Form RTB-32L. If a buyer or a close family member of the buyer will move in, use Form RTB-32P. In both cases the tenant has 21 days to dispute. These notices must be generated through the RTB web portal. Notices given before the three-month change keep their old periods.

Some buildings are off limits for these notices. You cannot use them where the building has 5 or more rental units and is either not strata-titled, or is strata-titled with all the rental units owned by the same owner.

Compensation and penalties matter. For these notices, and for demolition and renovation endings, you owe the tenant one month's rent, and the tenant may withhold it from the last month's rent. If you do not use the unit for the stated purpose, you can owe a further 12 months' rent. The unit must be used for that purpose for at least 12 months, except in demolition cases. These rules apply to notices given on or after April 3, 2024.

Our Ask page on a landlord moving back into the property gives a short overview.

For demolition or conversion, use the Four Month Notice (Forms RTB-29 and RTB-29C). You must have all required permits and approvals and be acting in good faith. The tenant has 30 days to dispute.

Renovations or repairs work differently. There is no landlord notice. You apply to the RTB for an order, and the arbitrator must grant it if all four conditions are met:

1. you are acting in good faith and have the permits you need;
2. the unit has to be empty for the work;
3. the work is necessary to prolong or sustain the unit or building; and
4. ending the tenancy is the only reasonable way to do the work.

The order takes effect at least 4 months after it is made. Policy Guideline 2B says that if the work takes 45 days or less and the tenant can relocate temporarily and give access, the tenancy should not need to end. See Policy Guideline 2B.

In buildings with 5 or more rental units, a tenant under a renovation order can ask for the right of first refusal on Form RTB-28. You must then give a notice of availability and a new tenancy agreement at least 45 days before the work finishes (Form RTB-35). Failing to do so can cost you 12 months' rent. Our Ask page on renovation evictions explains the tenant's side.

During a fixed term, neither side can end the tenancy except for cause, by agreement, or on the specific grounds the Act sets out. A landlord's-use notice cannot end a fixed term early. It cannot take effect before the fixed term ends.

At the end of the term the tenancy continues month to month on the same terms, unless there is a valid vacate clause. A vacate clause is valid only if you are an individual who, or whose close family member, will live in the unit for at least 6 months, or if the agreement is a sublease. The reason must be written in the agreement and initialled by both sides. If you then do not occupy the unit as required, you may owe 12 months' rent. You also cannot make a tenant sign a new fixed term. See Policy Guideline 30.

Timing runs from when the tenant receives the notice, so keep proof of when and how you delivered it. If the tenant applies to dispute within the deadline, the notice is on hold until the hearing, and you must prove it is lawful. If the tenant misses the deadline, they are treated as accepting that the tenancy ends on the effective date. The RTB can extend a deadline only in exceptional circumstances, and never past the effective date.

You may accept rent up to the effective date without giving up the notice. Accepting rent for the period after it, without marking receipts "for use and occupancy only", could suggest the tenancy continues. A notice cannot be withdrawn by one side alone. If the tenant stays, the next steps are in how to evict a tenant in BC.

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