Tenant Sublet Without Permission in BC

No. Section 34(1) of the Residential Tenancy Act says a tenant must not assign a tenancy agreement or sublet a rental unit unless the landlord consents in writing. If your tenant has done it anyway, you have a ground to end the tenancy: section 47(1)(i) lets a landlord give a One Month Notice to End Tenancy for Cause when a tenant purports to assign or sublet without first getting written consent.

The notice is RTB Form 33. The form has a tick box for exactly this ground. The tenant then has 10 days to dispute it, and if they do not, they are presumed to accept that the tenancy ends and must move out.

Before you act, ask three questions. Did you ever give written consent? Is the person really a subtenant, or a roommate or guest of your tenant? And did you charge or receive anything for considering the request? The answers change what you can do. Your tenant may be reading the same rules from their side in our BC sublet and assignment guide.

The Act is the starting point: Residential Tenancy Act, section 34. A sublease is temporary. The subtenant agrees to leave at the end of the term, and the original tenancy stays in place.

When you may say no depends on the tenancy:

• Fixed term with 6 months or more left: you must not unreasonably withhold consent (section 34(2)).
• Month-to-month tenancy: the Act is silent on reasonableness. Policy Guideline 19 says an arbitrator may find that a landlord acted reasonably in withholding consent unless there is a compelling reason.
• Fixed term with less than 6 months left: the reasonableness rule is written for terms with 6 months or more remaining. The sources reviewed do not say more than that, so ask the Residential Tenancy Branch.

If a tenant thinks you refused unreasonably, they can ask the director for an order allowing the sublet (section 65(1)(g)). An unreasonable refusal can also hurt you later. Section 7 makes a party who breaks the Act liable for the loss that results, and the guideline links an unreasonable refusal to the landlord's duty to limit their own loss.

Section 34(3) says a landlord must not charge a tenant anything for considering, investigating or consenting to an assignment or sublease. Standard term 7 in the Residential Tenancy Regulation schedule repeats it and goes further: you must not charge a fee or receive a benefit, directly or indirectly, for giving the consent. It also says the tenant may apply for dispute resolution if consent is unreasonably withheld or a fee is charged.

That means no application fee, no fee for investigating the applicant (section 34(3)), and no cut of what the subtenant pays. Reference checks on a proposed subtenant are a different question, and the sources reviewed do not set out what you may ask. A fee for the request itself is not allowed.

1. Confirm there is no written consent. Check your emails, texts and the tenancy agreement. The ground is about consent that was not obtained in writing first.
2. Complete RTB Form 33. It must be in the approved form, state the effective date and give the grounds. Tick the box for a tenant who has assigned or sublet the unit without the landlord's written consent.
3. Set the effective date. It must give at least one month's notice and fall on the last day of the rental period, which is the day before rent is due. The form says an error in the notice or an incorrect move-out date does not make it invalid.
4. Serve it. If you hand it over in person, it is received that day. If you leave it in the mailbox, post it on the door, or send it by email or fax to an address or number the tenant gave for service, it is treated as received 3 days later. Registered or regular mail is treated as received 5 days later. The tenant's 10 days to dispute run from when they actually receive it.
5. Record how you served it. The form names the Proof of Service form, RTB-34.
6. Wait out the 10 days. If the tenant does not dispute, they are presumed to accept the end of the tenancy and must vacate by the date on the notice.

If the tenant does dispute, the notice goes through the Residential Tenancy Branch's dispute resolution process. The sources reviewed for this guide do not give hearing times, so check the Branch for current timelines. Our BC notice to end tenancy guide covers the other notice types.

The label matters because the sublet ground only fits an actual sublet.

Roommates. Under Policy Guideline 19 as read for this guide, a roommate who lives with the tenant is treated as an occupant, not a subtenant, so a notice on the sublet ground against a roommate may be cancelled. A notice for breach of a material term over an unauthorised roommate can be upheld only if the tenancy agreement has an enforceable term requiring your consent, and a material-term notice needs a written warning first. Read the guideline itself before relying on this point.

Too many people. A separate ground exists for an unreasonable number of occupants, in section 47(1)(c). The Regulation schedule says a landlord must not impose restrictions on guests, though reasonable limits on guests' use of common areas are allowed (term 9(2.1)), so extra people are not automatically a breach.

Airbnb or vacation use. The same guideline indicates the sublet ground is unlikely to succeed for this and points landlords toward material-term or damage grounds. Check the Policy Guideline 19 text for the current wording.

The sources reviewed do not give an official step-by-step for removing one occupant while the tenant stays. The route is a notice to the tenant, under section 47(1)(c) or (h).

Under Policy Guideline 19, the original tenant stays liable to you for the rent, and you have no contract with the subtenant. That is why you deal with your tenant, not the person living in the unit.

The sources reviewed do not state what an unauthorised sublet or assignment does to the security deposit. General deposit rules are in section 38 of the Act, which was not reviewed for this topic. Ask the Residential Tenancy Branch before you make any deduction, and see our BC security deposit guide.

The same goes for any claim for loss or damage tied to the sublet: the Act's general rules apply, but the sources reviewed do not say more.

Do not lock out the tenant or the occupant, remove belongings, or physically evict anyone. Form 33 itself warns that a landlord must not physically evict a tenant without a Writ of Possession, change the locks without an arbitrator's order, or seize a tenant's personal property without a court order. Our BC guide to changing locks explains the lock rules. For the wider question of a tenant moving someone in, see can my tenant move someone in.

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