Tenant Won't Leave After Notice in British Columbia

A notice to end tenancy does not remove anyone by itself. If the effective date passes and the tenant is still there, you need an order, and then you need the court. The steps run in this order:

1. Get an order of possession from the Residential Tenancy Branch (RTB).
2. Serve the order on the tenant.
3. Wait for the review period to pass, which is 2 days for an order of possession.
4. Take the order to the BC Supreme Court and get a writ of possession.
5. Hire a court-authorized bailiff to carry out the writ.

Only the BC Supreme Court and authorized court bailiffs can enforce an order of possession. Not you, not the RTB and, as a rule, not the police. For the overall route, see how to evict a tenant in BC. The tenant's view of the timing is in the BC eviction timeline guide.

What you do next depends on what happened after you served the notice.

The tenant did not dispute in time. The tenant is treated as accepting that the tenancy ends on the effective date. If they stay, you can obtain an order of possession without a further hearing. For unpaid rent, the direct request process also covers an order for the rent.

The tenant disputed. An arbitrator holds a hearing. If the arbitrator dismisses the tenant's application or upholds the notice, and the notice is in proper form, the arbitrator must grant you an order of possession.

The tenant's deadline to dispute depends on the notice: 5 days for a 10 Day Notice, 10 days for a One Month Notice for Cause, 15 days for a Two Month Notice, 21 days for a Three Month Notice, and 30 days for a Four Month Notice. A tenant who misses the deadline can ask the RTB to extend it only in exceptional circumstances, and never past the effective date. See the RTB page on disputing an eviction.

Once the review period has passed, the paperwork moves to the BC Supreme Court registry. The documents are:

• a Requisition (Form 17.2);
• a Writ of Possession (Form 52); and
• an Affidavit of Service, sworn at the court registry.

With the writ issued, you hire a court-authorized bailiff to remove the tenant. You can recover bailiff costs by seizure and sale of the tenant's property or through a monetary order. The RTB order of possession page describes the official steps.

Police generally do not carry out evictions. They may help if the person is under arrest or if a bailiff acting under a writ asks for assistance. See the RTB police sheet.

It is tempting to act when a tenant ignores a notice. Do not. These acts are illegal in BC, with penalties up to $5,000 and a possible order to repay the tenant's costs:

• changing the locks;
• physically removing the tenant;
• taking or blocking access to their belongings; and
• asking the police to carry out the eviction.

You also must not take actual possession of a unit that an overholding tenant still occupies without a writ of possession. That is an offence with a fine of up to $5,000. Cutting off or restricting essential services is a separate offence, and the RTB can impose penalties of up to $5,000 per day. Ignoring an RTB director's order is also an offence.

Be careful what you accept while waiting. You may accept rent up to the effective date of the notice without giving up the notice. Accepting rent for the period after the effective date, without receipts clearly marked "for use and occupancy only", could suggest that the tenancy continues.

A notice also cannot be withdrawn by one side alone. The RTB's Policy Guideline 11 covers this.

At the end of a fixed term the rules are different. The tenancy normally continues month to month on the same terms. It ends on the fixed end date only if there is a valid vacate clause, which is limited to cases where you are an individual who, or whose close family member, will live in the unit for at least 6 months, or where the agreement is a sublease. The reason must be written in the agreement and initialled by both sides. See our guide to landlord notices in BC for the notice rules.

The losing party can apply for a review of an order of possession within 2 days. The grounds are limited: they could not attend for reasons beyond their control, there is new and relevant evidence, or the decision was obtained by fraud. The director may suspend the order until the review is decided, so check before booking a bailiff. A judicial review in the BC Supreme Court must start within 60 days. See the RTB review page.

If the tenant leaves without notice, says they will not return, or moves everything out, the unit is considered abandoned and you may enter without notice. Belongings left behind follow set rules in the Residential Tenancy Regulation:

• store them for at least 30 days, keep an inventory, and keep disposal records for 2 years;
• items of personal value, such as medical equipment and personal photos, must be stored for 30 days;
• early disposal is allowed only in limited cases, such as unsafe or unsanitary storage, property worth less than $1,000 in total, or removal costs above the sale proceeds; and
• the tenant may reclaim items by paying removal and storage costs.

Our Ask page on abandoned property summarises this, and what to do if a tenant refuses to move out gives a short overview of the whole problem.

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