Writing a residential tenancy agreement in BC

Every tenancy in British Columbia needs a written agreement, signed and dated by the landlord and the tenant, and many landlords and property managers use the government’s Form RTB-1 to write it. The rules that catch people out come later: deposits that can only be half a month’s rent, vacate clauses that are only allowed in two situations and inspections that decide whether you can ever claim against the deposit.

The easiest way to see how it all fits is to follow one tenancy from start to finish. Say you’re renting a one bedroom in Vancouver to a tenant with a small dog, on a one year term.

Start from RTB-1

Before you write anything, decide what you’re writing it on. The Residential Tenancy Branch publishes a ready made agreement, Form RTB-1, with every standard term already in it. You can write your own agreement instead, but it has to include all of those standard terms, and anything that contradicts the Residential Tenancy Act is unenforceable even if the tenant signed it.

Many landlords and property managers use RTB-1 and attach an addendum for their own building rules. It saves you checking your own document against the regulations every year.

What to gather first

With RTB-1 open, you’ll need these details for the Vancouver tenancy:

• The legal name of the landlord and every adult tenant
• The rental unit’s full address
• An address and phone number where the tenant can reach and serve the landlord
• The start date, and whether it’s month to month or a fixed term
• The rent, the day it’s due and what’s included, such as heat, hot water, parking, storage or laundry
• The amount of any security deposit or pet damage deposit and the date each one is due

RTB-1 only has room for two landlords and two tenants. If more people are on the tenancy, such as three roommates sharing a home, list the rest on the Schedule of Parties, Form RTB-26, and attach it to the agreement. Everyone on the schedule is a party to the tenancy just like the people on the form. Leasing software such as Nodus by Tuze fills in the schedule for you when a tenancy has more people than RTB-1 has room for.

Month to month or fixed term

The tenant asked for a one year term, which raises the question of what happens when that year is up. A month to month tenancy runs until someone ends it properly under the Act.

A fixed term tenancy has an end date, but in BC the end date usually doesn’t end the tenancy. When the term is up, the tenancy carries on month to month on the same terms, unless you and the tenant sign a new fixed term agreement.

Vacate clauses

A vacate clause says the tenant has to move out when the fixed term ends. Since 2021 they’re only allowed in two situations:

• The tenancy is a sublet.
• The landlord is an individual who, or whose close family member, will move into the unit at the end of the term.

If you use one, both sides have to initial it on the agreement and the reason has to be stated. Any other vacate clause can’t be enforced.

Deposits

Because the tenant has a dog, you can take two deposits here. BC caps both at half of one month’s rent each. You can take one security deposit and, if the tenant has a pet, one pet damage deposit. Neither can go up during the tenancy, even if the rent does.

When the tenancy ends, you have 15 days to either return the deposits with any interest owed, or apply for dispute resolution to keep some of it. The 15 days count from the later of the move-out date and the day you receive the tenant’s forwarding address in writing. If you miss the deadline, the tenant can be awarded double the deposit.

Condition inspections

Those deposits are only as safe as your inspections. The move-in and move-out inspections are standard terms, and skipping them is expensive.

You have to offer the tenant at least two opportunities for each inspection, complete a condition inspection report and give them a copy. If you don’t, you lose the right to claim against the security deposit or pet damage deposit for damage. Photos dated on the day help, but they don’t replace the report.

Hand over a copy within 21 days

Once everyone has signed, the tenant must have a copy of the signed agreement within 21 days. Send it to everyone the day it’s signed and it never becomes something to remember. Leasing software that collects signatures online can do this automatically. Nodus by Tuze, for example, prepares the agreement for a BC home from what’s already on file and sends everyone their copy the moment the last tenant signs.

Rent increases later on

A year from now, when the term rolls over to month to month, you may want to raise the rent. You can raise it once every 12 months, with three full months’ notice on the approved Notice of Rent Increase form, and no more than the maximum the province sets each year. Put the anniversary date in your records the day the agreement is signed.

Where the Vancouver tenancy ends up

Put together, the Vancouver tenancy starts on RTB-1 with your addendum, two deposits within the limits, a move-in inspection both sides have signed and a copy in the tenant’s hands well within 21 days. A year from now, it carries on month to month, with the anniversary date already in your records for any rent increase. Other BC tenancies will differ in the details. A month to month tenancy, for example, has no term to roll over. The steps stay the same, though: the agreement, the deposits, the inspections and the copy within 21 days.