Getting compensation for a landlord’s use eviction

Your landlord can give you notice to end the tenancy if they, or a close family member, intend to move in. If they sell the unit, your landlord can give you notice if the new purchaser, or a close family member, plans to move in. 

If your landlord gives you notice to end the tenancy for landlord’s use (or a purchaser’s use), the landlord must pay you one month's rent before you move out. Here, we unpack your rights when dealing with a landlord’s use eviction.

"We moved to Canada five years ago and found this duplex. We always paid rent on time and took care of the place like it was our own. Last year, the landlord said their daughter was moving in. Finding a new place was hard. We had to borrow money to cover the deposit and moving costs. Recently, I saw a 'for rent' sign up at our old place. It seems like the landlord may have lied. Now, I’m looking into getting compensation from them.”

– Amira, Surrey, BC

If it turns out that your landlord (or their family member) didn’t use the rental unit as they said they would, the law says you can apply for compensation equal to 12 months' rent.

If you apply for compensation, it’s on your landlord to prove to the arbitrator that:

• they used the rental unit for the reason they said they would in the notice, 

• they (or their close family member) started occupying the rental unit within a reasonable period of time after you moved out, and

• they used it for at least 12 months after they moved in.

If they can't prove they did all of the above, they will have to pay you — unless they have a very good excuse (more on this below).

If your landlord (or their close family member) didn’t actually occupy the unit, you can claim compensation. Generally this means they must live in the unit or use the unit as part of their living space. A living space is somewhere they sleep, eat and spend time. 

A close family member includes the landlord’s parent, spouse or child. It also includes the parent or child of the landlord’s spouse. It does not include a sibling, cousin, aunt or friend.

Your landlord (or close family member) must occupy the whole of the unit. They cannot use part of the unit for personal use, then rent or Airbnb a separate, private portion of the unit to someone else. They can reclaim the whole unit and use it as part of their living space. This commonly occurs when the landlord’s main residence is located on the same property. For example, they could take over a basement suite to use as a kids’ playroom. Or they could reclaim the laneway house to use as a home gym.

The rental unit doesn't have to be their only home or their main home. And they can take vacations or be away sometimes. But they can't just stay there once in a while or leave it mostly vacant.

For example, you might be able to claim that the person isn’t occupying the unit if your former landlord:

• re-rented the whole unit (or a private part of it) to a new tenant,

• listed the unit (or a private part of it) on Airbnb,

• converted the unit for non-residential use such as a home business (which is different from a home office), or

• allowed someone who is not a close family member to move in.

We delve more into what would be accepted as occupying a rental unit. 

After 12 months of occupying the unit to live in, the landlord is free to use it for other purposes. 

How long is a "reasonable time" for the landlord (or close family member) to move in? The law doesn't pin down an exact number of days. What’s considered reasonable is the amount of time fairly required in the situation. It will usually be a relatively short amount of time. 

Two weeks to a month is a good benchmark. A longer period might be reasonable depending on the circumstances. For example, the landlord may need to make repairs or upgrades. Tasks like replacing the carpet or repainting the walls are fairly common. It makes sense to do these types of repairs in an empty unit. So the landlord may delay the move until the work is completed. The delay must be reasonable.

"My landlord said their mother needed my unit because she was very sick. A few months later, I'd heard that she passed away. If she was already that sick, was her death really unexpected? I felt terrible even thinking that. I decided not to pursue compensation. Personally, it didn't feel right, given their loss. But losing my affordable rent has been really hard."

– Aisha, Victoria, BC

The law recognizes that sometimes life throws genuine curveballs that no one could have seen coming. Your landlord won't have to pay you if they can prove they faced "extenuating circumstances" — meaning very serious, unexpected situations that were outside their control — that prevented them from moving in as planned.

A key question is: was the situation truly beyond the landlord's control and impossible to predict? If it was just inconvenient, or if the landlord made poor decisions, that's not enough. The circumstances must be so serious that it would be unfair to make them compensate you for forcing you out of your home.

Extenuating circumstances might include:

• Serious health issues, or a death in the family, prevented the family member from moving in.

• Severe weather caused a lot of flood damage to the rental unit making it unliveable.

• The landlord’s employer pushed back a work transfer that had previously been approved.

Just changing your mind or poor planning doesn't qualify as extenuating circumstances. For example, these situations would not excuse a landlord from paying compensation:

• The purchaser moved in for a couple of months, then decided they didn't like living there. They rented it to someone else.

• The landlord decided to go on an extended vacation during the time they were supposed to be living there. The unit was empty for more than half the year.

• The landlord planned to move for work but never actually had a job offer in that area.

“I pushed back on an illegal rent increase and got an eviction notice soon after. I've heard that the landlord has a history of kicking out previous tenants claiming she’s moving in. Then she'd turn around and re-rent the place! But my former neighbour said he thinks this time she actually lived there. He’s seen her come and go at all hours. I guess she played the long game. She moved out a year later, renting it for double what I was paying. But if she was technically within the rules, I can’t claim compensation.”

– Donavon, White Rock, BC

Once you’ve already been evicted, your landlord’s intentions when they gave you notice are not relevant to your claim for 12 months' worth of rent. At this point in time, all the law cares about is whether or not your landlord did what they said they would in the notice. Say you have proof of bad faith — like an ulterior motive or dishonest intent. If your landlord moved into the unit within a reasonable time, and lived there for 12 months, their intentions don’t matter. 

Proof of good faith is also not relevant. If your landlord did honestly plan to move in, but changed their mind and didn’t follow through, then you can claim compensation. They would then have to prove there were extenuating circumstances that prevented them from doing what they said they would. If they can’t do this, you’re entitled to be paid.

If your landlord acted in bad faith, you may be able to recover some costs 

If you have proof that your landlord gave you a notice for their own use in bad faith, you may still be able to claim compensation for damage or loss. For example, you may be able to claim moving out costs on the basis that your landlord acted outside of the law by unlawfully giving you notice to end the tenancy. For more information, see this Residential Tenancy Branch guideline.

Timing matters. You have two years from the end of your tenancy to apply for compensation. This deadline can’t be extended.

On the other hand, you should hold back on applying for compensation if it’s too soon to know whether your landlord actually broke the rules. For example, if you apply while your landlord is still within the 12-month period they're supposed to be living there, and there's no clear proof they've failed to move in, the arbitrator might not be able to decide your case yet. 

If you apply too soon, the arbitrator can dismiss your application. They may give you permission to reapply later if more information comes to light. But this is not guaranteed. An arbitrator can choose to close the door on you reapplying for compensation. They may do this if they think your claim won’t succeed even with more information or more time.

That said, you don't always have to wait the full 12 months to apply. You can apply sooner if you have strong evidence that your landlord hasn't moved in and won't be moving in. For example:

• Several months have passed since you moved out and the unit appears to be vacant.

• You found an ad to re-rent the unit.

• A new tenant (who is not a close family member) is living in the unit.

• The unit is clearly being used for something other than what the landlord said (like being rented on Airbnb or used for non-residential use).

You can apply to the Residential Tenancy Branch for a monetary order that’s equal to 12 months of rent if your landlord (or close family member):

• didn’t move in within a reasonable time,

• didn’t occupy the unit for residential purposes, or

• moved in but didn’t stay for 12 months.  

For the claim to be successful, you need to come with proof. Just a suspicion that they haven’t moved in isn’t very compelling. Good proof could be a copy of an ad that lists the unit for rent after you moved out.

You can try to find out the new tenant’s relationship to the landlord, but be mindful of privacy considerations. Hiding in the bushes near the property, or harassing the new tenants to give you information, could amount to an invasion of privacy. A better approach might be getting a sworn statement from a neighbour that supports your claim (basically, an official written statement prepared in front of a lawyer or notary).

If there’s no one living in the home, you may be able to document this. Photos of an unchanging front view of the home on different days over the course of several months would be quite compelling. For example, the photos might show garbage cans never going out and mail never being picked up. 

Even though you have two years to bring the claim, your evidence has to revolve around those first six to 18 months after you move out. That’s the material time for the landlord or their family member to have moved in.

You have up to two years from the end of your tenancy to apply for compensation. The tenancy is usually taken to end on the effective date listed on the eviction notice. This period cannot be extended.

You can apply for dispute resolution with the Residential Tenancy Branch. If you’re applying online, you will need a basic BCeID account. Click on the “start new application” button. The site will walk you through the application. Include any available evidence that you wish to rely on at the hearing.

If an application for dispute resolution is accepted, the Residential Tenancy Branch will set a date for the hearing. They will also send you what’s called a notice of dispute resolution proceeding package. You need to serve the package on your landlord within three days of the date it became available to you. Along with the package, you also need to provide copies of any evidence you have submitted to the Residential Tenancy Branch.

You can serve notice at your landlord’s home address or at the address where they conduct business as a landlord. Because some time may have passed since you last dealt with them, finding the correct address for service can be challenging. And since this was a landlord’s use eviction, you can’t automatically treat your former rental unit as the landlord’s place of business.

You may be able to find your landlord’s address for service by:

• looking for it on the notice of eviction,

• asking a former neighbour if they know,

• texting or emailing the landlord to request the address, or

• checking their email signature for an address.

Sometimes landlords try to avoid being served, or just cannot be found. The Tenant Resource & Advisory Centre provides more tips on how to look up your landlord’s address for service if you’re having difficulty finding them. As well, they describe how you can apply for substituted service.

The dispute resolution hearing is usually held over the phone. It’s typically an hour long. If English is not your first language, you can request telephone translation for information about the process and the hearing itself.

You have the right to represent yourself and tell your story. The system is designed so that you can present your evidence directly to the arbitrator. In fact, most people appear on their own. But you can choose to get help at any stage of the process. You are allowed to have an advocate or lawyer help you. You may want to do this especially if you have a corporate or not-for-profit landlord on the other side. 

At the hearing, the onus is on the landlord to prove that they (or close family) moved in within a reasonable time. They must have occupied the rental unit for residential purposes for at least 12 months. If they didn’t do these things, the landlord must prove that they did honestly plan to, but that circumstances prevented them from doing so.

If you are successful, the Residential Tenancy Branch will give you a monetary order. This is an order that will instruct the landlord to pay you a specific amount. 

Once you have the order in hand, reach out to the landlord directly to get the money they owe you. Let them know that if they don’t pay you by a certain date, you’ll file the order with the small claims court and they could be on the hook to compensate you for any further fees. 

The Tenant Resource & Advisory Centre has a template for a demand for payment letter that you can use. Include a copy of the order with your letter. There are a number of ways you can serve the order. Here’s some more information on the methods of service you can choose to use.

The landlord has 15 days to apply for a review of the Residential Tenancy Branch’s decision. If you still haven’t received payment after 15 days, check in with the Residential Tenancy Branch. If the landlord didn’t request a review, you can move on to the next step. The next step is to file the monetary order with a Provincial Court registry. 

We go into more detail on how to get the money your landlord owes you. 

If your landlord used a landlord’s use notice as a shortcut to avoid the stricter renovation eviction rules, that's not allowed. To undertake major renovations to the rental unit in order to change its use, they must use a different eviction notice. This includes situations where they are converting the unit to a strata unit or a business premises. This kind of notice comes with stricter rules — the landlord needs to follow a different process and they need permits and approvals from the city first.

If your landlord truly intends to live in the unit, and needs to renovate it first, this may be allowed. The law requires that they move into the unit within a reasonable time after you left the unit. An arbitrator can decide what’s reasonable in the circumstances.