Looking for a rental in BC can feel overwhelming, especially in an often inequitable housing market. Before you apply or hand over any money, it helps to know a few key rules and red flags. Here, we break down the top five things to keep in mind when looking for a place to rent so you can search with confidence and protect your rights.
What you should know
“My wife’s application for permanent residence was finally approved. She’s still in India, and will be joining me here in a few weeks. In the meantime, I’ve got to find us a place to live. And to be frank, my search so far has been discouraging. There are so few rentals available, and it seems most landlords want local references.
I came across a listing for a suite in someone’s home that fit our budget. It was nice and spacious, and the homeowner was an immigrant himself, so he sympathized. But then I learned that because we’d be sharing a kitchen and bathroom with the owner, the rental fell outside BC’s main tenancy law. Feeling desperate, I decided to lock it in anyway. But I insisted that we draw up a written agreement. The owner and I workshopped a draft with terms acceptable to us both. I feel better knowing that my family has that added layer of protection, in case something goes wrong.
– Vikram, Lynn Valley, BC
Most rental housing situations in BC are governed by the Residential Tenancy Act. This is BC’s main law setting out protections and obligations for tenants and landlords. It applies to a broad range of rentals, from apartments to secondary suites to rented strata units.
But some types of rentals fall outside this main law. For example, tenants who share a bathroom or kitchen with the owner of the property they’re renting aren’t covered. Neither are those renting in a mobile home park (they’re covered by another law, explained here).
A tricky area is roommate arrangements (covered here). A roommate who rents from a tenant who lives in the rental unit likely isn’t protected by the Residential Tenancy Act. If they get into a dispute, they must look elsewhere, such as to general contract law.
Check out our guidance on what laws apply to you as a renter for more.
“I’m on the hunt for a one-bedroom apartment, close to my job downtown. Last week, I stumbled on a Facebook Marketplace ad for a rental unit that looked promising. From the moment I replied to the ad, something seemed off. The ‘landlord’ sent me a flurry of messages about paying an ‘application fee’ to prove that I was serious. He refused to give me any information about himself. When I asked to meet him in person to view the unit before paying any money, he got agitated. That’s when I decided to walk away. It’s hard to pass on opportunities in such a tight housing market, but I’m glad I followed my gut.”
– Sawyer, Vancouver, BC
It’s no secret that BC has a competitive housing market. Renters are often required to make on-the-fly decisions or risk missing out. Unfortunately, this creates opportunities for scammers.
Types of rental scams to watch out for
One common scam involves a false owner scenario. Here’s how it goes. You respond to an ad for a rental, and agree to meet with a person who says they’re the landlord. They walk you through the property, and you agree to hand over a sum of money (say, a damage deposit and the first month’s rent) to secure the unit. You find out later on that the individual you entered into the agreement with wasn’t the real landlord.
Another scam is where the “landlord” asks you to pay a deposit or application fee just to see the property. Or they may ask for your banking or personal information before you meet in person. Once they have your money or information, you never hear from them again.
A third type of scam is referred to as the bait-and-switch. This is where the landlord shows you one property, then gets you to sign a lease for another less desirable property. In this case, the scammer is hoping you won’t read the fine print or double check the address on your tenancy agreement.
Tips to avoid being scammed
Here are some simple steps you can take to steer clear of rental scams:
Go to the address to ensure the listing is accurate. Have a look at the rental in person to make sure it matches the ad. Do a walk-through to make sure it’s suitable before coughing up money or personal information.
Don’t offer money before meeting in person. It bears repeating: never pay money or provide your banking or personal information prior to meeting with the landlord.
Verify the landlord’s identity. Make sure the person you’re communicating with is who they say they are. Look up city records or do a land title search to see who owns the property (TRAC explains how). Find out who the landlord is and get their full name, address and phone number.
Check other listings in the neighbourhood. Search for other rental listings nearby. See if the rent and amenities are comparable. If you can, ask neighbours about the property and the owner.
Do a reverse image search. This will tell you if the listing photos were used elsewhere, suggesting it could be a duplicate post. See this guidance on how to do it.
Read your tenancy agreement. Make sure you understand and agree to the terms of your tenancy before signing the agreement. Verify that the information is correct, including names, dates, contact information and addresses.
A tenancy agreement is a contract between you and your landlord setting out your respective rights and responsibilities. It covers the basics of your tenancy, including things like its duration, when rent is due and any services included.
By law, BC landlords must prepare written tenancy agreements for every tenancy. They may choose to use the Residential Tenancy Branch’s standard agreement. Or they may have their own custom agreement. But if they use their own agreement, it must contain all the standard terms required by the Residential Tenancy Act. If a landlord doesn’t prepare a tenancy agreement, or removes or changes a legally required standard term, the standard terms in the Act still apply.
It’s important to read and understand a tenancy agreement before you sign it. Here are some sections to pay special attention to.
Details about rent
Your tenancy agreement should outline the key terms around rent, such as:
the amount and due date, and if there are any late rent payment fees (capped at $25)
what’s included in your rent, and whether you’ll be responsible for additional services like laundry, internet services, and storage facilities
whether the rent varies with the number of people residing in the rental unit
how your landlord will accept payment of rent or other fees
rules around future rent increases (note that there are legal limits)
The length of the tenancy
The agreement should describe how the tenancy will come to an end. There are two alternatives.
In a periodic tenancy (a tenancy on a weekly, monthly or other periodic basis), there isn’t a set date on which the tenancy ends. Instead, the tenancy continues until the tenant or landlord takes steps to legally end it (for example, by the tenant giving proper notice to move out). A month-to-month tenancy is the most common periodic tenancy.
In a fixed-term tenancy, there’s a specific date on which the tenancy ends or comes up for renewal. Usually, at the end of the fixed term, the landlord and tenant can mutually agree to extend the tenancy. If no action is taken by either party at the end of the fixed term, it automatically changes to a month-to-month tenancy. The law allows landlords to end a tenancy at the end of the fixed term and require a tenant to vacate only if the landlord or their close family member will be moving into the rental unit once the fixed term is over. A “close family member” includes the landlord’s parent, spouse or child, or the parent or child of the landlord’s spouse.
Other rights and responsibilities
Other terms to focus on include:
Pet policies. Check if the rental has a no-pets policy. If pets are allowed, your landlord is allowed to limit the size, type and number of pets. (There’s an exception for guide and service dogs.)
Rules about guests. Look for any terms that restrict your right to have guests. By law, tenants are allowed to invite guests into their rental unit. Landlords mustn’t charge guest fees, require guests to “check in,” or stop the tenant from having guests under reasonable circumstances.
Smoking and cannabis. See what the agreement says about smoking and vaping. Landlords are legally allowed to ban smoking, vaping and the growing of cannabis plants in rental units. (See our guidance on the topic.)
Communication during the tenancy. Check if the tenancy agreement specifies a preferred method of communication. (Written communication is best, as it leaves a paper trail) It’s a good idea to include the email address and phone number for both parties in the agreement.
Tenant’s insurance. In BC, tenant’s insurance isn’t mandatory. However, some landlords require renters to have tenant’s insurance. Review your agreement to understand your obligations around insurance before signing.
Generally, the terms in your tenancy agreement are enforceable as long as they don’t conflict with BC’s main tenancy law. For more on this topic, visit the provincial government’s website.
You’re protected from discrimination
If a landlord refuses to rent to you based on your personal characteristics, you may have experienced discrimination. Discrimination is when you’re treated badly or unfairly on the basis of parts of your identity protected by BC’s Human Rights Code. If a landlord discriminates against you, you may be able to start a human rights complaint. See our guidance on discrimination in housing for more.
So you’ve found a place for rent that ticks all your boxes. What’s next? Typically, the landlord will ask for some basic information from you up front. This is sometimes referred to as pre-screening. It’s to help the landlord save time and pass over prospective tenants who may not be the right fit. For example, they may ask you about who you live with, if you own pets or if you smoke.
Tenants who make it through pre-screening will generally need to submit a tenant application. There’s no standard form for a tenant application. Generally, the application will ask for personal information relevant to your candidacy as a tenant. The landlord may also collect this information separately from the application in what’s often called a background check.
What a landlord can ask you for
In BC, landlords are covered by the main privacy law that applies to private organizations and non-profits. This law sets out rules landlords must follow in the collection of your personal information.
The types of personal information it’s reasonable for a landlord to ask a prospective tenant for include:
Photo identification, to make sure your name matches the name on your application. Note that the landlord is not permitted to keep a copy of your ID without your consent.
References, usually from a previous landlord. Any information your landlord requests from your references must be related to your suitability as a tenant.
Income and employment information, if the landlord needs it to confirm your ability to pay rent.
In addition, the landlord may want to see a copy of your credit report. They’re allowed to ask for this, but it must be for a reasonable purpose.
Importantly, the landlord cannot ask you for your banking details before your application is accepted. Similarly, you aren’t required to provide your age or submit to a criminal record check, unless it’s for a reasonable purpose. For example, a landlord may request your age if the unit is in a building reserved for people over age 55.
For the full details, check out our in-depth guidance on background checks.
If you face barriers to providing requested information
Sometimes, the information a landlord asks for can unfairly exclude certain people from applying. For example, many landlords ask for credit reports or references from previous landlords. This can be a barrier for newcomers to BC, or those facing housing instability or family violence. You have the right to suggest other ways to prove you’d be a reliable tenant. For example, a character reference from a community leader, or proof of a steady income.
A deposit is money you put up at or before the beginning of a tenancy to lock it down. Paying a deposit can act as proof that you’ve entered into a tenancy. At the end of the tenancy, a landlord may claim against the deposit to cover the cost of any loss or damage to the unit. Deposits are a common cause of misunderstandings between landlords and tenants, so it’s important to know your rights.
Your landlord can ask for a security deposit
Under the law, the landlord can ask you to pay a security deposit at the beginning of your tenancy. The deposit amount can’t be more than half of one month’s rent. The landlord can’t require another deposit if the rent goes up during the tenancy.
You have to pay the security deposit within 30 days of moving in. If you don’t, the landlord can give you a one-month notice to end tenancy. You should always get a receipt for the security deposit. A landlord has to give a receipt if you pay with cash.
Your landlord can ask for a pet deposit
Under the law, if a rental unit is pet-friendly the landlord can require a pet damage deposit of a half-month’s rent or less. (This is on top of the regular security deposit.) The landlord can only collect one pet damage deposit, no matter how many pets you have.
The landlord can ask for a pet damage deposit at the beginning of the tenancy or when you get a pet during the tenancy. They can’t charge you a fee beyond the deposit, such as a monthly pet fee.
If you use a guide or service dog
Under BC’s residential tenancy law, guide and service dogs aren’t considered pets. If you rely on the assistance of a certified guide or service dog, your landlord isn’t allowed to ask you for a pet damage deposit. Further, if a landlord refuses to rent to you because you have a disability and rely on a service or guide dog, this could be discrimination. See our guidance on discrimination in housing.
At the end of your tenancy
When your tenancy ends, there are a few steps to get your security and pet damage deposits back. First, you provide the landlord with a forwarding address (in writing) where you’d like the deposits to be sent. You have one year from when your tenancy ends to do this. The Tenant Resource & Advisory Centre has a template letter you can use.
Your landlord has 15 days from when your tenancy ends or they get your forwarding address — whichever is later — to return your deposits. They must pay interest on your deposits when returning them to you, at the rate the BC government sets each year. (The rate has often been 0%, but not always. The BC government has a tool that can calculate the interest owing on a deposit.)
Your landlord cannot simply decide to keep your deposits. If they want to keep some or all of your deposits (for example, if they think you caused damage to the unit beyond reasonable wear and tear) they need to get your written permission or apply for dispute resolution.
If the landlord hasn’t returned all of your deposits, or gotten your written permission or applied for dispute resolution to keep them within the 15 days, you can apply for double the amount of your deposit.
Common questions
A landlord can charge a non-refundable fee of up to $25 for late payment of rent, but only if this term has been written into your tenancy agreement.
They can charge a non-refundable fee for things like additional keys, access devices and garage door openers, and to replace these items. They can also charge a non-refundable fee for certain other things, such as a service charge from a financial institution if a rent cheque bounces.
In all cases, the fees can’t be more than the actual cost. The Tenant Resource & Advisory Centre has more on fees.
It depends. If roommates are both on the tenancy agreement with the landlord, they’re both covered by the Residential Tenancy Act. But if a tenant gets a roommate who doesn’t have a tenancy agreement with the landlord, the roommate is not covered by the Act. That's because there is no contract between them and the landlord. The roommate in this situation is known under the law as an occupant.
In these situations, disputes between roommates aren’t handled by the Residential Tenancy Branch. Instead, the parties would have to go to the Civil Resolution Tribunal (for disputes up to $5,000) or small claims court (for disputes from $5,000 to $35,000).
Make a roommate agreement
The Tenant Resource & Advisory Centre has a roommate agreement template. It's meant to help prospective roommates think about what rules they want to agree to before moving into a rental unit together.
Yes. BC law says that at the start and end of a tenancy, the landlord and tenant must do a condition inspection (also called a “walk through”). This is an opportunity to document any damage or other concerns with the property.
The Residential Tenancy Branch has a standard form you can use. If your landlord uses a custom form, it must include the standard information.
What you write in the inspection reports is important. It can be used as proof if there’s a dispute about who should pay for repairs to the rental unit. It’s also used to decide if your landlord is entitled to keep some or all of your security deposit or pet damage deposit when you move out.
If you don’t participate in a condition inspection, you may lose your right to have your deposits returned. Similarly, if your landlord doesn’t take part they may lose their claim against your deposits.
For more, see the provincial government’s guidance on move-in and move-out condition inspections.
