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Residential Tenancy Act BC: What a First-Time Landlord Needs to Know

Buy a condo, townhome or suite to rent in Surrey, Langley or the Fraser Valley and the Residential Tenancy Act decides most of what you can and cannot do. These are the rules that cost new landlords money, with the current figures from the Province.

By Shawn Kandola, PREC · Published November 5, 2026 · 9 min read

Does the Act cover your condo or suite?

If you rent a home to a tenant in BC, the Residential Tenancy Act almost certainly applies. That includes a strata condo, a townhome and a self-contained suite in a house. The main exception a small investor meets is a room where the tenant shares a kitchen or bathroom with you, the owner: section 4 of the Act excludes that arrangement.

Owning in a strata adds a second law. Since November 24, 2022 no BC strata can restrict long-term rentals, though it can still ban or limit short-term rentals. Before you rent the unit, give the tenant the current bylaws and rules plus a Form K, Notice of Tenant's Responsibilities, and file the signed Form K with the strata within 2 weeks (Strata Property Act, section 146). Skip it and the tenant can end the tenancy without penalty within 90 days of finding out.

If you buy a unit that already has a tenant, the tenancy does not end at the sale. You become the landlord on the same terms, at the same rent.

Use the standard tenancy agreement

Every tenancy needs a written agreement signed and dated by both sides, and it must contain the standard terms set by the Act. The Province's Residential Tenancy Agreement, Form RTB-1, already includes all of them, which is why most small landlords use it. You must give the tenant a copy within 21 days of signing.

You can add terms, but any term that breaks the Act, or is unconscionable, cannot be enforced. A clause allowing entry without notice fails, for example: you must give at least 24 hours' written notice and enter between 8 a.m. and 9 p.m. unless the tenant agrees otherwise.

A fixed term lease does not end your tenancy at the end date. It rolls into a month-to-month tenancy unless the agreement has a vacate clause, and a vacate clause is only allowed for a sublet or where you or a close family member will move in. If you use a vacate clause and do not move in, you can owe the tenant 12 months' rent.

Do a written condition inspection with the tenant at move-in and again at move-out. A landlord who skips those inspections loses the right to claim against the deposit for damage.

Deposits and fees: half a month, and a 15 day clock

A security deposit can be no more than half of the first month's rent. A pet damage deposit can be another half month, however many pets you allow, so the most you can hold is 1 full month's rent. The tenant has 30 days from signing to pay the security deposit, and the interest rate on deposits is 0% for 2026.

When the tenancy ends, the clock starts on the later of the move-out date and the day you receive the tenant's forwarding address in writing. Within 15 days you must return the deposits, get the tenant's written agreement to any deductions, or apply to the Branch to keep some or all of the money. Miss that window and you must pay the tenant double the deposit.

Rent increases and rent control in BC

BC limits rent increases during a tenancy. The cap equals the 12 month average change in BC's Consumer Price Index to July of the year before. The Province set it at 2.3% for 2026 and announced 2.2% for 2027 on August 27, 2026.

You can raise rent once every 12 months, counted from when the rent was set at the start of the tenancy or from the last legal increase. You must give 3 full months' notice on the Notice of Rent Increase, Form RTB-7, showing the dollar amount and the effective date. You cannot round up, and an increase you skipped this year does not carry into next year. A tenant can agree in writing to more than the cap, but does not have to. At the start of a new tenancy, the rent is whatever you and the new tenant agree.

On a $2,200 rent, the 2027 cap allows $48.40 a month more. If you are buying a tenanted unit, the current rent and its last increase date matter as much as the price; the cash flow worked example shows how much a lower rent changes the result.

Notice to end a tenancy, reason by reason

A tenant on a month-to-month tenancy can leave by giving you at least 1 month's written notice, effective the day before rent is due. Your side is stricter: the notice period and form depend on the reason, and the tenant can dispute the notice at the Branch.

Landlord's use: what changed in 2024 and 2025

Ending a tenancy so you, or a parent, spouse or child (or your spouse's parent or child), can live in the unit is the rule that changed most. On April 3, 2024 the required occupation period rose from 6 to 12 months. From July 18, 2024 landlords must generate this notice through the Residential Tenancy Branch's landlord use web portal, and an old paper form is invalid. The notice period went to 4 months that day, then back to 3 months with a 21 day dispute window for notices received on or after June 18, 2025.

You owe the tenant 1 month's rent as compensation, paid on or before the effective date, or the tenant can simply skip the last month's rent. If you or your family do not occupy the unit for at least 12 months starting within a reasonable time, you can be ordered to pay 12 months' rent unless there were extenuating circumstances. The notice also cannot take effect before the end of a fixed term.

Buying a condo with a tenant in it

If you want to live in a tenanted unit you are buying, the process runs through the seller. Once all conditions of the sale are satisfied, you ask the seller in writing to end the tenancy, and the seller serves a portal-generated 3 month notice on Form RTB-32P. Serving that notice cannot be made a condition of the sale. Plan your completion and possession dates around the 3 months, and check whether a fixed term runs longer.

If you plan to keep the tenant, ask for the tenancy agreement, the rent history and the deposit amounts before you remove subjects, and read the strata's bylaws and finances too; this guide to Form B and the depreciation report covers what to look for. When I write an offer on a tenanted condo, the tenancy paperwork is the first request, because the rent you inherit sets your return. If the unit will sit empty between tenants, check the speculation and vacancy tax rules first.

When it goes wrong: the Residential Tenancy Branch

The Residential Tenancy Branch (RTB) hears landlord and tenant disputes instead of the courts. You can apply online with a Basic BCeID or on paper at a Service BC office. The filing fee is $100. Monetary claims are limited to $35,000; a tenant's claim for 12 months' rent compensation can go higher.

For an unpaid rent notice the tenant did not dispute, the direct request process gives you an order without a hearing. A tenant has to keep paying rent while a dispute is open. If you win, you enforce the order yourself: monetary orders through Small Claims, orders of possession through the BC Supreme Court. Monetary orders issued since July 31, 2025, such as unpaid rent awards, are published in a public searchable database.

This guide is general information, not legal advice. For a live dispute, contact the Branch or a lawyer. If you are still choosing what to buy, compare a condo, townhouse or duplex as a first rental, then browse condos and townhomes for sale in Langley.

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