'Problematic' renters are abusing B.C.'s tenancy laws, landlord petition claims

A group calling itself the Landlord Rights Association of B.C. has launched an online petition asking the province to make sweeping changes to tenancy laws, saying the current system is unfair and is being abused by "problematic" renters.

A group calling itself the Landlord Rights Association of B.C. has launched an online petition asking the province to make sweeping changes to tenancy laws, saying the current system is unfair and is being abused by "problematic" renters.

The petition lists 10 demands including reintroducing fixed-term leases, increasing the amount of allowable rent increases, quadrupling damage deposits and speeding up the process for dispute resolution through the Residential Tenancy Branch.

"We strongly believe and it is evident from various cases that current tenancy laws are being abused by far too many problematic tenants for their own advantage," the petition reads.

"These problematic tenants take advantage of outdated laws and create a chilling effect that discourages potential and existing landlords from renting out viable space and thereby depriving a vast number of renters of potential rental opportunities. In our view, tenancy law reform equals greater access to affordable housing for tenants."

A fixed-term lease is one that expires at a specific time, requiring a renter to sign a new rental agreement while also giving the landlord the option of ending the tenancy. In 2017, the petition notes, the Residential Tenancy Act was changed so that a renter can no longer be told to vacate the unit at the end of the lease.

This, according to the petition, is depriving landlords of a useful tool with which to end "problem tenancies." Walking back the 2017 change would "raise no concerns for tenants who abide by the law," the petition adds.

The Ministry of Housing, in a statement to CTV News, says the legislation was changed in order to close a loophole wherein landlords were able to use the end of a fixed-term lease in order to impose "massive rent hikes." In these cases, the signing of a new lease would allow landlords to raise rates far beyond the allowable annual rent increase, the ministry said. Currently, fixed-term tenancies revert to month-to-month contracts at the end of the lease, preserving the existing agreement, binding the landlord to the maximum annual increases and requiring them to pursue a formal eviction if they want a tenant to leave.