Rent Repayment Plans and Other Residential Tenancy Updates

With an announcement on July 20, the BC Government is giving landlords and tenants information to help them plan for the near future. The ban on residential evictions for non-payment of rent will be lifted before September 1, which means full rent will be due in September.

Repayment plans

The government has published a repayment framework for residential tenants who have fallen behind in their rent. Here are some highlights of that framework:

• landlords are required to enter into repayment plans with tenants for unpaid rent and/or utilities,
• the first installment will be due 30 days from when the landlord presents the repayment plan – probably October 1 for most tenants if landlords deliver repayment plans by August 31,
• tenants who have fallen behind in their rent will have until July 2021 to pay it back, as long as they make monthly installments (landlords can’t charge late fees),
• late payments during the emergency period aren’t considered cause for eviction and a tenant can’t be evicted for unpaid rent during the emergency unless they have defaulted on their repayment plan, and
• landlords and tenants can still negotiate additional terms, as needed.

Other residential tenancy news

The July 20 news release includes these additional important announcements:
• no rent increases can take effect until December 1, 2020, and
• landlords still have the ability to restrict access to common spaces for COVID-19-related health reasons.

More information about COVID-19 and tenancies is available here.

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