Difference between revisions of "Residential Tenancy Act"

From Clicklaw Wikibooks
Jump to navigation Jump to search
 
(One intermediate revision by one other user not shown)
Line 1: Line 1:
The ''[http://canlii.ca/t/84lm Residential Tenancy Act]'', SBC 2012, c 78 is a British Columbia law that sets out the rights and responsibilities of tenants and landlords. You can find the Act, along with other provincial laws, at the website of the British Columbia [http://www.bclaws.ca/EPLibraries/bclaws_new/document/ID/freeside/00_02078_01 Queen's Printer] or on [http://canlii.ca/t/84lm CanLII], a free website that lets you search Canadian laws and court decisions.  
If you pay rent for your home, you are most likely protected by the ''[http://www.bclaws.ca/EPLibraries/bclaws_new/document/ID/freeside/00_02078_01 Residential Tenancy Act (RTA)]'' – the law that outlines tenants’ and landlords’ rights and responsibilities. In addition, the ''[http://www.bclaws.ca/EPLibraries/bclaws_new/document/ID/freeside/10_477_2003 Residential Tenancy Regulation (RTR)]'' is a supplementary piece of law that goes into greater detail on certain residential tenancy topics. Both the ''RTA'' and ''RTR'' are provincial laws that applies only to British Columbia.


The [http://canlii.ca/t/85rs Residential Tenancy Regulation], BC Reg 477/2003 is a law under the Act that goes into additional detail.
When renting a home in BC, you want to be covered by these important laws. If the ''RTA'' and ''RTR'' do not apply to your living situation, you will still have certain rights under common law, but they will be less clear and harder to enforce. The Tenant Resource & Advisory Centre (TRAC) and Residential Tenancy Branch (RTB) can only provide legal assistance to tenants and landlords protected by the ''RTA'' and ''RTR''.


The ''Residential Tenancy Act'' applies to:
To see if these laws apply to your living situation, see [[Preparing to Rent#Are you covered by the law?|Are you covered by the law?]].
* tenancy agreements,
*rental units, and
*residential properties.
 
The ''Residential Tenancy Act'' does not apply to:
*people living in accommodations owned or operated by educational institutions if the institution provides the accommodation to its students or employees,
*if you live in a housing co-op and are a member of the co-op,
*commercial tenancies,
*vacation or travel accommodation,
*people in jail,
*accommodation where the tenant shares bathroom or kitchen facilities with the accommodation's owner,
*living accommodation rented under an agreement with a term of 20 years or more, or
*people living in care facilities that fall under the ''Community Care Facility Act'', the ''Continuing Care Act'', the ''Hospital Act'', or the ''Mental Health Act''.
 
[[Tenant Survival Guide]] and [[Tenant Resource & Advisory Centre]] provide extensive coverage of and support for tenancy law issues.

Latest revision as of 21:19, 19 December 2018

If you pay rent for your home, you are most likely protected by the Residential Tenancy Act (RTA) – the law that outlines tenants’ and landlords’ rights and responsibilities. In addition, the Residential Tenancy Regulation (RTR) is a supplementary piece of law that goes into greater detail on certain residential tenancy topics. Both the RTA and RTR are provincial laws that applies only to British Columbia.

When renting a home in BC, you want to be covered by these important laws. If the RTA and RTR do not apply to your living situation, you will still have certain rights under common law, but they will be less clear and harder to enforce. The Tenant Resource & Advisory Centre (TRAC) and Residential Tenancy Branch (RTB) can only provide legal assistance to tenants and landlords protected by the RTA and RTR.

To see if these laws apply to your living situation, see Are you covered by the law?.

(1) The legal principle under which courts are bound to follow the principles established by previous courts in similar cases dealing with similar facts, or (2) the system of justice used in non-criminal cases in all provinces and territories except Quebec.

Retrieved from "https://stagewiki.clicklaw.bc.ca/index.php?title=Residential_Tenancy_Act&oldid=40886"