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Difference between revisions of "The Residential Tenancy Act (19:I)"
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The Residential Tenancy Act (19:I) (view source)
Revision as of 00:23, 30 June 2016
, 00:23, 30 June 2016→B. Excluded Premises and Agreements
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*the provision of meals; | *the provision of meals; | ||
*laundering and cleaning services provided by the facility; | *laundering and cleaning services provided by the facility; | ||
*no locks on the doors; | |||
*no security deposit; | |||
*lack of exclusive possession; or | |||
*the facility is part of a special program and the housing is temporary in nature. | |||
The determination of whether there is a tenancy depends on the circumstances of each case and can only be made by a RTB Arbitrator at a dispute resolution hearing. | |||
Licensees’ rights and obligations are governed by common law. A licensee can be asked to leave (i.e. be evicted) without specific reason, but the licensor must give reasonable notice (written or verbal). This can be as short as a few days. Over two weeks or a month is almost always reasonable. | |||
A person who has had his or her personal property seized should consider taking the position that he or she is a tenant and apply to the Residential Tenancy Branch for dispute resolution seeking an order for return of personal property. If the Arbitrator finds that the RTA does not apply then the application will be dismissed. Seizing a licensee’s personal property is not lawful unless the licensor already has a court order. A licensee not covered by the RTA may have a remedy under the common law, the ''Hotel Keeper Act'', RSBC 1996, c 206, the ''Commercial Tenancy Act'', RSBC 1996, c 57 (under which “tenant” is defined as including “occupant”), or the bylaws authorized by these statutes. | |||
If the licensee has been locked out or has had goods seized without notice, he or she could ask a police officer for assistance or sue in Small Claims Court for an order for the return of goods and/or monetary compensation. The ''Hotel Keeper Act'' provides that a hotel keeper has the right to distrain (i.e. the right to seize belongings without first getting a court order) the occupant’s belongings for non-payment of rent. See also local health, safety, fire, and lodging house bylaws, which may give some protection to hotel keepers. | |||
=== 2. Non-Profit Housing Cooperatives === | |||
Residential premises where a non-profit housing cooperative is the “landlord” and a member is the “tenant” are excluded from the application of the RTA; instead, the co-op relationship is governed by the ''Cooperative Association Act'', SBC 1999, c 28 (see RTA, s 4(a), and ''Burquitlam Cooperative Housing Assoc. v Romund'' (1976), 1 BCLR 229 (Co Ct)). Where the person paying rent is not a member of the cooperative, and the cooperative or a cooperative member is the landlord, those rental units may be subject to the RTA if the arrangement appears to fit the definition of a tenancy, as opposed to a license. | |||
More information can be found at the [http://www.chf.bc.ca website of the Co-operative Housing Federation of BC]. | |||
=== 3. Strata Lots === | |||
A tenant in possession of a strata title lot (i.e. a condominium), whose landlord is the owner of the title and a member of the strata, is subject to both the RTA and the ''Strata Property Act''. This is a frequent source of problems for tenants. See RTB Policy Guideline 21: Repair Orders Respecting Strata Properties. | |||
=== 4. Twenty-Year Term === | |||