B.C. government to launch online portal to combat 'bad faith' evictions

The B.C. government says a new online portal launching this month will combat bad-faith evictions made by landlords who falsely claim to be putting a property to "personal use," only to increase rent on the unit.

The Ministry of Housing says the Landlord Use Web Portal will go live on July 18, and will require landlords to generate eviction notices under the Residential Tenancy Act's provision allowing tenants to be evicted from a unit if a family member or caretaker intends to move in.

Housing Minister Ravi Kahlon says the website will allow the government to gauge how often evictions occur under the personal-use provisions, which some landlords use under "false pretenses."

The ministry says the portal will generate eviction notices for personal occupancy or caretaker use, and require landlords to provide information about the people taking over a unit.

On the day the website goes live, the province says the amount of time tenants will have to dispute evictions increases from 15 days to 30, while landlords will have to provide four months' notice to tenants before a personal-use eviction, up from the previous two months.

The ministry says the new portal will allow the Residential Tenancy Branch to conduct "post-eviction compliance audits" and track the frequency of personal-use evictions.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 3, 2024.

The Canadian Press