Legal information to Tenants and Landlords
•What is TRAC? And how do you help people?
TRAC Tenant Resource & Advisory Centre is a non-profit organization that provides free legal information to tenants and landlords. Thanks to funding from the Province of British Columbia and Government of Canada, TRAC has been working on a project to educate BC newcomers on landlord-tenant laws and processes. The laws here differ from other countries and provinces in Canada, and it’s important to understand your basic rights and responsibilities as a tenant or landlord. If you or someone you know is new to Canada TRAC offers multilingual legal resources in 20 languages, including English, French, Arabic, Kinyarwanda, Kirundi, Korean, Oromo, Swahili and Tigrinya.
•What are the most common problems TRAC hears about?
The most common issues TRAC hears about include: landlords refusing to make repairs; landlords withholding security deposits; tenants being evicted for not paying their rent on time; and tenants having bed bugs or mold.
•What can I do if my landlord is refusing to repair something? Can I stop paying my rent?
No, you are not legally allowed to stop paying your rent. If you do, you could receive an eviction notice. Instead, write a letter to your landlord describing what needs to be fixed and when you want it fixed by. At the end, mention that if the repair isn’t made in a reasonable amount of time, you will have to take legal action through the Residential Tenancy Branch (the government branch in charge of tenant-landlord disputes). Make sure you date it, sign it, and keep a copy for yourself. See page 32 of TRAC’s Tenant Survival Guide for a sample demand letter www.tenants.bc.ca/main/?tenantsurvivalguide.
If your landlord doesn’t make the repair, consider sending another letter or applying to the Residential Tenancy Branch for dispute resolution. The Branch can order your landlord to fix the problem and possibly reduce your rent until it’s done. You can find more information on dispute resolution at www.rto.gov.bc.ca.
• What can I do if my landlord is refusing to return my security deposit?
First, you need to provide your landlord with a forwarding address stating where you want your deposit sent to. This must be in writing. Once you’ve done this and moved out, your landlord has 15 days to return your deposit. If your landlord doesn’t think you should get your money back, they can apply to the Residential Tenancy Branch to keep it. If they haven’t returned it or applied to the Residential Tenancy Branch after 15 days, you can file your own application for dispute resolution for double the deposit.
• I was one day late with my rent and now my landlord is trying to evict me! Is this legal?
Yes, your landlord can give you a 10 day Notice to End Tenancy for being one day late with rent. If you receive this notice, you have five days to pay your rent in full. If you pay up, then the notice will be cancelled. If you don’t pay up, then you are expected to move out by the tenth day. Don’t think you can pay late every month! If you are late with rent too often, you can be evicted for continuously paying your rent late.
• I know someone who is new to Canada and renting their home. What kind of information can TRAC give them?
TRAC offers multilingual legal publications and videos in 20 languages. Go to TRAC’s website www.tenants.bc.ca and look on the left side of the screen for your language. We offer comprehensive resources such as our Tenant Survival Guide, Landlord Guide, and Tenant and Landlord Guide for Newcomers to BC. We also have fact sheets, pamphlets, and short videos, and recently started using Facebook and Twitter
•I looked on your website www.tenants.bc.ca and can’t find an answer to my question. What do I do now?
The Residential Tenancy Branch has Information Officers to answer questions over the phone (604-660-1020 or 1-800-665-8779). If you speak with an Information Officer, write down the name of the person, what they said, and the date/time you spoke with them. You can also go to the Residential Tenancy Branch website www.rto.gov.bc.ca to access various resources, including the forms needed to apply for dispute resolution.
