British Columbia Is Hot And Cold On Notice Periods

As discussed in our previous blog post, on July 18, 2024, British Columbia made changes to the Residential Tenancy Regulation ("RTR"). Under these new changes, landlords and homebuyers are required to give four months' notice, rather than two months, when evicting for personal or caretaker use. In addition, the amount of time a tenant has to dispute such a Notice to End Tenancy ("NTE") has increased from 15 days to 30 days. These changes, however, are short-lived.

Effective August 21, 2024, British Columbia will amend the RTR to allow a three-month notice, rather than four months, for scenarios when a landlord issues a NTE on behalf of a purchaser following an acquisition. In addition, the dispute period will now be 21 days, not 30 days, following the ownership change.