Landlord rights

Mei is a landlord. She rents out her parents’ old house.

One day, Mei does a routine inspection of the house. It is very dirty. There is a hole in the wall. The cabinets are broken. There is water leaking on the floor. Her tenant has a cat. The lease says “no pets allowed.”

Mei is upset. The tenants do not respect her property or her rules.

Can Mei evict her tenants?

Mei checks the Residential Tenancies Solution Explorer for landlords. She enters information about her property and her tenants.

She reads the resources on the website.

The Residential Tenancy Act says she can evict a tenant who damages her house.

She can also evict a tenant who does not follow her rules.

What can Mei do?

The BC Tenancy Act says Mei must:

  • tell her tenants about the problem
  • give her tenants some time to fix the problem

She can give her tenants one month to find a new place to live if they do not respect her rules.

She can ask for help from the Residential Tenancy Branch if her tenants won’t leave.

Submitted by Felisha Chuter  • Photo: Shutterstock/Christian Delbert