Amare and Stephanie rent an apartment. The rent is affordable. They are happy.
One day, their landlord visits. He tells them he will raise their rent by $200 per month.
Amare and Stephanie are worried. They check their bank accounts. They look at their bills. They cannot afford the rent increase.
The landlord says that if they cannot pay, he will ask them to leave.
Can the landlord raise the rent?
Amare and Stephanie look at the Tenant Resource and Advisory Centre website. It has a lot of information about BC’s tenancy rules.
The rules say a landlord can only raise the rent:
- every 12 months
- by a percentage equal to inflation
- if they give 3 months’ notice
The landlord cannot ask Stephanie and Amare to leave if they can’t pay the new rent. He did not follow BC’s tenancy rules.
What if the landlord disagrees?
Amare and Stephanie can ask for help from the Residential Tenancy Branch. It can tell them how to resolve the problem.
Submitted by Felisha Chuter • Photo: Shutterstock/Damir Khabirov