Who would have thought eight months ago that we would still be dealing with a pandemic, but here we are. Some rules have changed, other measures have been extended making it challenging to stay on top of the current rules and regulations. The following is some of the ongoing changes you should be aware of as a tenant or landlord.
- Rent increases – The original rent freeze put in place by the Province was from March 18, 2020 until December 1, 2020. However, the Province has extended its freeze on rent increases now until July 10, 2021. Any renters who have received increase notices should disregard them until the rent freeze is over. The allowable rent increase for 2021 is 1.4%.
- Amenities – Many folks are wondering what about the use of the pool or gym in my building during this pandemic. Landlords may restrict access to non-essential facilities during the health crisis to ensure compliance with Provincial Health directives. This could include such things as in building yoga studios, pools and community rooms. Limitations may also be put in place on elevators ( limit of 2 people for example) or laundry facilities. Every effort must be made by the landlord to ensure these restrictions are “reasonable”.
- Evictions – Rent and utility payments that were payable during the period March 18 to August 17, 2020 is known as “affected rent.” Landlords are now able to be serve a one month notice for “cause.” However, the cause cannot be related to the affected rent.
- Rent repayment – to give tenants a reasonable amount of time to pay back affected rent the Province has introduced a repayment framework. A landlord is required to give tenants a written repayment plan with unpaid rent and utilities to be paid back in equal payments starting on the date the repayment plan is given to the tenant and ending on July 10, 2021. Payments must be made at the same time the rent is due, with the first installment coming due no sooner than 30 days after the repayment plan is received by the tenant. Check out the Residential Tenancy Branch website for full details or see the link on our FAQ page.
Until the current health crisis is over the best advise we can give to both landlords and tenants is “be reasonable.” Many folks have lost their jobs or are working reduced hours and finding it hard to make ends meet. On the same note, landlords generally do not have unlimited resources or can afford to go without rent for an extended period. Many rely on regular rental payments to pay their mortgages or maintenance costs. Talk to each other, know the rules and find out about all the resources available to you. If you wanted to discuss this or any other property management related topic, feel free to call us. We are here to help.