BC, as of January 1, 2004, has a newly revised Tenancy Act.
And while I’m no expert on the tenancy act, it seems like this act is geared to make landlords happy, with no real regard for tenants.
First and foremost, Landlords can now raise rent by 4.6 % per year, no questions asked, no applications required.
Previously, my understanding was that if a landlord wanted to raise the rent of an existing tenant, s/he had to prove significant improvements to the suite, or put in an application to the housing board.
Now, however, even the least cared-for, shittiest of shitholes can have an annual increase of nearly 5% (it’s actually tied to the consumer price index + 2%, I believe).
Second, when moving out, there’s a new walkthrough evaluation form.
And new, the onus is on the tenant to have the landlord do the review and sign off.
If the tenant does not do this they automatically forfeit their damage deposit (coversely, if a landlord doesn’t do a walkthrough at the beginning, they forfeit the right to claim damage upon leaving).
On the good side, there is now a standardised half-month’s rent pet damage deposit, which will hopefully encourage more landlords to allow rentals to have pets.
There’s probably other interesting changes, but I only know of what I heard on the radio, and what I read in this fairly positive look at the new act (not surprising given which news organization it comes from).
There’s more info in this fact sheet provided by the government.