Confirming tenant rights on ending a RTA for landlord occupancy
I’m sorry to contribute to the onslaught of this kind of post, but I often have a hard time navigating this kind of thing and I want to be sure I’m understanding the best I can before responding to my landlord.
I’ve lived in this place (not in Vancouver) for 5 years. The last lease agreement I signed was a fixed term until April 30, 2026. My landlord selected 2.E (the tenant must vacate at end of lease) and wrote in the reason box “end of lease unless they wish to stay”. They have done this on all of our lease agreements over the 5 years, but this is the first time we have carried our agreement into month-to-month.
In March, my roommate reached out to our landlords expressing his wish to move out. Lucky for me, he understood that as a student, finding a place and moving while writing exams in April would be really difficult for me. He said he was willing to remain until the end of May in order to help me out. No mutual agreement was signed.
In my landlord’s reply, they stated that May wouldn’t be a problem and that they could extend through June (for just me) if needed.
In April, I had a phone call with one of my landlords, to discuss what I would like to do. When she asked, I told her I love living her and if it were possible to stay, I wondered if there was room to negotiate rent for a single person. Her response was a long-winded and vague rant about how she can’t stand to live as she is anymore. Ultimately, I came to learn that since she left her husband four years ago (when we moved in they were living together upstairs) she has been bouncing around and most recently has been living in an RV she owns at a nearby mobile home resort. She told me more than I care to know about her desire to move back into the house (with her mom, in which case they would occupy the upstairs, and her to-be-ex husband might wish to move into the downstairs suite I occupy), that her ex doesn’t know, and she would probably have to get an attorney involved to fight him on it.
All of this was news to me and I took it as an “I need you out ASAP”. I told her I would do my best to find something by the end of May, and asked if I could use her as a reference. Again, there was nothing in writing and no mutual agreement signed. I didn’t say I was leaving, just that I was looking.
As soon as my exams ended in mid April, finding a new place became a priority but it has been extremely difficult. I’m going from a two-income shared space to having to find something alone. I’m in my 30s with no savings or additional means, I’m disabled without financial support, work part-time through school, and I have a cat. My parents have offered to supplement my rental costs so that I can afford a reasonable market value rental, but together we cannot afford anything top dollar. I have sent about two dozen inquiries over the last month with almost no replies. Everything else is geographically prohibitive, too expensive, a tiny shoebox studio, or won’t allow pets. The few I’ve heard from already had a list of applicants pending. Several times a day, I scroll through FB Marketplace and Castanet listings, and I’ve joined several Okanagan housing groups. I’m trying to be the first person to respond now.
On Friday, my landlord messaged me for an update, informing me that she has already found a tenant for her trailer as of June 1st, suggesting that I have to be out by then so she can move in. I told her I still hadn’t found something and that it is still my priority.
Today, she has messaged again, saying she is anxious and does not “have the capacity to extend the date past the end of May”. She “has other commitments” and is unwilling to change them (whatever that means).
This is the only place I’ve rented in BC. I came from Alberta where tenant rights are practically non-existent. After googling and reading about my rights in BC, I think I’ve come to understand that what my landlord is trying to do is play loose and fast, hoping for the best so she does not have to go through official routes.
Can someone confirm for me that none of this has so far been a legal way to end a BC RTA?
If I’m understanding correctly, either we all need to be signing a RTB mutual agreement form based on agreed terms, or my landlord should have issued a RTB eviction notice. And, in either case, I (and my roommate, but he’s happy and easy going) should have been given some months of notice. Since it is my landlord wishing to occupy my space, it looks as if we should have been given 3 or 4 months of notice and offered one month of rent in compensation (or given one month of free rent) along with said eviction notice.
I’ve loved living here and they have repeatedly called us their most favourite tenants. I had no intention to sour our relationship. My roommate and I are exes, he’s moving in with his new partner, and I am worried about carrying the cost alone but looking forward to moving on as well. I do not wish to make this difficult for anyone, and I am doing everything I reasonably can to accommodate my landlord’s wishes. The text message I received today, however, felt threatening, and it’s putting me in a difficult position. I’m putting off finding summer work so that I can pack, and if I can still find a place to move for June 1st, I will be as prepared as possible to do so. But the listings I’m seeing now are starting to appear for July 1st, and I’m worried that I might not be able to schedule movers to help me (my parents offered some cash for this since they’re in Alberta and I’m alone out here) since at this point, it’s getting down to the wire on scheduling notice.
I’d like to respond to my landlord’s email from March (where she offered May AND June), telling her that it’s not likely I will meet her expectations of being out (and having carpets cleaned as per our lease agreement) by June 1st. I’d like to attach both the RTB mutual agreement form and eviction form, and ask by which they would like to proceed. If they are firm on the June 1st date then obviously no mutual agreement will be met, and they will be forced to evict me, give me several months notice, and likely have to compensate one month of rent. Obviously I have no intention of running out those months of notice and will move as soon as I can find something. I just don’t appreciate how this seems to be playing out to make me the bad guy…
Can anyone confirm that this is the best way to proceed?