BC Rental Agreement: Required Terms, Deposits, and Inspections

A BC rental agreement is the tenancy contract between a landlord and tenant in British Columbia, and for any tenancy that started on or after January 1, 2004, the landlord is required by law to put it in writing. Oral and implied agreements are still legally binding under the Residential Tenancy Act, but they are much harder to enforce when something goes wrong.¹ The province publishes a standard form (RTB-1) that covers everything the Act requires, but a landlord can use their own contract as long as it meets the same minimum standards.²

What the Agreement Must Include

Section 13 of the Residential Tenancy Act lists the information every written tenancy agreement has to contain:

The full legal names of the landlord (or their agent) and the tenant.
The exact address of the rental unit.
An address for service and a phone number where the landlord or agent can receive legal notices.
The date the tenancy begins.
Whether the tenancy is periodic (week-to-week, month-to-month) or fixed-term, and for a fixed term, the end date.
For a fixed term, whether the tenant must move out when the term ends.
The rent amount, the day it is due, and which services or facilities are included.
The dollar amounts and payment dates for any security deposit or pet damage deposit.

That vacate clause in a fixed-term lease matters more than most people expect. If the agreement doesn’t require the tenant to leave at the end of the term and the parties don’t sign a new one, the tenancy automatically converts to month-to-month on the same terms.³

Standard Terms That Apply Automatically

Every tenancy agreement in BC includes a set of standard terms pulled from the Residential Tenancy Act and its regulations. They apply even to oral agreements, and neither side can waive or change them.¹

Quiet Enjoyment and Landlord Entry

Tenants have a right to quiet enjoyment, which covers reasonable privacy, freedom from unreasonable disturbance, and exclusive possession of the unit. A landlord who wants to enter must give written notice at least 24 hours in advance and no more than 30 days ahead, and the entry must be for a reasonable purpose such as inspection, repairs, or showings.⁴

Maintenance

Landlords must keep the property in a condition that meets health, safety, and housing standards required by law, taking into account the age, character, and location of the building. Tenants have to maintain reasonable cleanliness and sanitary standards in their unit and any shared areas they use.¹

Guests

Landlords cannot unreasonably restrict guests. Clauses that charge guest fees or cap overnight visitors at a set number of nights per year are treated as unreasonable and unenforceable.⁵

Deposits

A landlord can require a security deposit and, if a pet is allowed, a pet damage deposit. Each is capped at half of the first month’s rent, so the most a landlord can collect between the two is one full month’s rent.⁶ A pet damage deposit can only be charged at the start of the tenancy or when the landlord first agrees to a pet.¹

When the tenancy ends, the landlord has 15 days from either the end of the tenancy or receipt of the tenant’s written forwarding address, whichever is later, to return the deposit with interest, get the tenant’s written agreement to keep part of it, or file for dispute resolution. Miss that window and the landlord loses any right to claim against the deposit and has to pay the tenant double.¹

Condition Inspection Reports

At the start of a tenancy, the landlord and tenant have to inspect the unit together and record its condition. The landlord must offer at least two chances to do the inspection. The same process runs at the end of the tenancy before a new tenant moves in.¹ Both sides sign the report and the landlord must give the tenant a copy: within 7 days for a move-in report, and within 15 days after the later of the inspection or receipt of the forwarding address for a move-out report.⁷

The penalties cut both ways. A landlord who fails to offer the inspection or complete the report loses all rights to claim against the security or pet damage deposit for property damage. A tenant who declines to participate after being offered two opportunities loses the right to have the deposit returned.¹

Rent Increases and Late Fees

Landlords can raise the rent once every 12 months, with at least three months’ written notice on an approved form. For 2026, the maximum allowable increase is 2.3%. Rounding up is not allowed, and unused increases from prior years cannot be carried forward to push past the current cap.⁸

The maximum late fee is $25, and it can only be charged if the tenancy agreement explicitly says so.⁹

Terms That Don’t Hold Up

Section 5 of the Act is direct: neither side can contract out of the Act or its regulations, and any attempt to do so has no effect.¹ A clause that dumps all repair costs on the tenant regardless of fault, or that waives the tenant’s right to dispute resolution, is void from the moment it’s written. The rest of the agreement still stands. Tenants who suffered because a landlord enforced a void clause can seek a remedy from the Residential Tenancy Branch, including a rent rebate.

Common examples of void terms include guest fees, caps on overnight visitors, and deposits that exceed the legal maximum.⁵

Pets, Smoking, and Cannabis

Landlords can restrict or prohibit pets, and they can limit pets by size, kind, or number, but the restriction has to be in the agreement.¹ A landlord who allows a pet after the tenancy starts cannot go back and add a no-pet clause. Service dogs and guide dogs are protected under the Guide Dog and Service Dog Act regardless of what the agreement says.

Smoking and vaping work the same way. If the agreement doesn’t ban smoking, tenants can smoke in their unit and on balconies. A no-smoking clause signed before October 17, 2018, when non-medical cannabis became legal, automatically extends to smoking cannabis but not to vaping cannabis.¹⁰ Landlords can also ban growing cannabis. Agreements that existed before October 17, 2018 are treated as including a no-grow clause unless they explicitly allow it. Tenants federally authorized to grow medical cannabis cannot be restricted, whatever the agreement says.

Ending the Tenancy

A tenant ending a month-to-month tenancy has to give written notice that takes effect on the last day of a rental period, delivered at least one full month before that date. A tenant leaving at the end of July has to hand over notice on or before June 30.¹¹

Landlords face more requirements. They have to use an approved form, state the grounds, and give the correct notice period. To end a tenancy for a landlord’s own use or a close family member’s use, the notice period is three months and the landlord must pay the tenant compensation equal to one month’s rent on or before the notice takes effect.¹² Other grounds have their own notice periods. In every case the notice must be in writing, signed, dated, and include the unit address and the grounds.¹

A tenant who wants to sublet or assign the tenancy needs the landlord’s written permission. If the fixed-term agreement has at least six months remaining, the landlord cannot unreasonably refuse. Non-profit housing where rent is tied to the tenant’s income is the exception, and the landlord can say no.

Signing and Getting Your Copy

Both parties sign and date the agreement. The landlord then has 21 days to give the tenant a copy.¹ Without a copy, a tenant later trying to prove the rent amount or a specific lease term at a hearing is at a real disadvantage. Landlords who persistently fail to comply with the Act face administrative penalties of up to $5,000 per contravention per day for ongoing non-compliance.¹³

If You Can’t Resolve It Between You

Either side can apply to the Residential Tenancy Branch for dispute resolution. The filing fee is $100, and waivers are available for applicants who can’t afford it.¹⁴ Common disputes involve deposit deductions, unauthorized rent increases, maintenance failures, and eviction notices. The Branch functions as an alternative to court, and its orders are legally binding.

1
BC Laws. Residential Tenancy Act
2
Province of British Columbia. Tenancy Agreements
3
Province of British Columbia. Policy Guideline 30 – Fixed Term Tenancies
4
Province of British Columbia. Landlord Access to Rental Units
5
Province of British Columbia. Guests During Tenancy
6
Province of British Columbia. Tenancy Deposits and Fees
7
Province of British Columbia. Condition Inspection Report – Form RTB-27
8
Province of British Columbia. Rent Increases
9
Province of British Columbia. Paying Rent
10
Province of British Columbia. Smoking and Cannabis During a Tenancy
11
Province of British Columbia. End a Tenancy
12
Province of British Columbia. Types of Evictions
13
Province of British Columbia. Residential Tenancy Financial Penalties
14
Province of British Columbia. Dispute Resolution Fees and Fee Waivers