Looking Up My Landlord
The Basics
Section 13 of the Residential Tenancy Act requires landlords to include their legal name and an address for service as part of any tenancy agreement. You will need this information in order to serve your landlord with certain documents, such as a notice to end tenancy or a forwarding address for the return of a deposit. Furthermore, if a dispute arises and you need to access the Residential Tenancy Branch’s dispute resolution system, you will have to list your landlord’s legal name on the application and serve them with written notice of the hearing.
If you know your landlord’s email address, or have an alternative method of communication, you can send them a written request for their contact information. See TRAC’s template letter, Landlord’s Legal Name and Address. If your landlord refuses or ignores your request, you can complete a land title search of your rental property through the The Land Title and Survey Authority (LTSA) of British Columbia. This will allow you to obtain the registered owner’s legal name and address for service.
Completing a Land Title Search
You can follow these steps to complete a land title search of a rental property:
- Get the property’s nine-digit property identification (PID) number through the BC Assessment website. Start typing the civic address of your rental property in the search bar, and select it from the drop down list that appears. Once you have found the webpage for your property, you should see a section titled, “Legal description and parcel ID”.
- Use the PID number to request a land title certificate by:
- creating an online account through MyLTSA and paying the corresponding fee; or
- mailing a State of Title Certificate Request and corresponding fee to the LTSA Land Title Office, Anvil Office Tower, Suite 500 – 11 Eighth Street, New Westminster, BC, V3M 3N7.
For more information, visit the LTSA website.