Paying Rent

The Basics

Tenants are required to pay rent on the date it is due – usually the 1st of the month. If you are late by even one day, or short by any amount of money, your landlord has the right to give you a 10 Day Eviction Notice for Non-Payment of Rent. This is the most serious type of eviction notice and must be dealt with immediately if you want to save your housing. Once you have received a 10 Day Notice, you have only five days to cancel the notice by paying the full rent.

This five-day grace period for unpaid rent is an important legal protection for tenants, but it is not something that can be relied on every month. If you repeatedly pay your rent late – the general rule is least three times within a 12-month period – your landlord can evict you for “cause”, using a One Month Notice.

See section 47 of the Residential Tenancy Act and Policy Guideline 38 for more information.

Paying for Utilities

Your landlord can require that the utility bill for your rental unit be put directly in your name, or they can require you to pay for the bill that is in their name. If the utility bill is in your landlord’s name, you can ask to see a copy of the bill when you are required to pay it. If you are required to have utilities in your name, you will be responsible for contacting the utility company and setting up an account.

When you are searching for rental housing, it is important to find out how much you will have to pay for utilities. If you have bad credit, or have never had an account before, you may be required to pay a deposit to the utility company, on top of an installation/activation fee. Also, keep in mind that buildings with electrical heating will have much higher hydro bills. As a result, you could be paying hundreds of dollars per month in the winter in order to heat your home.

Unconscionable term: According to Residential Tenancy Branch Policy Guideline 1:

a term in a tenancy agreement which requires a tenant to put the electricity, gas or other utility billing in his or her name for premises that the tenant does not occupy, is likely to be found unconscionable.

RESOURCE: Rent Receipt Template

Tenants and landlords usually arrange for rent to be paid by cash, cheque, e-transfer, or direct deposit. According to section 26(2) of the Residential Tenancy Act, Landlords are legally required to provide dated receipts for rent paid in cash. If you suspect that your landlord will not provide you with a receipt, consider bringing a witness and your own rent receipt for them to sign. You can also use TRAC’s template letter, Rent Receipt, to ask for receipts for previous rent payments.

Legally Withholding Rent

Tenants are generally not allowed to withhold rent – even when a landlord is acting illegally. For example, if your landlord is ignoring a repair request, it might be tempting to retaliate by not paying the rent. While this will certainly get your landlord’s attention, it is illegal and could result in an eviction notice.

According to the Residential Tenancy Act, there are only five circumstances in which a tenant can legally withhold rent without their landlord’s permission:

section 19 of the RTA – the tenant overpaid their security deposit or pet damage deposit;
section 33 of the RTA – the tenant paid for emergency repairs after carefully following the proper steps;
section 43 of the RTA – the tenant overpaid rent because of an illegal rent increase;
section 51 of the RTA – the tenant received a Two or Four Month Eviction Notice for Landlord’s Use of Property, which entitles them to one month rent as compensation, and they are applying that compensation towards the last month of their tenancy; and
section 65 of the RTA – the tenant has an order from the Residential Tenancy Branch allowing them to withhold rent.

See the following TRAC template letters:

Problems Paying Rent

If you know that you will be unable to pay your full rent on time, try to communicate with your landlord as soon as possible. While they are under no legal obligation to give you an extension beyond the 5-day grace period, they may allow you to pay your rent late anyways – especially if you have always paid on time in the past.

If you know you are going to be short on rent, you can also consider any of the following strategies:

prioritizing your rent payment over other bills;
borrowing money from a friend or family member;
applying for a loan from one of BC’s Rent Banks; or
applying for a crisis supplement through the provincial government, if you receive income assistance and have faced an unexpected emergency.