10 Day Notice to End Tenancy For Unpaid Rent or Utilities
Part 1: Notice to End Tenancy Series
When the tenant hasn’t paid the rent (or utilities) on the day it’s due (usually the first of each month), Landlord’s may consider issuing a 10 Day Notice to End Tenancy for Unpaid Rent or Utilities. The form is available online at the Residential Tenancy Branch website.
- 10 Day Notice to End Tenancy For Unpaid Rent form #RTB-30 here.
Delivery effective date
The day you are delivering or sending the notice is not counted, so if you issue a 10 Day Notice on the 2nd of the month, the ten day period actually commences on the 3rd of the month and would then be effective on the 12th. We’ll talk about the methods of delivering notices in Part 4 of this series, so please stay tuned for how to properly deliver your Notice.
Can you still pay your rent if you receive a 10 Day Notice?
Under a 10 Day Notice, the tenant has five days to either pay the rent, or file for Dispute Resolution through the Residential Tenancy Branch. If they don’t do either of these things, the tenancy is considered ended and the Tenant has an additional five days to vacate the property. At that point, the Landlord can complete the Move-out Condition Inspection with the tenant and have the tenant sign off on any deductions from the security deposit for damages, repairs or unpaid rent that is outstanding.
Important note: if the Tenant pays after the first five days of the notice period, when the Landlord accepts payment and issues a receipt, it should clearly state the funds are for “use and occupancy only” and not “rent” because calling it rent implies the tenancy continues. This will impact any decisions made by the Residential Tenancy Branch in the event the Landlord pursues an Order for Possession. You can accept the payment AND still require the tenant to move out, as long as the payment was made after the first five days of the notice period.
Notice to End Tenancy For Unpaid Rent
If the tenant does not pay the rent, and does not vacate at the end of the 10 day notice period, the next step is to file for Dispute Resolution through the Residential Tenancy Branch. There are two ways to do this – you can download and complete the forms through the RTO website and then go to a Service BC office to file the documents. Or you can submit an electronic application online (you have to set up an account to do this and the instructions can be found on the RTO website). Either way, the filing fee is $100.
We’ll be addressing the Dispute Resolution process and Orders for Possession in another series over the next few weeks so keep checking back. [su_divider]
Check back next week for Part 2: One Month Notice to End Tenancy For Cause.
Disclaimer: this article is not a legal opinion or advice, but rather a general overview. As always, if you have questions about your specific situation, go to the RTO website for more information, or call the Residential Tenancy Branch at 1-800-665-8779.
