Two Month Notice to End Tenancy For Landlord Use
Part 3: Notice to End Tenancy Series
Did you know a Landlord can end a tenancy by giving the Tenant two months notice to end Tenancy for Landlord use of the property? There’s only a handful of circumstances under which this can be done and as always, the Landlord should check with the Residential Tenancy Branch for details specific to their situation.
When can a Landlord end Tenancy for Landlord use?
- The Landlord or a close family member of the Landlord (father, mother or child) is going to be moving into the rental property. This also applies to an individual (or their close family member) who owns all the voting shares of a family corporation which owns the rental unit
- The property has been sold and the purchaser will be moving in
- The Landlord has necessary permits to demolish or renovate the rental unit in a manner which requires the unit to be vacant
- The Landlord is going to convert the property to strata lots, a not-for-profit housing cooperative, for use by a caretaker or manager of the rental unit, or the property is being converted to a non-residential use
- The Tenant no longer qualifies for the subsidized rental unit
Two Month Notice
In order to give notice to end Tenancy for Landlord use of the property, the Landlord must give the Tenant two clear months’ notice. Notice can’t be given on January 15 requiring the Tenant to move out by March 15. Instead, a notice given on January 15 would be effective March 31 – with February and March being the 2 clear months. And don’t forget – if the Tenancy is a fixed term with a specific end date, the tenancy cannot be terminated before the end date in the agreement.
Compensation
The Tenant is entitled to one month free rent under a 2 Month Notice. Usually they don’t pay rent during the second month of the notice period, but if for some reason they do pay rent to the end of the tenancy, the Landlord must refund one month rent when the Tenant vacates.
Important: Once a Tenant receives the 2 Month Notice, they can give the Landlord a notice back that they will be vacating in 10 days. The Landlord will still have to pay one month rent as compensation AND if the rent’s already paid in full for the month the Tenant vacates, the Landlord will also have to return the pro-rated rent for the part of the month the Tenant will no longer be living there.
At RE/MAX of Nanaimo Property Management, we can take care of these types of issues for you. Call us today at (250) 751-1223 to find out how our full service Property Management can help you!
And don’t forget to check back for Part 4 of our series, which will explain the methods for delivering the notices, and how much time a Landlord has to allow for delivery to be deemed received by the tenant.[su_divider]
Disclaimer: This is not a legal opinion or advice, but rather a general overview. For legal interpretations or to find out about your own specific situation, contact the Residential Tenancy Branch at 1-800-665-8779, or check their website at www.gov.bc.ca.
