[Disclaimer: The BC tenancy laws and guidelines are subject to change as we monitor the impact of COVID-19 on our communities, the information in this post is correct at time of posting. Contact us for any updates or refer to the Government of BC’s COVID-19 resource page]

The COVID-19 virus has affected nearly every aspect of our lives. We’ve heard from many local property managers who are concerned or have questions about how this affects their ability to collect rent from their tenants.

Here’s what you need to know right now about rental property management changes due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

  • Rental Payments: Your tenants will be required to pay their rent in full starting in September 2020
  • Unpaid Rent/Utilities: If you have tenants who were unable to pay their rent or utilities during the provincial emergency period, must now be put into a repayment plan.
  • Notice of Rent Increase: You can now issue a Notice of Rental Increase anytime, however, such increases can not come into effect until December 1, 2020.

Help for tenants

Some tenants may still be out of work or unable to pay their rent due to the pandemic. If this is the case, you can recommend they apply for the BC Temporary Rental Supplement Program. This program has been extended into August 2020 and provides renters between $300 (households with no dependents) and $500 (households with dependents) per month to help pay their rents during the pandemic.

Tenants start the application, and the landlords will be asked to sign-off and approve the application. Once accepted into the program, payments are made directly to landlords or their Agents (Property Management Firm).

Additional support for Property Managers

Despite all the uncertainty during the pandemic, we’ve noticed that tenant rent payments during the COVID-19 pandemic have been quite stable from May to June, with an average change in rent collections, month-over-month of approximately 3.5%. This is based on around 300 rental properties across Metro Vancouver.

If you are looking for support for your rental property due to COVID-19 changes, let us know as we have a range of Rental Management services available to help. One of them being contactless payment options for collecting security deposits and monthly rental payments by pre-authorized payment or e-transfer. Contact our office to learn how we can help with your Rental Property Management needs.