A challenge in the world of government relations is that it’s inherently a long game. Here in British Columbia, the provincial government has been hearing the desperate voice of the electorate to restore affordability as quickly as possible.

This has manifested into a litany of housing policy announcements that are often big on podium bluster and critically shy on advance research or sector collaboration. The result is often one step forward, two steps back. 

Housing policy often used for populist purposes; ends up rushed, under-researched & weak on advance collaboration 

The BC Real Estate Association (BCREA), in cooperation with a coalition of like-minded and equally concerned housing organizations including the likes of the Aboriginal Housing Management Association, BC Non-Profit Housing Association, Canadian Mortgage Brokers Association – BC, LandlordBC and many others, made a public call for the government to establish a permanent roundtable on housing in April 2023.

The ask, however, fell upon resistant ears for a likely series of reasons. One of the most concerning is the governmental tendency to use housing policy for populist purposes. 

It’s my perspective that a true crisis deserves the best minds working to solve it, and it certainly shouldn’t be manipulated to attract votes. What’s necessary is collected expertise working together, a non-partisan approach, in-depth research and evidence-based decision-making. Far too often in B.C., our housing policy is rushed, under-researched, weak on advance collaboration with sectoral expertise, and as a result, significantly less effective than it has the potential to be. 

It’s not that the provincial government doesn’t have good intentions and a genuine desire to effect positive change. However, the influential leaders involved are either unaware of best-practice policymaking or arrogant enough to believe their hodge-podge of ministerial policy staffers is sufficient to solve the incredibly complex housing issues before them. 

Residential Tenancy Regulation changes: A victory with unaddressed concerns remaining

As a result, there are many instances where the government announces policy, only to have to make rapid amendments to correct overlooked issues due to a lack of advanced research. Case in point, over the summer the Province amended the Residential Tenancy Regulation to require landlords to give tenants four months’ notice, instead of two months, when evicting for landlord or purchaser use. The amount of time a tenant had to dispute the notice was also increased from 15 to 30 days.

In response to feedback from the BCREA and the Canadian Mortgage Brokers Association – BC, on August 1, 2024, the Province announced that it would be further amending the Regulation to require a three-month notice period (down from four months) and would give tenants 21 days to dispute the notice (down from 30 days) when a landlord issues a notice to end tenancy for the purchaser’s use of the rental unit.

These changes took effect on August 21, 2024. This was a sizeable BCREA Government Relations victory in terms of identifying issues created by the new legislation and achieving an almost immediate public backtrack from government. But while this was a partial course correct, there are still a variety of issues and concerns with the legislation that, as yet, continue to go unaddressed. 

Privacy and transaction lead time concerns

We voiced privacy concerns about a new requirement that landlords provide a copy of the Contract of Purchase and Sale (CPS) with the notice to end tenancy. To the government’s credit, the new landlord web portal was then updated so landlords are no longer required to provide a copy of the CPS to the tenant(s). Landlords will still be required to upload a copy of the CPS to the web portal, but it will not be disclosed to the tenant and will only be for internal Residential Tenancy Branch (RTB) use.

We would like to see high-ratio insured buyers (including first-time buyers) who will be occupying the property continue to have a two-month notice period because of the financial hardship caused by a longer delay in them taking possession of their property, and the likelihood of them running afoul of financing restrictions.

In future, the B.C. Government should allow much longer lead times for implementation when making changes that involve real estate transactions and tenancy issues. Provisions should always be made to exempt transactions that are already in progress when announcements about these kinds of changes are made.

To protect the privacy of buyers, it would be prudent to eliminate the requirement to report to former tenants for buyers who intend to occupy their own units. The buyer’s intent to occupy could be documented for the RTB by use of a Statutory Declaration or as part of the Property Transfer Tax return process. An early sale of the unit could be tracked through the Land Titles or BC Assessment systems. The government already has its own sources of information to verify the occupancy status of an owner and that the unit hasn’t sold within the year.

Addressing needs of certain demographics and short-term rentals for owners between completions

They also need to provide a more paper-based alternative to the new web portal for use by less technically savvy landlords or allow the existing paper forms to still be used for giving tenants notice. The Ministry’s suggestion for such landlords to visit a Service BC Office or the RTB’s Burnaby office for assistance is hardly a realistic or efficient option and is dismissive of legitimate problems of different demographic groups within our communities.

Lastly, they should also allow the rules for short-term rentals to accommodate property owners or buyers who are stuck between completions if the rental is needed for a period under 90 days.

In about a week, the B.C. election takes place. In the end, the Province will most likely be governed by either the BC NDP or the Conservative Party of B.C. Whichever party emerges victorious, a new, more collaborative future that back-benches politics and puts a newfound focus on non-partisan results is vitally needed.

Please note that it’s BCREA policy to not respond to comments on any of its online articles.