B.C. government to give more rights and compensation to renovicted tenants

Renters in British Columbia could soon have enhanced rights and compensation if evicted from homes when they're renovated or demolished. 

The Tenancy Statutes Amendment Act, , which contain a number of changes to the Manufactured Home Park Tenancy Act and Residential Tenancy Act, was introduced in the legislature Thursday

For most tenants, the changes include the following:

• Four months notice, up from two, if a landlord evicts them to demolish, renovate, or convert the unit to a non-rental, non-housing or caretaker unit
• Thirty days notice, up from 15, to apply for dispute resolution in those cases
• A years' worth of rental compensation, if an eviction is enacted in bad faith in those circumstances 
• A first right-of-refusal in multi-unit buildings, at the market rate, when evictions happen because of renovation or repair. 

For tenants evicted from manufactured home parks because the park is being converted, there are the following changes:

• $20,000 in compensation from the landlord, instead of the current 12 months pad rental
• For homes that can't be moved, compensation covering the assessed value (minus $20,000)

"Today's Residential Tenancy Act amendments are a step in the right direction — particularly the decision to increase the penalty against landlords who abuse vacate clauses and "landlord's use" of eviction notices," said Tenant Resource and Advisory Centre executive director Andrew Sakomoto in a statement. 

The government says the changes won't stop the newly-created Rental Task Force from making further recommendations on renovictions as they see fit. 

More to come.