Manufactured Home Park Owners' Alliance of British Columbia
1134 McBriar Avenue V8X 3M6 Victoria, BC, Canada

BREAKING NEWS: Rent increases further suspended to July, 2021.

Manufactured home park tenancy rent increases that take effect in 2021 are allowed to a maximum of 1.4% plus a proportional amount.

As announced by government recently, a Regulation has been passed outlining the requirement that landlords provide a repayment plan for any unpaid rent due during the state of emergency (affected rent). It also sets out that unpaid or late rent during this period cannot be used as cause for eviction under any sections of the Act and that late fees during this period cannot be charged. The Regulation is now in force. Under the regulation, the eviction ban on unpaid rent will end when the state of emergency ends. At that time, landlords will be required to give their tenant a repayment plan for unpaid affected rent, before they can issue the tenant a notice to end tenancy in respect of that rent.

RENT INCREASE UPDATE Any Notice of Rent Increase that has/had an effective date between April 1 and November 1, 2020 does not take effect until the December rent payment. If a tenant has paid the higher rent for any months between April and November, the tenant can deduct the over-payment from a future rent payment.... One exception to the rule; rent during this period can/could have been increased by the amount the tenancy agreement provides for a higher rent to be paid if additional occupants are approved.

Effective July 2, orders of possession can be registered in the Supreme Court, allowing for writs of possession to be obtained and court bailiffs to be engaged to execute said writs.

PROVINCIAL GOVERNMENT EASES COVID-19 RESTRICTIONS ON LANDLORDS Effective June 24: - Notices to end tenancy for rent unpaid PRIOR TO March 18 can now be issued. - Notices to end tenancy for any reason other than unpaid rent can now be issued.... - Documents can go back to being served personally, if desired. - Email service of documents is discontinued until otherwise announced. - The temporary rent supplement is being extended to July and August. Notes: - The ban on issuing notices to end tenancy for unpaid rent [for between March 18 and now] remains in place. - Notices of rent increase cannot come into effect until the Emergency Order has been lifted. (We have been advising our members to serve them on schedule, informing tenants that they will come into effect the later of the effective date of the notice, and the lifting of the ban. This advice has not changed.) - You can continue to restrict access to common area families [like fitness rooms, pools, patios, clubhouses, etc.].

Because of physical distancing, personal service of documents can’t practically happen in the world we're currently living in. The RTB Executive Director issued an Order March 30 allowing for email service - at least until the Emergency Order is lifted. However, for email service to be accepted at a dispute resolution hearing, you have to prove one of the following: 1. The recipient responded to your email confirming receipt. 2. The recipient responded to your email without i...dentifying any issues with transmission, viewing the email, or understanding it. 3. You and the recipient have frequently corresponded by the email address you sent the document(s) to, whether or not the recipient responded. We're concerned about the third scenario, as it doesn’t require any acknowledgement from the recipient. A resident could claim at a dispute resolution hearing that a particularly important document was served by email on the community manager and submit a copy with the evidence. In fact, the resident never hit the send button and the manager rightly claims that he never received the email. The arbitrator is left with a he said; she said problem to resolve. You can still use registered mail; however, the addressee could be self-isolating and the letter carrier leaves a card to pick the item up at a postal outlet. The item would be deemed served under the Act; however, the addressee would have an argument that she or he could not leave home to pick it up. To avoid the reverse happening to you: You sent the document under #3 and the resident claims never to have received it. If proof may be required, attempt to get confirmation from the recipient that it was received.

With more and more BC residents out of work, some communities are seeing an increase in crime. Here are some tips to protect yourselves as well as your residents: 1. Keep hedges, shrubs, and tree branches in front of your home well-trimmed. 2. Make sure your home and vehicle doors close fully behind you.... 3. Always lock doors and windows - even when you're at home. 4. Politely challenge strangers getting too close to your home. 5. Report strangers seen roaming on the property (not visiting any specific resident), even if they say they are authorized to be there. 6. Don't allow strangers inside of your home. 7. Be careful with your keys - don't copy them or lend them to anyone. 8. Keep money and valuables in a safe, inconspicuous place. 9. Mark all property for identification. For example: "BCDL - ######" is best, as it makes it easy for the police to return stolen items. 10. Don't assume everyone is as honest as you are. See more

On Monday, we sent out a survey to all members to gauge interest in our hosting a 3-day workshop. This survey will be available until May 31; please let us know if you did not receive your email invite to participate!

Effective June 1, 2020, the BC minimum wage increases from $13.85; a 5.4% increase!

The BC government has formally extended the provincial state of emergency, allowing Mike Farnworth, Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General, to continue to use extraordinary powers under the Emergency Program Act to support our province's COVID-19 response.

There are a ton of questions about "what happens after ... ?" Everyone is so wrapped up in dealing with the crisis, getting money flowing, etc. that there are no answers yet. We're advising our clients to send a letter to the non-paying tenants to the effect that, "You are required to pay your rent in full on time. Failing to do places your tenancy at risk." If the person doesn't pay rent for 2 or 3 months, you can still file for a monetary order. What a lot of people do...n't know is if a tenant doesn't comply with an arbitrator's order, the tenancy can be ended and that is not one of the eviction restrictions. You should definitely ask for proof that they have applied for the funding. Both the feds and BC have application forms. For the BC $500, (available soon), as it is paid to the landlord, both the landlord and the tenant have to sign the application. Here's the latest info on how to apply for the various supplements: - What is important is for the tenants to know they still must pay full rent and there are rental supplements available to allow them to do so. - You should explain to the tenants that if they have lost their jobs or had their hours significantly reduced, they can apply to the BC government for up to $500 per month for 3 months that goes toward rent (paid to you), or to the Federal government for up to up to $500 per week for 16 weeks they can use for rent and other expenses. These supplements are available for up to four months, retroactive to March 15. There is also a one-time BC payment of $1000 called the Emergency Benefit for Workers. Details of how to apply for this have not been released yet. - The federal application portal opened April 6 - go to Canada.ca. - The provincial $500 per month application site opened April 9 - Google BC Housing/COVID-19. - Google Emergency Benefit for Workers to subscribe to be notified when applications open for the $1000 payment.

From the board of directors and staff here at the MHPO, we wish you all a safe, restful, and healthy long weekend! We are open for calls and emails for the remainder of today, for emails tomorrow, and will reopen again for calls on Monday. Stay safe and healthy, and enjoy your rest!

Some good media coverage for our industry amid constant negative pandemic press!

IMPORTANT UPDATE: The Residential Tenancy Branch has clarified the Order. Ending a tenancy for cause, the unit is uninhabitable, or the tenancy agreement has been frustrated is still permitted. However, the process is to apply for an early order to end the tenancy in these cases. (EDITOR'S NOTE: This is not the time to end a tenancy for a trivial breach of a material term; only cause where the tenant remaining in the unit would be unfair for the other tenants on the proper...ty, or yourself.) In such a situation, you would not issue a Notice to End Tenancy, but would apply directly for a dispute resolution hearing to obtain an Order of Possession. This application may or may not be for an expedited hearing, depending on the severity of the circumstances. Needless to say, this is a critically important application of the Ministerial Order. To be clear: You cannot end a tenancy by either a Notice to End or an application for an early order for: unpaid rent, repeated late rent payments, owner or purchaser occupancy, major renovations, demolition, or conversion. TO CONFIRM: You should now apply for an early order if the unit is ordered shut down, the unit has become uninhabitable, or the tenancy agreement is frustrated. We are also saying to do the same thing to end a tenancy for cause. If you apply for an Early Order to End Tenancy for one of the above reasons and the arbitrator issues an Order of Possession, the usual rules regarding service, application for review, etc. still apply. You can apply to the Supreme Court for a Writ of Possession; make sure Court Services is aware of the reason (above) for issuing the Order of Possession. The arbitrator should note the applicable section of the Residential Tenancy Act on the Order of Possession.