Receiving an eviction notice

Last updated on December 12, 2023

If a tenant receives an eviction notice, they may have the right to dispute the notice according to the Residential Tenancy Act (RTA).

Check that the landlord is following the proper process

Make sure the eviction notice is valid and has been served correctly, and the cause for eviction is legitimate. Landlords must:

Serve tenants with the correct form
Evict with the right cause
Use the proper process of serving the tenant
Include a link to the eviction process

An eviction notice must be served in person, by mail, or by attaching to the door of the home address. Eviction notices cannot be served by text message or by email.

The notice is considered received on the fifth day after it is mailed, or the third day after a copy is left in a mailbox, mail slot or other conspicuous place, or attached to the door.

Disputing an eviction notice

If you want to dispute the eviction notice, you must do so within the disputing deadlines set by the Residential Tenancy Branch (RTB).

Learn more about disputing eviction notices

Compensation for eviction

Paying compensation to the tenant

Your landlord must follow through with the reason for your eviction. If your rental unit is not used for the stated purpose for at least 6 months, your landlord may owe you compensation.

Landlords must pay compensation when:

Ending a tenancy so the purchaser or their close family member can occupy the rental unit (2 month notice)
Ending a tenancy for landlord’s use or serving an order to end a tenancy for renovations or repairs (4 month notice)
Being granted an order to end a tenancy for renovations or repairs when the tenant exercises a right of first refusal (RTA: Section 51.2)

With a 2 month or 4 month eviction notice, Tenants are entitled to one month's rent as compensation to help with the financial burden of moving. Your landlord must either pay you this money or give you the last month of tenancy rent-free.

If you are being evicted because you no longer qualify for a subsidized rental unit, you are not entitled to any compensation. Read RTA: Section 51 for more information and how to pay the tenant.

Paying compensation to the landlord

In some cases, the tenant will have to pay compensation to the landlord. According to Residential Tenancy Branch Policy Guideline 16, this compensation is intended to put the person who suffered the damage or loss in the same position as if the damage or loss had not occurred.

Bad faith evictions

Tenants should be cautious of landlords attempting to evict them for unlawful reasons.

Landlords must act in good faith to follow through with the reason for the eviction. This means they must have an honest intention to use the rental unit for the purpose stated on the eviction notice. If you feel your landlord is evicting you in bad faith, you may qualify for compensation. For example, if your landlord claims they will move into your unit, but instead re-rents it to a new tenant at a higher rent, you have the right to seek compensation according to RTA: Section 51.

If the rental unit is not used for the purpose stated on the eviction notice for at least 6 months (within a reasonable period after the notice is issued), the landlord may have to pay the tenant 12 months' worth of rent. See RTB Policy Guideline 50 – Compensation for Ending a Tenancy (PDF, 990KB).

To confirm your landlord's actions during an eviction, you can do a land title search. If the landlord owns multiple properties, the possibility of them moving into your rental unit is potentially low, and it could be worth looking into further.

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