Supportive housing

Last updated on July 27, 2026

Supportive housing provides long-term housing and on-site supports for people experiencing, or at risk of, homelessness. It is operated by government organizations, such as BC Housing or health authorities, or by non-profit organizations. The operator also provides on-site support to tenants.

In Spring 2026, some changes were made to the Residential Tenancy Act to allow for regulations to improve safety for people who live and work in supportive housing, while also maintaining tenant rights and promoting housing stability. Additional information on the legislative changes is available in a March 2026 News Release.

New regulations related to supportive housing were made in July 2026, including some that require updates to tenancy agreements. Additional regulations are being explored; but are not expected to require further updates to tenancy agreements.

Beginning on July 30, 2026, until October 26, 2026, supportive housing landlords have authority to add, change or remove certain terms in tenancy agreements without tenant approval. While landlords have a time-limited authority to make changes, they must take steps to let tenants know about the changes.

Where do these changes apply?

These changes to the Residential Tenancy Act and the new regulations relate to supportive housing. Supportive housing is long-term housing for people who are assessed as experiencing homelessness or at risk of experiencing homelessness and who would benefit from support services to maintain their housing. Supportive housing is operated by a government organization, like BC Housing or a health authority, or a non-profit organization. The operator also provides on-site support to tenants.

The information on this page applies to supportive housing only. It does not apply to transitional housing or emergency shelters which are outside the jurisdiction of the Residential Tenancy Act, or other types of rental housing which are covered by the Residential Tenancy Act, like subsidized or regular market rental housing.

More information about where the Residential Tenancy Act applies is available on the Types of rental housing situations webpage.

New standard terms for supportive housing

As of July 30, 2026, a new set of standard terms apply to supportive housing tenancy agreements. A standard term is a term that is set out in regulation and is automatically part of a supportive housing tenancy agreement, including any existing supportive housing tenancy agreements.

All standard terms for supportive housing are set out in the Schedule to the Residential Tenancy (Supportive Housing) Regulation. The standard terms are also included in Form RTB-60: Notice of Amendment to Tenancy Agreement for Supportive Housing Rental Unit (PDF, 120KB).

Most standard terms in supportive housing tenancy agreements remain the same. However, some important changes relate to ending a tenancy for possession of a weapon, restrictions on tenant access to a supportive housing property, and landlord entry into the supportive housing rental unit. These terms apply on December 1, 2026.

Additional updates to supportive housing tenancy agreements

Supportive housing landlords can add, change, or remove certain non-standard terms in existing tenancy agreements without tenant approval during a limited period from July 30, 2026, to October 26, 2026, and can also change or remove terms that conflict with new standard terms.
After October 26, 2026, landlords must obtain a tenant’s written approval to make changes to non-standard terms in a tenancy agreement, unless otherwise permitted by law.

What can be changed?

Landlord entry, occupants, or guest management

For a limited time, supportive housing landlords may update a tenancy agreement to add , change or remove terms relating to:

Entry by the landlord, including their staff, into the rental unit for purposes related to the tenant’s health or safety (including entries sometimes referred to as “wellness checks”).
Occupants or proposed occupants. For example, a term in a tenancy agreement may require landlord approval before a new occupant moves into the rental unit.
The tenant having guests on the residential property. For example, there may be a limit on how many guests can visit the rental unit at a time and when guests can be on the property.

While the legislation and standard terms have some general limits on what can be included in these terms, there is no specific content provided for these terms. This allows for terms that are unique to the circumstances of different properties and tenants.

A landlord must make any updates to a tenancy agreement in Form RTB-60: Notice of Amendment to Tenancy Agreement for Supportive Housing Rental Unit (PDF, 120KB) that they give to the tenant. These amendments are effective and apply to the tenancy agreement 30 days after the tenant is considered to have received the notice, unless the tenant is considered to have received a Notice of Rescission (Cancellation) form before the effective date.

Terms inconsistent with new provisions

Between July 30, 2026, and October 26, 2026, supportive housing landlords may also change or remove a term that conflicts with any new provision or standard term in the Residential Tenancy Act or Residential Tenancy (Supportive Housing) Regulation that begins to apply on December 1, 2026. This includes provisions and standard terms respecting the landlord’s right to enter the rental unit and ending a tenancy for possession of a weapon.

Terms must be enforceable

Section 6 of the Residential Tenancy Act, “Enforcing rights and obligations of landlords and tenants”, applies to any non-standard terms in a tenancy agreement, including terms added or changed by a supportive housing landlord. A term is not enforceable if it is inconsistent with the Residential Tenancy Act or the regulations, unconscionable (oppressive or grossly unfair to the tenant), or not expressed in a manner that clearly communicates the landlord’s and tenant’s rights and obligations.

How to give notice of changes to tenancy agreements

The supportive housing landlord must use Form RTB-60: Notice of Amendment to Tenancy Agreement for Supportive Housing Rental Unit (PDF, 120KB) (the “Notice”) to let tenants know about any updates to terms in their tenancy agreements.

If the Notice has updates to terms relating to guests, occupants living in the unit, or staff entering for purposes relating to health or safety, those updates only take effect 30 days after the Residential Tenancy Act or Residential Tenancy Regulation considers the tenant to have received the Notice. If a landlord wants to cancel these updates to prevent them from taking effect, they must use Form RTB-61: Notice of Rescission (Cancellation) of Amendment to Tenancy Agreement for Supportive Housing Rental Units (PDF, 77KB).

If the Notice is removing or changing terms that are inconsistent with new laws relating to entry into a rental unit or weapons, those updates do not take effect until December 1, 2026.

There are several ways to give the Notice, which are called methods of service. Landlords must use an approved method of service to give the Notice to the tenant (like attaching it to the door of the supportive housing rental unit), and should be able to prove that service occurred properly. For more information, see Policy Guideline 12: Service Provisions (PDF, 356KB).

Ending a tenancy for possession of a weapon

On December 1, 2026, the Residential Tenancy Act will allow a supportive housing landlord to apply to the Residential Tenancy Branch to evict a tenant where:

the tenant, an occupant or a person permitted on the property by a tenant or occupant is in personal possession of a weapon, or
the landlord’s staff sees a weapon in plain view in the tenant’s unit while the staff member is lawfully in the unit.

If a supportive housing landlord proves either one on a balance of probabilities, then the Residential Tenancy Branch arbitrator hearing the application will decide whether to order an eviction. To avoid possible eviction under this new ground, tenants, occupants or their guests should not bring a weapon onto the supportive housing property.

A weapon is defined in the Residential Tenancy (Supportive Housing) Regulation to include all firearms and crossbows. This includes firearms and crossbows that a person can legally possess. A weapon also includes objects that are illegal to possess under the Criminal Code or that have restrictions on possession, and imitation firearms other than toy guns.

Common household items like kitchen knives and sporting goods are not included in the definition of “weapon”. Neither are construction tools. However, a tenant may be evicted if these items are used in a threatening manner or if they try to harm someone at the supportive housing property.

More information on this new ground for eviction will be available in Fall 2026.

Resources

Contact us

Contact the Residential Tenancy Branch for information, education, resources and dispute resolution services for tenants and landlords.

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