"It ought to be more": Victoria reacts to new four-month eviction legislation
In an effort to prevent bad-faith evictions, the BC government has required landlords to give tenants four months’ notice, instead of two, when evicting for personal or caretaker use.
According to the government, this will give “displaced tenants more time to find a new home.” Reactions are already pouring in on social media regarding this new law, and many, especially renters, see it as favourable.
In the r/VictoriaBC subreddit, a thread sees many expressing their optimism towards the law.
“I just bought a house after being evicted for personal use twice in 14 months,” said r/metaldwarf. “This is fantastic news. Each of those 2 month periods trying to find a new place to live were some of the most stressful months of my life.”
“I’m shocked it was only 2 months. It ought to be more like 6 given the housing challenges,” said r/TipsyTrekker.
But, not everyone is fully convinced of the newest legislation, though.
“[W]hile its great that the NDP is trying to make things better for renters, this is just getting landlords out of the market WHICH IS A PROBLEM because the province and feds have been dragging their asses on building new housing,” wrote r/trailhopperbc.
“We won’t be renting our house any more. Nothing protects landlords from bad tenants,” added r/Impossible_Hope_9022.
The new legislation is effective July 18, 2024, despite anyone’s optimism or criticisms of the law. There is also a new online portal through which landlords must submit their evictions to decrease bad-faith evictions.
This portal will also serve to generate formal notices to tenants for these specific types of evictions, with a unique notice ID when ending a tenancy.