This woman is a landlord’s worst nightmare. More here.
I have a friend in Vancouver who inherited a million dollar plus condo in Vancouver. He’s frightened to rent it out because of the strong squatters rights there. Some say there are no squatters rights in B.C., but I have reason to believe that this is not accurate. What’s the situation like in your community?
I can’t vouch for squatter’s rights, but here in Albertistan, renter’s rights reign supreme. I’d be surprised if squatters were much different.
In my neck of the woods adverse possession can only occur after 21 years of continued residence (which includes everything associated with residency such as paying property taxes etc.). Otherwise, “squatters” are nothing more than trespassers. So, it’s not much of an issue.
This is one of those laws that has it’s historical creation back in Roman times. Back then it made more sense because it was tied to societal stability. If a pandemic took out a large portion of the population, or war casualties were significant they might have ended up with food producing farms with no residents to keep the population fed. Squatters would move in and take over the farming. Currently, the benefits of this antiquated concept are difficult to grasp.
HOWEVER, strictly for a current day Canadian perspective, you very well may end up appreciating Squatters Rights. For example, suppose you have been living on a parcel of land for 30 years or so and suddenly some Indigenous tribe pops up and says “That’s mine.” Now your Courts have a problem. On one hand is a rather new ruling relative to land ownership. On another is a long establish law that doesn’t negate the new law, but allows the application of adverse possession. Oops!!!! And, even those jurisdictions that no longer have adverse possession, had it at one time, and since the new law is being applied retroactively… Oops #2.
Orson, Orson … as indigenous rights expand … the white man’s colonial laws … derived from the faraway white King … will be superseded by the traditional tribal practices which establish … “we were here FIRST “ as a NATION … so the Truth and Reconciliation is that whitey is SOL.
Hmmmm…I think there’s a world of difference between a squatter and a tenant/renter. With a tenant you at least have an agreement in the form of a legal document spelling out the duties and responsibilities of both parties which should hold up in court…it’s B.C so who the hell knows. In which case your friend should vet the living hell out of potential renters as well as retaining a good lawyer.
Tell your friend to watch Pacific Heights for the do’s and don’ts of renting. On second thought, tell him not too because it’ll scare the living shit out of him.
Squatters on the other hand move into empty spaces they like and call it home.
My son’s a lawyer in Vancouver…I should ask him.
Burpton
Landlord tenant agreements are worthless , unless you can wipe yer butt with them, because they carry very little legal weight when you wind up with an activist judge. Activist judges only make up about 101% of all judges these days.
Maybe we should ask Former NDP leader Andrea Horvath about squatter’s rights, and the way the city ordered the demolition of one of her properties, to get rid of her ex who’s been living there since 2010
https://thepublicrecord.ca/2025/12/judge-invalidates-citys-emergency-demolition-order-for-property-owned-by-andrea-horwath/
I doubt any other slum lord would be able to get the city to order the demolition so quickly, and without having to go to the Landlord Tenant Board.
It all means diddly squat till it don’t.
Does the right to squat include the right to diddle? Geez, let’s not give the judiciary ideas…
You can watch stories like this all day long.
Now, you wonder how can a normal person actually think that they have any claim whatsoever to other peoples stuff. Though this is happening more often than working people think.
You can watch fat white thrash doing the same.
Heh, then you have a no fault society, except the fault is in those that get up in the morning to go to work to make living for themselves and their families. They obviously don’t pay enough taxes to support this low life.
I live in Vancouver.
Robert’s friend is frightened to rent it out. Fully understandable.
But if he doesn’t, he pays an “empty home” tax.
If memory serves it’s 3%. At say $1M market value a $30K penalty.
A serious abuse of property rights.
Landlord Tenant Board thinks it’s fine if your tenant pays zero rent. They can live in your house, and pay nothing, and the LTB will LET THEM DO IT. The current record for freeloading is 2 1/2 years, or so I hear on the grapevine.
And ghod help you if you don’t pay your taxes on time while the freeloaders occupy your property. Give you a break on tax or mortgage while they make up their minds? No. They will not do that.
And that is a small landlord, with between one and five properties. I can only imagine what an apartment building owner faces. Nightmare.
It is not a profitable business proposition. People will be thinking twice or three times before renting out their properties in future. Which of course makes the housing shortage even worse. Which, I am afraid, is by design.
Robert, your friend in Vancouver is right to be concerned.
I manage an apartment building. Everybody has shitty tenants but their impact is somewhat mitigated in multi-unit buildings, with losses spread across several units in the short run. Other than that, same issues.
From my BC perch, imho, big and small landlords must know the Rental Act and have their documents right.
We can file without a hearing to get rental delinquents out but it still takes two months, with perfect paperwork.
My approach with miscreants is to make it clear I am now in their life and to get rid of me they must move out.
Jekyll and Hyde. Friendly without being friends with good tenants, a lurking nemesis to those who aren’t.
But to your point, the real risk of bad tenancies is with landlords with one or few rental units, not apartments, who could withstand lost rents. The rubber meets the road at tenant selection. It sounds easy; but it’s hard.
“We can file without a hearing to get rental delinquents out but it still takes two months, with perfect paperwork.”
It takes longer than that just to get the sheriff in Hamilton, WITH an order in hand. Getting an order takes 6 months. And this is for an uncomplicated rent default, where not a penny has been paid.
The system in Southern Ontario is in utter collapse.
Unless you are the Mayor of Hamilton
Never had to get the bailiff/sheriff – though I’ve come close – by managing to “convince” bad tenants to leave, mostly because they knew if they didn’t I’d eventually swoop in with the bailiff, without notice to them, and lock up their stuff.
Two words. Hells Angels.
Funny you should mention. Lately there have appeared companies that offer tenant screening and -insurance- to landlords for lost rent. These companies do the whole private eye thing on prospective tenants, and then offer insurance to see that at least some of the rent comes in if they default even after being under a microscope.
Because the costs of not doing that are up to two and a half (2.5) years with no rent coming in, thanks to the Landlord Tenant Board. Usually a year. And that assumes the landlord has been scrupulously following the rules, AND has a decent lawyer.
Just to put things in perspective, a nice single family home anywhere in the 416 is worth north of $1.5 million to $3 million, anywhere in 905/519 they’re worth $800K-$1.2M. A year of lost rent can easily top $40,000-$50,000. That’s a pretty big hit for somebody trying to rent out their old family home after their parents passed away or went to a nursing home. See if you can imagine how it must feel to that family, the house is supposed to be paying for the nursing home, but instead deadbeats are being allowed to stay in it BY THE COPS.
But meanwhile, actual gangland activity goes on unchecked. Illegal landlords strong-arm people and toss them out in the snow (like literally out into the literal f-ing snow), they jack rents up at will, they have 20 guys living in a single family home in Brampton…
…and not a single thing is done about it. Nothing.
Because how DARE you have a little extra money, peasant! Shut up and pay your taxes, or we will seize your property.
There are lots of half empty duplexes in Montreal. Owners would rather forgo the $2000 per month than have a problem tenant in the building. Who needs the hassle…