A B.C. landlord was unsuccessful in their attempt to oust a tenant so their spouse's daughter could allegedly reside in it.
The tenant filed a claim with the Residential Tenancy Branch (RTB) to recover their filing fee and to cancel the landlord's two-month notice to end the tenancy for the landlord's use on Jan. 31, 2024. The landlord filed a claim for the return of their filing fee and an order of possession on Feb. 15, 2024.
The tenancy commenced on May 1, 2020, with a monthly rent of $2,070 and a security deposit of $1,100.
The landlord emailed the tenant and served them a copy of the notice to end the tenancy on Jan. 25, 2024, with an effective date of March 31, 2024.
The landlord informed the renter they needed to end the tenancy so the daughter (YL) of the landlord's spouse could occupy the unit. The daughter reportedly lived overseas during the tenancy but had to come to Canada to study.
The landlord submitted a copy of YL's flight itinerary to Canada that commenced on March 28, 2024, with a date of issue of the itinerary on Feb. 5, 2024. They did not submit boarding passes but YL testified they were residing with friends at the time of the hearing. The landlord also submitted an education letter that states the course was self-paced with online assignments and an online examination.
The arbitrator found two prior disputes where the landlord tried to evict the tenant in 2023 in the RTB database. In the first, the landlord's one-month notice to end the tenancy for cause was cancelled on March 14, 2023, because they did not establish grounds to end it. The second one-month notice to end the tenancy was cancelled on Aug. 11, 2023, because the landlord did not establish the tenant breached a material term of the tenancy.
B.C. landlord put rental unit for sale on listing service
The tenant believed the landlord was attempting to evict them to increase the rent and did not believe their spouse's daughter intended to move into the rental unit. They also noticed that the unit was up for sale while renting it.
The landlord submitted a screenshot of the unit's listing on the Paragon MLS portal that shows it was terminated in January 2024.
The arbitrator said the landlord had the burden of proof to show they were issuing the notice to end the tenancy in good faith. In other words, they had to show they were "acting honestly" when they issued the notice and planned to use it for the reason they provided. Additionally, they must also prove there is no "no intent to defraud, act dishonestly or avoid obligations under the legislation or the tenancy agreement."
The arbitrator ruled that the landlord failed to provide they had sufficient cause to issue the two-month notice to the tenant and obtain an end to this tenancy. While YL testified that they planned on living in Canada, the landlord only submitted a flight itinerary and not the boarding passes that would prove YL was in the country. Also, YL's classes were also self-paced and taken online, meaning they could be done anywhere in the world.
"It is unclear to me why YL would travel to Canada to 'study' as they say, in an online self-paced licensing course that is only useful in the jurisdiction of British Columbia, just to then fly back to their home country as soon as the course is complete. I find this testimony somewhat implausible," they wrote.
The arbitrator also noted that the landlord's previous attempts to oust the tenant also indicated they didn't act in good faith.
The tenant's application was granted for cancellation of the Landlord's Notice under section 49 of the Act and they were entitled to recovery of their $100 filing fee from the landlord on April 17, 2024.
