The Residential Tenancy Act has strict deadlines to dispute eviction notices through the Residential Tenancy Branch:
- 5 days for a 10 Day Notice;
- 10 days for a One Month Notice;
- 15 days for a Two Month Notice; and
- 30 days for a Four Month Notice.
Failing to dispute an eviction notice in time means that, from a legal standpoint, you are accepting the eviction and agreeing to move out. Never ignore an eviction notice – even when you are confident that your landlord has no grounds to evict you. Unless you are fine with moving out, you will have to apply for dispute resolution so that an arbitrator can cancel the notice.
Exceptions
An arbitrator can extend a deadline to apply for dispute resolution, but not beyond the effective date of an eviction notice. For example, if you apply to dispute a 10 Day Notice on the 6th day after receiving it, an arbitrator can decide to extend the deadline and accept the application, despite it being submitted one day late. If you apply on the 11th day, however, the arbitrator can no longer extend the deadline and accept the application, since the effective date of the notice has passed. Extensions are only granted in exceptional circumstances, such as hospitalization that prevented a tenant from disputing a notice on time.
Resources
- TRAC Webpage – Evictions: Deadlines to Dispute Eviction Notices
- RTA Section 46 – Landlord's notice: non-payment of rent
- RTA Section 47 – Landlord's notice: cause
- RTA Section 48 – Landlord's notice: end of employment with the landlord
- RTA Section 49 – Landlord's notice: landlord's use of property
- RTA Section 49.1 – Landlord's notice: tenant ceases to qualify for rental unit
- RTB Policy Guideline 36 – Extending a Time Period
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