Amendments to the Strata Property Act: Bill 44 and the Prohibition of Rental Restrictions in Strata Properties

Introduction

On November 24, 2022, the B.C. government (the “Province”) enacted Bill 44: the Building and Strata Statutes Amendment Act, 2022 (“Bill 44”) to amend the existing Strata Property Act, SBC 1998, c. 43(the “Act”). Amongst other changes, Bill 44 amends the Act by:

• eliminating the right for strata corporations to restrict rentals for tenancies over 30 days; and
• prohibiting age-restriction bylaws, while still allowing stratas to prohibit any occupant under the age of 55.

Developers, strata corporations, and strata owners should familiarize themselves with Bill 44 and the impacts Bill 44 has on strata bylaws, strata governance, and filing disclosure statements. This article details the highlighted changes below.

Ban on Rental Restrictions

Previously, the Act permitted strata corporations to enact bylaws that restricted or entirely prohibited rentals. Strata corporations could regulate and limit rentals through bylaws that restricted the number or percentage of rental units, required longer tenancies, or prohibited occupants under a certain age.

Effective November 24, 2022, Bill 44 bans all strata corporations from enacting and enforcing rental restriction bylaws. However, strata corporations can still limit occupancy in age-restricted strata buildings, provided the age-restricting bylaw permits occupancy for individuals 55 and over.

Rental Disclosure Statements

Bill 44 eliminates the use of rental disclosure statements. Developers previously needed to file rental disclosure statements to declare how many – if any – strata lots would be rentals, and for how long they would be rentals. The Act required developers to provide the rental disclosure statement to every prospective buyer of a strata lot before entering into a contract to purchase with that prospective buyer. These rentals did not form part of the strata corporation, and any rental restrictions made by the strata corporation would be unenforceable on the rental units. Without strata rental restriction bylaws, developers do not need to apportion rental units from the general strata stock.

Age Restricted Bylaws

As mentioned above, strata corporations can enact bylaws that limit the age of occupants to 55 and over. A bylaw that limits occupancy to lower than 55 is unenforceable. Consider a scenario where a strata corporation’s bylaws limited occupancy to 45 and older; as of November 24, 2022, that bylaw would be unenforceable – the strata corporation would need to amend their bylaws and change the age limit from 45 to 55+.

If a strata corporation enacts a bylaw restricting occupancy to 55 and over, caregivers and current occupants under 55 may still reside in the strata building.

What to Consider

Developers

Developers no longer need to file a Form J rental disclosure statement (“Form J”) with the BCFSA, nor do developers need to include a Form J in their disclosure statements to prospective buyers. However, developers still need to:

• disclose any filed or proposed amendments to the Schedule of Standard Bylaws from the Act;
• provide a summary of any strata bylaw imposing pet, age, and other restrictions on rentals (including restricting short-term rentals);
• disclose all material facts associated with the development; and
• remove any reference to unenforceable rental restrictions or other misrepresentations of material facts in disclosure statements to prospective buyers.

Strata Corporations

Strata corporations can no longer enact or enforce rental restriction bylaws.

Strata corporations do not need to update their bylaws. However, the amendments provide strata corporations with an opportunity to review their bylaws to see how the Bill 44 amendments to the Act affect their bylaws, and at the same time remove unenforceable rental restrictions from the strata corporation bylaws.

Bill 44 does not prohibit strata corporations from enacting bylaws banning short-term rentals – such as vacation rentals – involving occupancies of less than 30 consecutive days, and many municipalities further regulate these short-term rentals.  

Strata corporations must also be aware of tenant occupancies governed by the Residential Tenancy Act, SBC 2002, c. 78 and its accompanied tenancy agreement (the “RTA”). Strata corporations cannot pass bylaws for strata units that include or impose terms like prohibiting subletting or prescribing minimum tenancy lengths. However, the RTA does not govern short-term rentals. Strata corporations need to maintain a current list of owner and renter occupants in strata lots. Strata corporations must ensure that strata owners renting out their strata lot have tenants complete a Form K notice of tenant’s responsibilities – securing a tenant’s formal recognition of the strata bylaws will help to continue strict observance of the strata bylaws.

Strata Owners

Strata owners should be aware of rules for occupants (including quiet hours, noise, other interferences). All occupants must abide by the strata corporation bylaws and maintenance of the common property and can report bylaw infractions to the strata corporation. The strata corporation can then assess fines by infringing tenants to the owner renting their strata unit to the infringing tenant.

More Information

For further information regarding Bill 44 and how it may affect you, we welcome you to contact us at Bell Alliance LLP. You can reach us at 604.873.8723, or email us at info@bellalliance.ca