The provincial government has agreed to enforce the Residential Tenancy Act (RTA) to protect the 30K seniors in BC retirement homes from illegal rent increases and evictions.

The announcement came Thursday from the Office of the Seniors Advocate, which had lobbied the province to enforce rent and service cost protections for seniors in independent living who it said often face “exorbitant fee increases.”

“I am very pleased to have received written confirmation that the provincial government agrees seniors independent living units are subject to the RTA,” BC Seniors Advocate Dan Levitt said in a statement.

“It also recognizes that both rent and mandatory service fees are subject to annual limits on rent increases, which need to be enforced consistently.”

In a July 4 report, the seniors advocate said many landlords ignore the RTA and increase service fees, leaving seniors facing increases ranging from the inflation rate to as much as 24%. 

The report says many seniors living in retirement homes have been denied their basic rights to the protection of regulated yearly rent increases. It said that in some cases the landlord has argued the RTA doesn’t apply, while in others the landlord’s position is that it applies only to rent, not to mandatory monthly fees for services such as meals and housekeeping.

“The law is very clear that anything a tenant is required to pay to the landlord as part of their tenancy, whether it is for meals or a parking spot, is included as part of the rent and protected by the annual allowable rent increase,” said Levitt. 

“If the landlord raises any fees beyond the regulated amount, the law says tenants must be able to opt out of those fees or they form part of the tenancy agreement and are subject to cost protections.” 

According to the report, some seniors facing fee increases have tried to opt out of services such as housekeeping—and even meals—and were issued eviction notices.

“Calls to my office from seniors who are facing unlawful rent increases have more than doubled in the last year,” Levitt said.

In a letter responding to the advocate, the Ministry of Housing said costs associated with the services and facilities would be categorized as “rent” and subject to the rent increase provisions under the RTA, even if the services and their costs fall under a separate agreement. In like manner, services and facilities could only be terminated or restricted following the RTA, the ministry said.

The Restidential Tenancy Branch (RTB) “is updating its policy guidelines to clarify that independent living is covered by the RTA, even in residences where independent living and assisted living units are co-located,” the letter said.

A typical mandatory service package in independent living includes two meals per day and housekeeping, with options for a la carte services such as personal laundry, guest meals and meal tray services offered for an additional fee, the seniors advocate said.

The ministry also said it would take steps to improve the RTB complaint process, which some seniors find intimidating. In response to what the advocate termed a power imbalance between seniors and their landlords during the dispute resolution process—especially when the landlord has lawyered up—the ministry said it is providing additional training to its arbitrators to play a greater role in managing hearings with seniors.

Any tenant in seniors independent living who believes their landlord has raised their rent, including the mandatory service package, more than the allowable rent increase of 3.5% for 2024 is encouraged to contact the RTB at 1-800-665-8779 or the seniors advocate’s office at 1-877-952-3181.