The province has released a repayment framework for landlords and tenants looking to settle unpaid rent debt before the ban on evictions because of failing to pay rent is lifted at the end of August.
The repayment plan requires a landlord to give a tenant until July 2021 to pay back any outstanding rent through monthly instalments.
At the same time, renters will be required to start paying their rent in full starting Sept. 1, when the province said it will lift the ban on evictions for non-payment.
A tenant owing $4,000 in unpaid rent, for example, could be required to pay $400 in monthly instalments from October 2020 to July 2021.
There will be some flexibility in the process, which will allow tenants and landlords to work out their own plan so that payments could, if desired, start low and ramp up over the repayment period, or extend the repayment period beyond next July. Landlords will, however, be required to present their plan 30 days before the repayment process begins.
The province also said it has extended the temporary prohibition on rent increases until December 2020, and will continue to allow landlords to legally restrict access to common spaces to maximize physical distancing and minimize the risk of transmitting COVID-19.
According to the B.C. government, 97% of renters continue to pay rent. Of those, 85% are paying the full amount and 12% are making partial payments.
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