Which Agreement is the Best?

Why don’t I just use the residential tenancy agreement provided by the “government” (the Residential Tenancy Branch [RTB])?

The RTB’s tenancy agreement is, of course, an acceptable form to use for tenancies in British Columbia. Unfortunately, it is very basic and does not achieve much in the way of protecting the landlord’s interest.

Why would I use the residential tenancy agreement provided by the “landlord association” (the Rental Owners and Managers Society of BC [ROMS BC]) over the RTB’s version?

ROMS BC has been in existence – with five different names – since 1970. In this time, we have gained experience from thousands of members and hundreds of thousands of different situations. Our collective knowledge has allowed us to successfully create our own comprehensive residential tenancy agreement – approved for use by the BC government. Each clause that our agreement contains has been appropriately vetted to ensure enforceability in all levels of the judicial process. To compare the two agreements: RTB’s version has a total of 16 clauses, while the ROMS BC agreement has 43.

If you make your own agreement, why can’t I?

Theoretically, you could make your own agreement however most “homemade” agreements are found to be invalid. What most people don’t know is that there are many, many rules in the law about how you make your agreement – everything from unconscionable material terms to the size of the font, and everything in between. Creating an agreement that is fully enforceable under the Residential Tenancy Act is a time consuming and difficult task – which we have already done for you!

But your agreement does not have some things I want covered in my agreement…

When we created our tenancy agreement we worked very hard to make it apply to every tenancy (whether it be an apartment, basement suite or single-family home), but we recognize that there are always exceptions to the norm. Your tenancy agreement may need some extra clauses that relate very specifically to your rental unit or property, and we are here to help you with those additional terms. Because adding additional terms is just as dangerous as writing your own agreement, we recommend that you write up what you want to see added, and we will work with you to make it fit.

-- Hunter Boucher and Carly Ludwar

Finding a new tenant...

Owner: When checking references on a tenancy applicant, how can I tell whether the previous landlord is legitimate or a friend of the tenant?

LandlordMentor: Ask this question: “Can you confirm the address (with postal code)?”


Owner: I held an open house for my vacant rental unit and eight different people came. How do I pick the right one?

LandlordMentor: You can’t! Open houses are for attracting purchasers, not renters. Schedule only one potential applicant, couple, (etc.) at a time so you can interview them during the showing, watch how they react to the unit, and listen to what they say.


Owner: I schedule suite showings and over half the people don’t show up.

LandlordMentor: When scheduling showings, tell your prospects to phone you about one hour before to confirm and tell them that if they don’t, you won’t show up.


Owner: I give out application forms to tenancy applicants and they either don’t return them or don’t answer all the questions.

LandlordMentor: The application stage is your best opportunity to learn about your potential tenants. Don’t give out the form; instead, sit down with your applicants right after the suite showing and interview them to get all the answers, filling out the form yourself, which they then read and sign.