HER MAJESTY, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of British Columbia, enacts as follows:

1 Section 1 of the Residential Tenancy Act, S.B.C. 2007, c. 78 is amended by adding the following definitions:

"single room accommodation" includes single room occupancy hotels, rooming houses and non-market projects with rooms less than 320 square feet.

2 Part 3 of the Residential Tenancy Act, S.B.C. 2007, c. 78 is amended by adding the following section:

Rent freeze for single room accommodation

43.1  (1) Despite this Act and the regulations, the lawful rent for single room accommodation for a period of three years starting on the day this section comes into force shall not exceed the lesser of,

(a) the amount of rent that was charged for the single room accommodation on the day before this section came into force; and

(b) the maximum amount of rent that could be lawfully charged by the landlord for the single room accommodation on the day before this section came into force.

Transitional

(2) If subsection (1) comes into force after the day a landlord gives a notice to a tenant under Part 3 in respect of the single room accommodation but before the day the first intended increase in rent takes effect, the amounts of rent described in subsections (1) (a) and (b) for the single room accommodation are the amounts determined before the intended increase.

Application

(3) Sections 40, 41, 42, 43 and 69 of the Act do not apply to landlords and tenants in respect to the amount of rent for the single room accommodation for the three- year period starting on the day subsection (1) comes into force.

 
Explanatory Note

This Bill will institute a rent freeze on single room accommodations for a three-year period by amending the Residential Tenancy Act.