BURST
The province will amend the Residential Tenancy Act to expand the circumstances under which a tenant of a supportive housing site can be evicted, B.C. housing minister Christine Boyle announced Wednesday.
Boyle said Bill 11, the Residential Tenancy Amendment Act, will allow landlords of supportive housing to apply for an order ending a tenancy early if a resident or their guest has possessed a weapon on the property. The amendment is in response to concerns from supportive housing providers and municipalities.
Landlords can also restrict the access of residents to the site while seeking an expedited eviction through the Residential Tenancy Branch.
“Supportive housing providers have experienced challenges related to rare but serious safety incidents, including problematic guests and tenants who may pose a risk to the well-being of others,” said Boyle in introducing the legislation. “Based on insights from engagement that began in summer 2025, changes are being proposed that strike the right balance between effectively promoting safety in supportive housing and maintaining protections under the RTA for people who call supportive housing home.”
Supportive housing is subsidized housing with on-site supports for single adults, seniors and people with disabilities at risk of or experiencing homelessness, according to the B.C. Housing website.
The bill also extends protections for housing workers and allows violence against staff to be a reason for eviction in any type of housing, something that was sorely needed, says Jill Atkey, CEO of the B.C. Non-Profit Housing Association.
Atkey says she believes the legislation ensures that barriers for residents of supportive housing aren’t too high, but also that the safety of fellow residents and staff is made paramount.
“In most cases, supportive housing works very, very well for the vast majority of people, but where they had issues and challenges arise, they didn’t have the right tools to deal with those challenges, and so this provides a few more tools to those providers,” she said.
Robert Patterson of the Tenant Resource and Advisory Centre said that while the changes introduced Wednesday by Boyle seem like a good idea, they actually further restrict tenant rights in an area where landlords already have an enormous amount of power.
He said he’s concerned that the bill leaves little room for tenants to defend themselves against accusations they or their guest is in possession of a weapon and that many providers already have weapons policies that can lead to eviction if broken.
“I think there are a lot of concerns the tenants will have around how strict these rules are. Are they going to have an actual opportunity to raise any kind of defences? Or is it going to be simply a plain litmus test that, ‘We saw you or your guests, we thought you had a weapon, therefore we’re applying to evict you immediately,’ ” he said.