Moving out on your own for the first time can be scary, expensive, and confusing. I’ve endured many different types of living situations: my parents house, my car, communal group homes, a room in a house, an illegal basement suite, and a tiny apartment barely up to code. There are many options when it comes to moving out and getting a space for yourself, but there are a few things you need to know before you take the leap. It’s important to know your rights as a renter so that your landlord doesn’t cause you undue stress. This is the guide I wish I had before I ventured into the rental market.
Before you move in
How do I find somewhere to live?
The best way to find affordable housing is through a connection you already have. Spread the word to your friends, family, coworkers, classmates, and anyone in your circle that can give you a lead on a spot that has opened up. You might already know someone who is renting out their basement, or someone who knows a unit will open up in their apartment soon.
Start on student networking groups to see if you can find someone looking for a roommate in their place. Post on Facebook. It can’t hurt to make a post in a neighborhood Facebook group as well, if there is a certain area you are looking for housing in to pitch yourself to potential roommates and landlords. Just post a picture of yourself (and your pet if you have one) and tell folks a little about yourself and what you’re looking for. If you’re lucky, there may be someone in these groups that has a space for you!
If you’ve put out your feelers and nothing comes back, it’s time to do some sleuthing online: Craigslist, Kijiji, and Facebook Marketplace are inundated with listings. Sift through them to see if there is anything in your price range. Never send the pre-written response of “Hi, is this still available?” Someone who is posting a decent place online is probably getting dozens of these messages a day. Send them a message that stands out by telling them a little bit about yourself and why you are interested in their place specifically. If they respond to you, set up a time to check it out.
What kinds of information can the landlord ask for while screening me?
It is normal for a landlord to ask for a few references: one from a previous landlord, one from your employer, and one other character reference. The main thing your landlord wants to know is if you will be able to pay your rent on time, every time. They may ask to run a credit check on you and ask you to provide some sort of proof of income or employment, such as your latest pay slip.
I got accepted! What’s the first thing I should do when I move in?
Before you even sign a tenancy agreement, you should do a walk through of the suite with your landlord. You should both be on the exact same page of the condition of the suite on the day you moved in. Identifying any possible issues or “quirks” (and taking pictures) now will potentially save you a lot of hassle later when they try to blame damages on you. If you do notice any issues, make sure they are acknowledged on the tenancy agreement.
If you so choose, you are allowed to ask the landlord to change the lock on your suite if they haven’t already done so after the last tenants move out. If it would make you more comfortable knowing that no one else has the keys to your home other than yourself or the landlord, it is within your right to ask the landlord to do this, at their expense.
What is a tenancy agreement?
Once you’ve found a place you like and the landlord likes you back, you will sign a tenancy agreement that lays out the terms of your lease. You can find a standard tenancy agreement on B.C.’s Residential Tenancy Branch website. The tenancy agreement should have a few basic things, such as the fixed length of tenancy. Whether this be three months, six, or a year, this is the length of time you must generally remain in the suite. After that term is up, you can go month-to-month or into another fixed term.
The agreement should also state everything that is included with the price of rent: laundry, cable, internet, utilities, any appliances, and services such as garbage/recycling collection, snow removal, etc. The landlord must provide the basic utilities of heat, hot water, and electricity, but usually these rates fluctuate, so most of the time you’re responsible for the utility bill of the suite separately.
If you take anything away from this article let it be this: get every single interaction with your landlord documented in writing. This will make or break your case if you ever need to file a dispute against them.
What deposits are required when I move in?
You need to pay a security deposit that should be no more than half a month’s rent and a pet damage deposit (if your landlord allows pets). Both of these deposits should be returned to you at the end of your lease (more on that below).
After you find a place
Who is responsible for paying for repairs and maintenance?
Great question. Unless the repairs are clearly because of damage you caused, all repairs are the responsibility of the landlord. Sometimes landlords will try to pin damage on you to avoid paying for the repair themselves. If something clearly isn’t your fault (like an entire kitchen cupboard is about to fall off a wall because it wasn’t drilled in properly), absolutely refuse to do anything about it. Request the repairs of any damages in writing as soon as you notice them. If the landlord refuses to make the repairs, file a dispute with the Residential Tenancy office.
Landlords often like to do repairs themselves rather than paying for a professional to do it, so when you require maintenance or repair, you may end up getting the “landlords special.” While repairs are in no way your responsibility to do, it’s incredibly empowering to learn some basic home repair knowledge and have the skills to fix things yourself.
A side note about smoke detectors: it is the landlord’s responsibility to install a smoke alarm in your suite and ensure it stays in good working condition. If you notice any damage to your smoke alarm, or if you accidentally damage it yourself while trying to change the battery or something, notify the landlord right away and don’t sleep on it.
What if there is a massive leak in the ceiling and my landlord can’t come to fix it right away?
The landlord must give you a designated contact person to call for emergency repairs; this is usually the landlord themselves. If they are not able to arrange the repairs on time, you are allowed to hire someone to make the repairs and get your expenses reimbursed by your landlord. If they refuse to reimburse you after you come with the receipts, you are allowed to deduct this amount from next month’s rent or file a dispute with the Tenancy board to get your money back.
Does my landlord have to clean my house and my yard and stuff? Isn’t that included in my rent?
No, cleanliness in the area you are renting is mostly your responsibility. Unless there is cleaning that needs to be done because of a burst pipe or other damages, maintaining a reasonably clean house is on you.
How you are sharing the property with other tenants or (God forbid) the landlords themselves, will factor into who is responsible for what maintenance. If you have exclusive access to the yard, garden, or driveway, you take on the full responsibility of tasks like cutting the grass, weeding flower beds, or shoveling snow. Shared access means shared responsibility.
If you live in a multi-unit apartment building, all these tasks are solely the responsibility of the landlord. Sometimes you can work out a deal with the landlord of your apartment building where they will deduct some of your rent in exchange for you being in charge of building maintenance tasks like putting recycling bins out to the curb, shoveling snow, and trimming hedges. If you want to save on rent money, and don’t mind doing some extra housework, it is definitely worth a conversation!
How crazy can I get decorating the space to make it my own?
Get as crazy as you want, with the explicit permission of the landlord, unless you want to reverse all the changes you make when you move out. Before you go painting every color of your house a different shade of pastel, either ask the landlord if it’s cool, or be prepared to paint it back the exact shade you found it in when you arrived.
Usually small holes like thumbtacks or other nail holes are considered “normal wear and tear” of a suite. If you’ve got a lot of holes and a very particular landlord, just take it upon yourself to fill in the holes before you move out — it’s relatively cheap and easy to do so. If you’re hanging up heavier objects, be sure to hang them in a stud or get drywall screws.
Can the landlord come into my space?
The suite you are renting is your home and landlords are restricted from entering your space. If they need to enter, they must give written warning at least 24 hours before entering, which states the time and reason for their visit.
Let me reiterate this point because it is so important and there are a lot of landlords who think it’s their right to come and go as they please into their tenant’s suite because it is still “their house.” It is completely illegal for your landlord to enter your suite without your knowledge or your permission. If you notice this is a problem, shut it down right away by telling them you’ll file a dispute resolution so that they will comply with the law.
Can the landlord increase my rent?
B.C. Tenancy Law sets the limits for the amount your landlord is allowed to increase your rent each year, and this number fluctuates annually. For 2023, they may only increase the rent by two per cent, if they so choose, and you must have lived in the suite for a whole year before they alter the price of rent. They must also give you three-months notice in writing to inform you. If you think they’re increasing the rent beyond what is allowed, contact the Residential Tenancy office.
Can my landlord tell me to shut the hell up if I play my rock music too loud?
You have a right to “quiet enjoyment” of your space, meaning you are allowed to do what you want in your suite, provided it does not disturb the other tenants living on the property.
What if the suite above me is playing their rock music too loud, can I tell them to shut them hell up?
You’re allowed to file a disturbance complaint with the landlord, and it is their responsibility to talk to the other tenant about keeping it down. If it is the landlord living above you that is making excessive noise — dogs barking, kids screaming, extremely loud TV noise — you can always text them and let them know of the disturbance, but this is a tricky situation because of the power imbalance that exists in this type of living situation.
Who controls the temperature of my unit? I can’t possibly put on any more sweaters; I’m freezing.
When I lived in a semi-illegal basement suite that was once a garage, I had no control over the temperature of my place. In the winter it would get down to 14 degrees. If you are also living in a frozen hellscape, feel free to text your landlord again and again to turn up the heat, and have a temperature gauge to send pictures of proof about how cold it is. The landlord must keep your suite at a comfortable temperature.
Can my landlord tell me whether or not I can throw parties or have friends over?
Your landlord is not allowed to charge for or restrict you from having guests that stay overnight. Parties are completely permissible, as long as they’re not ragers that trash the place. If you live in a basement suite or apartment, it’s courteous to let your neighbors know when you’ll be having a party, and thank them in advance for putting up with a bit of extra noise and cars in the driveway.
Can I get a dog now that I have my own place?
Usually the terms for having a pet are laid out in the tenancy agreement you signed at the beginning of the term. They are allowed to restrict the number and size of pets you own. You may choose to get a dog and just hide your pet from the landlord despite it being a breach in your contract, but if they discover that you’ve broken the “no pets” agreement, they are allowed to give a 10 days notice for eviction.
What if I can’t pay for rent for one month?
If you have a good relationship with your landlord, you can have a conversation with them about your circumstances and arrange a date later in the month to pay rent. If your landlord is a money-grubbing skeeze, they can issue a 10 Day Notice to End Tenancy. See some resources below to help you out in a desperate hour.
Should I get renters insurance?
Renters insurance covers worst-case-scenario circumstances like break-ins, fires, floods, and other natural disasters. In a few circumstances, landlords may require you to get your own renters insurance, but in most cases, this is completely up to you. While the landlord’s insurance covers most damage to the suite itself, renters insurance covers the contents of the suite, ie. all your stuff. As well, renters insurance covers any accidental damage you cause, which you have to pay for, like if you leave your flatiron on and burn the whole house down.
Imagine losing everything you own and having to start from square one. For most, it is worth getting for the peace of mind alone.
Can I rent my couch out to a buddy or ask my girlfriend to move in with me?
Unless there is a restriction in your tenancy agreement about how many occupants are allowed in your suite, go right ahead. However, your new roommate should know that they are not covered under the tenancy agreement until you both have signed a new agreement with the landlord. They waive their rights as a tenant if those papers aren’t signed.
I definitely can’t afford to rent a place on my own. Can I rent a place with a friend or rent a room out in my suite?
Yes! It is incredibly hard to move out on your own, especially if you’re making less than a living wage, as most students are. Finding a two-bedroom suite and splitting it with a friend allows you to get more space for less money. Be sure you’re splitting it with the right roommate — that you are on the same page about cleanliness levels, how often to have guests over, how loudly they want to play music or watch TV in common areas, and their style of decor.
It is up to you to pay the entirety of the suite every month, this means that if your roommate cannot pay their half of the suite one month, it’s up to you to pay the entire bill. Sometimes life may throw a wrench in our plans, so it’s important to establish an emergency savings account with enough money to cover a month or two of existence.
What about renting one room of a house?
This is another super affordable option for student housing. There are many landlords who have a spare room or two in their family home and rent these out to tenants. Remember, in this situation they are taking a gamble on you as much as you are on them. They are letting a stranger stay in their home and use a lot of the same common areas as them and their family members. It’s so important to lay out certain ground rules when you first move in: what the common areas are and if there are restrictions around times you can use them; if you are allowed to bring friends or dates over; and rules about fridge/freezer/storage space.
I had an excellent experience renting out a room because the landlord wasn’t renting out the room as a source of income, but rather to open her home up to students who needed places to live. The landlord, her family, and her abundance of pets became like family to me and the other tenant she rented to. It was a great living environment, but definitely a different vibe than having a space all to yourself.
How do I become friends with my neighbors?
The number one piece of advice I will give you in this feature is to make friends with anyone who shares a common area with you, be it the same recycling bins, laundry machines, patio, backyard, or hallway. In my experience, the best way to make friends with people is to make them food — bake them some cookies, invite them over for dinner, or just make a giant pot of spaghetti and bring them a bowl. Learn their names, get their phone numbers, become their friends. Becoming friends with your neighbors minimizes problems, and when there is a dispute you can solve it between yourselves rather than getting the landlord involved.
When you move out
How much notice do I have to give before I move out?
If you live in a monthly tenancy, you have to give notice at least one month before ending the tenancy. You must pay for the final month of your tenancy, whether you’ve already moved out or not. If you have a roommate that moved out, but you still want to rent the place, you can have a discussion with the landlord about it and sign a new tenancy agreement.
Can a landlord kick you out or end the lease early?
If a landlord ends your tenancy so they can rent the unit to their own family member or so they can sell the house, they owe you compensation of one month of free rent, in other words, you get one month of free rent while you look for a new place. They also need to give you two month’s notice that they’re ending the tenancy. If the landlord wants to end your tenancy because they want to do major home renovations, they must give you four month’s notice, and the compensation of one month’s rent.
The landlord can also give you a one month eviction notice if you’ve been a terrible tenant by doing things like: consistently paying rent late, causing property damage, disturbing other tenants, doing shady illegal activities, etc.
If you’re in a fixed term tenancy you or the landlord can only break the lease agreement under extenuating circumstances. You can always dispute your landlord’s notice to end tenancy with the Residential Tenancy branch.
How deeply should I clean the house before I leave?
As a rule of thumb, try to leave things better than how you came. Last impressions are important, especially if you want to use them as a reference in the future. There are certain “standards” of cleanliness you’re legally entitled to leave the suite in, unless you want to pay for the cost of cleaning. For example, If you’ve got a carpet in your suite, you gotta get rid of that stain when you spilled that bowl of chili on the floor and never cleaned it up.
Also, don’t forget about the appliances! You should be suffocating on oven cleaner fumes by the time cleaning your suite is all over!
The last thing you do with the landlord is a condition inspection in which you’ll agree on a time for the landlord to look over the general condition of the suite. Sometimes, this is a last ditch effort for the landlords to pin any damages on you and keep your damage deposit. If your landlord gives you an unfair assessment, you are allowed to disagree with them, just be sure to document your argument in writing on the condition inspection report.
How do I get my damage deposit back?
Your suite is allowed to show “reasonable wear and tear,” while this is up to the discretion of the landlord, and some may be more strict than others, most generally understand that the suite will looked lived in. It’s going to have some scuffs on the floor and some holes in the walls — that’s natural.
A landlord must pay your security and damage deposit back with interest within 15 days of the end of your tenancy. If your landlord is a decent person, they will pay back your deposit with the same haste you pay rent. If they refuse to pay back your deposit or ignore your texts about it, let them know you’re going to file a dispute with the tenancy board and they’ll have to pay back double what they owe you.
Housing resources on for students
Lá:lem te Baker currently has space for just 200 students at their student housing, enough for 1.3% of all students. Chances are, you’re going to end up in the off-campus rental market. Here’s a few resources that may help you in your perilous journey seeking shelter:
If you’re world comes crashing down around you and you cannot pay rent one month:
The UFV Student Emergency Fund is available for students “who are experiencing unforeseen financial difficulties that are beyond their control and prevent them from reaching their educational goals.” Visit the UFV Financial Aids and Awards department for more details.
BC Rent Bank provides one-time emergency loans and grants for families and individuals who are unable to make their rent payment due to an unforeseen life event. The Fraser Valley’s Rent Bank is operated through the Mennonite Central Committee’s office.
If you’ve read through this guide, but still have a question about how to find a place to rent, what to do if your landlord is being a complete butt, or how to handle a roommate dispute:
British Columbia’s Residential Tenancy Branch has all the information you could possibly want to know about the ins-and-outs of renting a place. Most of this article was sourced from their website. Please familiarize yourself with this site before renting a place!
The Tenant Resource and Advisory Centre is an amazing resource for everything you need to know about your rights as a renter. It provides clear advice for every question you may have about renting a place, along with helpful tools and templates that will help you document correspondence with your landlord. Their Tenant Survival Guide and Renting it Right course are also wonderful resources for you to review and refer to when problems arise.
Andrea Sadowski is working towards her BA in Global Development Studies, with a minor in anthropology and Mennonite studies. When she's not sitting in front of her computer, Andrea enjoys climbing mountains, sleeping outside, cooking delicious plant-based food, talking to animals, and dismantling the patriarchy.
