Strata rental bylaws in BC: rental bans are gone, what remains

Last reviewed November 10, 2026, against the current Strata Property Act, Strata Property Regulation and Standard Bylaws on BC Laws.

What changed

Before the change, the Act allowed a strata to pass a bylaw prohibiting rentals or limiting their number, with exemptions for family members and hardship. Amendments that took effect on November 24, 2022, removed that power. Section 141 now reads, in substance: the strata corporation must not screen tenants, establish screening criteria, require the approval of tenants, require the insertion of terms in tenancy agreements or otherwise restrict the rental of a strata lot.

Existing rental restriction bylaws became unenforceable on that date. They did not need to be repealed to lose effect, but leaving them in the filed bylaws misleads owners and buyers. A tidy strata repeals them by a 3/4 vote.

What a strata cannot do

• Ban rentals or cap the number of rented lots.
• Require council approval of a tenant.
• Screen tenants or set criteria such as credit or reference checks.
• Require particular terms in a tenancy agreement.
• Charge fees that apply only because a lot is rented. A fee aimed at rentals, such as a "tenant registration fee", is not a fee for the use of common property and risks being an unlawful restriction.
• Require a minimum lease term for ordinary residential tenancies, to the extent that restricts rental.

A bylaw is also unenforceable to the extent it restricts an owner's right to freely lease the strata lot (section 121).

What a strata can still do

• Restrict short-term rentals. Vacation, travel and temporary accommodation is not a residential tenancy, and a strata may prohibit or limit it by bylaw, with fines of up to $1,000 a day. See short-term rental bylaws.
• Have a 55+ age restriction bylaw, which applies to tenants as it does to owners, subject to the Act's exemptions. See age restriction bylaws.
• Require a Form K. See below.
• Enforce all bylaws and rules against tenants, including fines.
• Ask for a tenant's name. On request, a tenant must inform the strata corporation of the tenant's name (Standard Bylaw 4).
• Charge reasonable user fees that apply equally to owners and tenants, such as a move-in fee for use of the elevator. See move-in fees.

The Form K

Before renting all or part of a residential strata lot, the landlord must give the prospective tenant the current bylaws and rules and a Notice of Tenant's Responsibilities (Form K). Within two weeks of renting, the landlord must give the strata a copy of the notice signed by the tenant (section 146).

If the landlord fails to do either, the tenant is still bound by the bylaws and rules, but may end the tenancy without penalty within 90 days of learning of the failure, and the landlord must pay the tenant's reasonable moving expenses up to one month's rent. See Form K.

Enforcing bylaws against tenants

• The strata may fine a tenant for the tenant's own contraventions and those of the tenant's visitors and occupants (section 130).
• Before fining a tenant, the strata must give notice of the complaint to the landlord and the owner as well (section 135).
• The strata may collect a tenant's fine or remediation costs from the tenant, the landlord or the owner, but not more than the total (section 131). The tenant then owes the landlord what the landlord paid.
• For a repeated or continuing contravention of a reasonable and significant bylaw or rule by a tenant of a residential strata lot, the landlord may give notice to end the tenancy, and where it seriously interferes with another person's use and enjoyment, the strata corporation itself may give the tenant a notice terminating the tenancy under the Residential Tenancy Act (sections 137 and 138).

Records and council practice

Keep a list of tenants' names and any assignments of rights from landlords, which the Act requires (section 35). Keep each Form K. Address bylaw letters about a rented lot to the tenant, the landlord and the owner. In minutes, refer to the strata lot number. Do not record or debate whether a lot "should" be rented. That is no longer the strata's decision.

"Our bylaws still say rentals are limited to five"

Then that bylaw is unenforceable. Council should not act on it, should not tell owners they need permission to rent, and should not answer a buyer's question by quoting it. Put a resolution on the next general meeting agenda to repeal it and file the amendment. See unenforceable bylaws.

Questions councils and owners ask

Can a BC strata ban rentals?

No. Since November 24, 2022, a strata corporation cannot prohibit or limit the rental of strata lots.

Can a strata require approval of my tenant?

No. Section 141 prohibits screening tenants or requiring approval.

Can a strata ban Airbnb?

Yes. A bylaw may prohibit or limit use of a residential strata lot as vacation, travel or temporary accommodation.

Does a tenant have to follow the strata bylaws?

Yes. Tenants are bound by the bylaws and rules, and can be fined.

What is a Form K?

The Notice of Tenant's Responsibilities, which the landlord gives the tenant before renting and returns to the strata, signed, within two weeks.

This page is general information for BC strata corporations, not legal advice. Your strata's own filed bylaws may differ from the Standard Bylaws. See the current text of the Strata Property Act and the Strata Property Regulation on BC Laws.

Related guides

Short-Term Rental Bylaws
Form K
Landlord Responsibilities
Tenant Rights
55+ Age Restriction Bylaws
Unenforceable Bylaws