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April 3, 2026

Uncategorized

A Rebalancing Act: Province Overhauls RTA to Address Affordable Housing Safety Concerns

The Minister of Housing and Municipal Affairs (the “Minister”) recently introduced a set of amendments to the Residential Tenancy Act (“RTA”) in Bill 11. The amendments have gone through its first reading with the Legislative Assembly. The amendments primarily address safety concerns in supportive housing, but also rebalance landlord and tenant rights in all residential tenancies, and adjust the scope of the RTA’s application generally.

Our team has analyzed the amendments in Bill 11 and provided a summary, and practical sector impacts, below.

Background

Supportive housing is a living accommodation for individuals who have been assessed as experiencing, or at risk of experiencing, homelessness, and would benefit from housing stability support. The housing is not temporary basis but often offers non-clinical supports such as mental health or substance-use services or connections to health care. Onsite and transient staff provide support and conduct wellness checks.

Supportive housing has been subject to growing provincial, civic, media and public attention. An agreement signed between the City of Vancouver and the Minister of Housing and Municipal Affairs in November 2025 to close supportive housing buildings on Granville Street by summer of 2026 and relocate tenants. The City of Vancouver also recently affirmed its February 2026 no-net-new supportive housing policy.

Supportive housing providers have expressed ongoing concerns to staff and tenant safety. Concerns of drug trafficking, weapons and crime have been prevalent, in addition to difficulties removing individuals who engage in such activities. Staff have expressed lacking the authority to enforce safety rules or intervening in critical situations.

Amendments to the RTA were implemented in 2024 to define supportive housing as well as exempt supportive housing from certain sections of the RTA to allow for health and wellness checks, management of guests and quiet enjoyment. However, even with such amendments, housing providers have identified gaps in the system and advocates from the BC Non-Profit Housing Association have continued to voice for change.

In June 2025, the Minister announced that a working group had been formed to act on requests from housing providers for more authority to respond to urgent safety issues and explore removing supportive housing from the RTA.

Bill 11 Amendments to Supportive Housing Regime

Based on feedback and consultation, Bill 11 includes amendments that generally increase a landlord’s ability to protect itself, its staff, and other residents from residents that pose a risk to others , and enumerate the Minister’s ability to turn the regulatory dials to respond to sector changes.

The amendments proposed in Bill 11:

  • potentially expand the number of units that would be subject to supportive housing provisions of the RTA;
  • potentially excludes residential units rented under program or service agreements from the scope of the Residential Tenancy Act;
  • expand the Minister’s ability to adjust supportive housing landlord and tenant rights by regulation;
  • allows a housing provider the ability to limit the presence of weapons;
  • where a tenant poses a risk to others, permits a housing provider to:
    • restrict access to a unit or building;
    • restrict access to, or remove, a tenant’s personal property;
    • end tenancies; and
    • conduct inspections or enter a unit; and
  • require minimum compensation for housing provider non-compliance with the RTA.

Enactment of Bill 11’s is anticipated during the current legislative session.

Interestingly, Bill 11 removes the terms ‘service agreement’ from the definition of ‘landlord’ in the RTA, indicating the Province’s intention to remove program and service agreement housing from the statutory framework.

Additionally, Bill 11 is silent on whether fresh consideration is required to give effect to supportive housing tenancy agreement amendments.

The amendments also impact non-supportive housing materially by including a new definition of ‘authorized person’ which applies to all tenancies, which is included in amendments expanding circumstances constituting cause for ending any type of tenancy.

Constitutionality

While the amendments in Bill 11 introduce what will be welcome rebalancing of rights that will assist supportive housing providers in meeting their workplace obligations to staff, hiring and retaining staff, protecting housing assets and protecting residents, the amendments have been called ‘overbroad’ and potentially ‘unconstitutional’ by housing rights advocates.

The amendments include many limits on exercise of housing provider rights. Their authority to enter a rental unit, restrict access, deal with a tenant’s personal property, and end tenancies are limited to circumstances where a tenant poses a risk to another person.

That said, there are few limits placed on the extent of the Minister’s ability to enact regulations applicable to supportive housing. While the ability to respond quickly and flexibly to issues as they arise might be a social good, the breadth and extent of these Ministerial powers are understandably attracting significant housing advocate scrutiny.

Given the strength of the housing rights advocate sector in BC, constitutional challenge is likely, and proceedings relying on these new provisions are very likely to be contested. Adjudicators will be grappling with the changes along with the sector, which may exacerbate commonly reported arbitral errors, and result in higher rates of appeals.

Sector Impact

The sector itself is relatively new (seeing its most significant growth spurt in the mid to late 2010s), and Bill 11 represents what would be the second set of significant RTA amendments directed at the supportive housing sector. The pace and extent of reform to the residential tenancy statutory regime is unprecedented.

Supportive housing is among the most needed forms of housing, and is under Provincial and civic scrutiny currently. Staff retention, resident safety, and operational cost risks make providing the housing challenging at the best of times for housing providers.

Responsive adjustment of the balance between landlord, staff, health care worker, and tenant rights and risks are essential to ensuring these facilities can continue to provide it. By corollary, supportive housing residents are among society’s most vulnerable, and tenants are considered by adjudicatory bodies to be vulnerable relative to landlords. The Province has a delicate balance to strike.

So, what does this mean for the sector? If Bill 11 is enacted as currently drafted, housing providers will need to:

  • exercise these new authorities with care to avoid dispute with housing advocates eager to restrain these new powers through adjudicatory bodies;
  • be prepared for higher rates of contestation when engaging in proceedings respecting the amendments, and associated legal or property manager expense;
  • keep closely apprised of Ministerial amendments to the Residential Tenancy Regulations;
  • take formal steps to amend supportive housing tenancy agreements to remove standard provisions which are not required; and
  • consider the impact of the new legislation on any ongoing tenancy or residency disputes.

Housing providers should consider seeking legal advice respecting review and update to its tenancy and program agreements, how to ensure amendments to tenancy agreements are legally effective, and how to prepare operationally for Bill 11.

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This blog post is for information purposes only and is not a substitute for legal advice. Readers are cautioned to not rely on or take any action based on the information provided. If you have any questions regarding housing or supportive housing, please reach out to James Struthers for a complimentary consultation. You can book a consult through our booking system, via email to [email protected], or call 604-900-7611.