This website is the home of Pets OK BC, a movement advocating for the abolition of unreasonable pet restrictions in rental housing in British Columbia, Canada. Over 14,000 British Columbians have joined us in this call by signing an online petition, but there is much advocacy work to be done before change will happen. Check out our “How To Help” page to get involved!
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Why Pets OK BC? Learn more about our initiative here.
We need to get more people behind this. After the headache I recently experienced in trying to find pet friendly places in this ridiculous rental market more must be done to stop people giving up their beloved pets because of some silly law. Someone needs to get the twitter up and going. Enough pet owners can change the law!
Thanks for the suggestion, Scott, and we definitely sympathize with your struggle to find pet friendly housing. Our Twitter account is @petsokbc. It hasn’t been active yet, but it will be syndicating content from this site and the FB page soon. Please stay in touch!
Just recently we moved into a condo in White Rock it seemed perfect the owners indicated they allowed dogs we are right on the beach. One day after moving in I get an email saying there was a complaint for noise by the Strata president. I ran into her that same day she said the dogs were noisy and she had knocked on my door stood there and recorded the dogs barking at her, what dog would not but we took measures with anti-bark soft muzzles, and only take the dogs out on a remote stairway by our door, no one in the building is exposed to them. Turns out our condo owners who we signed a two year lease were not aware that there is a a bylaw for dog size and now the president is pushing our landlords to have us get rid of the dogs because they are over 11 inches in height. So the landlord says he will try to fight it but if they start fining him we have to work together to find alternative housing. What do I do?
Hey,
Do you have an online shareable petition?
This is a really great cause I think you would gain a lot of shares and signatures online through social media if you had an online petition to sign up for over asking someone to print, sign, go door to door, and then mail it back in.
Both are really great, the 2nd option is excellent for those who are more proactive, have a printer and time to donate, where the first option offers ease to those who may not fit in with the 2nd option.
This would improve your chances of getting a maximum amount of signatures.
Cheers,
Brandon
Thnks for the suggestions, Brandon! We did an online petition at change.org last year, and we obtained over 14,000 verified signatures from BC residents. Unfortunately, the BC Legislature does not accept electronic format petitions. This is why we’ve moved to a paper petition. We’ll be tabling all around BC, starting tomorrow in Vancouver. We’re encouraging likeminded people in other BC cities and towns to start their own tabling events, gather handwritten signatures, and mail them to us.
I emphatically disagree with this movement advocating for the abolition of unreasonable pet restrictions in rental housing in British Columbia, Canada.
I live in a trailer park that was pet friendly, but no dogs. It was a nice quiet park until someone new hid their dog from management when they moved in, then claimed it was not fair to discriminate against dogs. Since Pandora’s Box was now open, others joined in and the park was forced to enact a dog policy that limits dogs to 15 inches at the shoulder. This rule was also broken. Now I live in a dog shit infested park that does nothing to get owners to look after their dog and with all the barking at night, I have to keep the windows closed. The trailers with dogs now look like crap. Dead grass all over, it’s disgusting. Too many dog owners cannot afford their pet, nevermind paying an additional fee to ameliorate damages.
As a non pet owner, homeowner and renter in the Province of British Columbia for over 23 years, I completely and emphatically disagree with your efforts to eliminate the rights of non-pet (a majority) in favour of the rights of pet owners (a minority). In addition, I completely and emphatically disagree with your efforts to force strata councils and building owners to rent to pet owners.
I’m sorry to hear that that happened to you and other residents in your manufactured home park. However, I think you’re misunderstanding what our objective is. We support the rights of responsible pet guardians – who are the majority of pet guardians – to not be unreasonably prevented from finding housing in a catastrophically tight rental market. The kind of situation you describe arises independently of any changes in BC’s laws regarding “no pets” policies. The problems you are pointing out fall under property damage and quiet enjoyment, which are already covered in other sections of the RTA, the Strata Property Act, and the Manufactured Home Park Tenancy Act. Ontario eliminated “no pets” policies in the 1990s, and it has worked out well – it hasn’t resulted in widespread property damage or disruption like you’ve experienced. I suspect your situation could have arisen regardless of any “no pets” policy. And contrary to what you claim, eliminating “no pets” policies does not affect the rights of individuals and families who opt not to have pets. Please – before you emphatically oppose our efforts – have a read through the experiences of families broken up by rent restrictions, or families who have had to surrender a beloved pet because of unreasonable conditions of tenancy – these stories are all over the news of late. As with the situation in Ontario, we anticipate that in BC the courts would be able to distinguish clearly between the need for people with pets to have secure housing, and the need for all BC residents to have quiet enjoyment of the place where they live. These are different topics altogether.
I can see where you are coming from, but this is more about those of us who are responsible pet owners, have the references to prove it, and own quiet, well mannered/behaved, non destructive, and friendly dogs(and cats). Its about the ones who do clean up after their pets, take great care of them, and make sure they have regular vet checks and flea/parasite control. I for one am one of those pet owners, have the references from several past landlords, as well as neighbors, I take great care of my cat, and dog, but am struggling to find anywhere I can rent, despite offering all that plus a fair deposit. Managers/Landlords, are perfectly capable of screening pet owners by asking for references, writing up rental agreements where the things you describe would lead to eviction, asking for an additional deposit, and even meeting the animal to see how they are themselves before renting to owners. Unfortunately the kind of owners you speak of are ruining it for the rest of us, who make up the at least half of the pet owners struggling to find housing because of those restrictions. Just because my dog is a pitbull, doesn’t mean I am an irresponsible owner, and it is the restriction like, for example “cats and dogs ok, but breed”, or “size restrictions apply for dogs, that are unfair.
My heart breaks for the shelter workers, too. They are charged with picking up the pieces of society’s shortcomings, and this adds to their distress when they are forced to destroy healthy, loving animals that are surrendered to them due to the “no pet” clause. With so little housing available for pets the chances that surrendered animals are going to find new homes narrows as well. It’s a vicious cycle and it must be stopped.
I’ve read the petition & also the RTA. I am including Sections 18 (1)(2)(3) of the RTA and would like to confirm that the intent of this petition is to is to have Section 18 completely removed, and if so, what would replace the current language?
If this is indeed the intent of the petition, I’d like to ask why it is that you think that a property owner shouldn’t have right to decide who rents and inhabits their property? Do you really think this truly is the best way to go about getting your favoured result?
Terms respecting pets and pet damage deposits
18 (1) A tenancy agreement may include terms or conditions doing either or both of the following:
(a) prohibiting pets, or restricting the size, kind or number of pets a tenant may keep on the residential property;
(b) governing a tenant’s obligations in respect of keeping a pet on the residential property.
(2) If, after January 1, 2004, a landlord permits a tenant to keep a pet on the residential property, the landlord may require the tenant to pay a pet damage deposit in accordance with sections 19 [limits on amount of deposits] and 20 [landlord prohibitions respecting deposits].
(3) This section is subject to the Guide Dog and Service Dog Act.
Thank you for asking, Lisa at “notothepetition”! But before you say “no” to the petition, please consider carefully what it is we are specifically advocating. It’s actually quite reasonable, and provides increased certainty for landlords, tenants, and arbiters of potential disputes (better than the current system in BC!). The petition itself reads “to allow tenants of all of these types of properties to keep pets in their homes”. We intend to persuade the Province of B.C. to follow the legal precedent set in Ontario in 1990 – it’s been a long time coming to BC – where the cognate Act stipulates that “no pets” policies are void and unenforceable at law, except in circumstances (see below) where the necessity of doing so can be proven. To answer your second question: the rights of property owners are always to be balanced against the rights of tenants to quiet enjoyment of the properties they rent. That’s what residential tenancy acts are for. In achieving that balance, without unnecessary overreach of either party, it makes sense – again, as recognized in Ontario – that, barring important exceptions (allergies, aggressive animals, or other specific nuisance), tenants should have the right to keep their families together without unreasonable interference from no pets policies, which (in BC, at present) are overly broad in scope. Ontario has had this sort of legal framework in place for a long time. Perhaps a more illuminating question is: why do some people think landlords in British Columbia should have a special right to impose “no pets” policies on tenants here, when Ontario has proven for two decades that such policies are unnecessary, provide no known tangible benefit to either tenants or landlords, and are needlessly oppressive of responsible tenants with pets (who constitute, by far, the vast majority of pet guardians)? Over 1700 pets were surrendered to the SPCA for reasons of housing restrictions in 2016 alone. That is a tangible, measurable tragedy we can easily help to mitigate or possibly solve with these proposed changes. I hope we have your support with this initiative!
I have a small dog and we have had nothing but problems to find accommodation other then where we presently live. It is extremely problematic to have pets, even to RESPONSIBLE owners. We need some action to change these rules, we too have rights!
I am a mature lady with 3 small dogs , who are the only family I have .. they are well looked after , groomed before I get a hair cut , fed before I get food ( none of us goes hungry lol) , licensed, has pet insurance, and I make sure that they do not cause damage in my suite , and will pay for damage should anyhappen . I am so fortunate and so very grateful to have found a landlord in Nanaimo that allowed me to have my furkids move with me . I don’t know what I would do if I had to give my kids away should I have to move somewhere else . I love them to death and the very idea is more than I can bear . I have often said I’d rather live under a bridge than live without my dogs …
I wholeheartedly agree that pet lovers should not be discriminated against when looking for a safe and comfortable place to live .. I do however think that pet owners need to be responsible and take care of not only their pets , but their landlords property as that is only right and respectful to do .i so hope that there is a change in this law and I shall be looking out for a petition to sign
How about low oncome familys woth specials children amd animals my 6 yr old daughter has a huskey dog amd yes there is no rentals for us either and yet rent in going up and up where is that fine print i can barley read my self as im half blind no our dog is not a service dog but he stays by her side how can this be far for anyone in this situation it sucks trust me
At the end of the day the landlord is a property owner and the tenant is an owner of nothing. The landlord can sell their property for millions in a market like Vancouver, putting them far, far ahead of any potential renter. I have no sympathy for a landlord who might have to replace a doorjamb or maybe replace some carpet..
I am planning to move to Victoria within the next few months. I have been searching rental properties that allow medium-sized dog (my dog is 50 pounds). I am surprised how many properties are not pet-friendly or only allow small dogs up to 25 pounds. I think this petition is desperately needed as I would never give up my dog, even if it means I cannot move to Victoria after all.
I have lived in a mobile home park for over 20 years. We are very responsible seniors who have decided on a small pet…a cairn terrier. The current landlords have 2 dogs and when I called to see if I could have a small dog they said no. If they allow me to have one then everyone would want one!! This was their response to me.I am so sad and heartbroken as I really wanted this pet as a companion. Is there anything I can do without causing hard feelings??
I don’t know if you can fight that, Laura. Are the current landlords on site at the mobile home park?
I’m in the process of deciding whether to BUY a mobile home at a mobile home (which means that I would own the unit (the mobile home)). I have four cats. My question is WHAT gives the mobile home pad owner the right to dictate how many pets I have if the pets that I have will not be entering ANY common areas and will be locked in my unit.
When I have paid over $90,000 to own my mobile home, I’ll be damned if someone is going to tell me what I can or can’t do within the confines of the walls of my unit.
we NEED A DATA ON RENTERS WITH ANIMALS THAT WHEN THEY MOVE OUT , THE LANDLORD WRITES A REPORT ON THE ANIMAL CLEANLINESS, RESPONSIBLE OWNER AND SO ON. nEW RENTALS CAN CHECK THE DATA AND SEE THAT THIS HUMAN HAS ANOTHER FAMILY MEMBER THAT IS CLEAN AND QUIET AND CLEAN.
IS SUCH A THING EXIST.