Renting in Vancouver BC

Getting your Security Deposit back

You are entitled to get your security deposit and interest back within fifteen days of ending your tenancy (or 15 days from the date your landlord receives your new address).

What you should do to get your deposit back:

• carefully carry out and complete a condition inspection report before and after tenancy. You lose the right to the return of a security deposit if you were offered at least two opportunities for the condition inspection and failed to participate.
• repair damages caused by you, your friends or pet(s)
• give back all of your keys including those you had cut at your own expense
• pay all the rent you owe
• vacum or sweep floors
• clean the inside and outside of the balcony doors, inside windows and tracks
• clan bathroom fixures, vanity and mirror
• clean counter-top, stove top, elements and oven, defrost and clean the refrigerator, wipe out the inside of the dishwasher
• wash scuff marks, finger prints, etc. off the walls unless the texture of the wall prohibits wiping
• you may be expected to clean the carpets at the end of a tenancy lasting at least 1 year or if you or another occupant had uncaged pets, smoked in the premises or stained the carpet.
• provide your landlord with your forwarding address

Deductions from a security deposit:

• can be processed only with your written consent or when ordered by arbitration
• are based on condition inspection reports signed before and at the end of your tenancy
• the deposit can be kept by the landlord if you don't provide your forwarding address within one year of ending the tenancy
• the landlord loses the right to claim against a security deposit if he does not offer the tenant at least two opportunities for the a condition inspection

Reasonable Wear and Tear

Reasonable wear and tear refers to natural deterioration that occurs due to aging
and other natural forces, where the tenant has used the premises in a reasonable
fashion. An arbitrator may determine whether or not repairs or maintenance are
required due to reasonable wear and tear or due to deliberate damage or neglect
by the tenant.

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