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Section 16 of the Residential Tenancy Act of BC says that the rights and obligations of a landlord and tenant under a tenancy agreement take effect from the date the tenancy agreement is entered into, whether or not the tenant ever occupies the rental unit. So, on entering into a tenancy agreement the landlord can request a security deposit of up to one-half of one month's rent. This money is not to compensate the landlord but is a financial instrument providing security against possible debt or damage that may be caused during the course of the tenancy.
Given that your agreement was for the tenant to take possession June 1st, he is obliged to pay the full rent on or before the first day of June. However, it seems your tenant changed his mind about renting your premises.
Section 45 of the Act sets out that the tenant is required to provide the landlord with one full calendar month's notice that he is ending the tenancy agreement. So in theory, the tenant should have paid you one month's rent in addition to the security deposit. The tenant should then have given you one month's written notice of his desire to end the tenancy.
As the landlord in this situation, and reasonably presuming the tenant has abandoned the premises by not moving in and failing to pay rent, you are required to mitigate your damages by attempting to re-rent the premises in similar condition at a similar rent. If you are successful you will have mitigated your damages and can claim against the deposit for actual loss of rental income. RTO Form 12 is the paperwork to complete. It will cost you $50 to file and you should arrive at the Residential Tenancy Office before 2:30 PM because the sheer volume of cases, filings and inquiries is such that if you don't arrive earlier than 2:30 PM there is no guarantee you'll be served that day!
At the very least you need to file to retain the security deposit because if you don't claim against it or return it within 15 days you can be ordered to pay the tenant double the deposit.
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