British Columbia Landlord Compliance · Handle a repair request

Repairs, Damage, or Wear and Tear: Who Handles What in BC

Three categories, not two. The landlord's ongoing repair duty, damage a tenant or their guest actually caused, and ordinary wear and tear that isn't anyone's fault. Mixing up wear and tear with damage is where most disputes start.

Written by Platuni

The short answer

1.The landlord must maintain the unit in a state of repair suitable for occupation, and that duty applies even to a unit that was already in rough shape when the tenancy started.
2.The tenant pays for damage they, a guest, or a pet actually caused.
3.Neither side pays for reasonable wear and tear. That's natural aging, and it's the landlord's ongoing maintenance job, not a chargeable repair.
4.A specific, narrow list of issues counts as an emergency repair, with a real process attached to it.
5.A tenant who doesn't report a needed repair can end up liable for damage that resulted from staying quiet about it.

Quick reference: who usually pays

· Landlord: structural repairs, heating, plumbing, and electrical systems, exterior doors and locks, normal wear on paint and carpet over time, pest infestations unless the tenant's own actions caused them
· Tenant: damage they, a guest, or a pet caused, lost-key replacement, minor upkeep like light bulbs and smoke detector batteries, a clog caused by their own misuse

#1. The landlord's baseline duty

The landlord has to keep the property in a state of repair that meets legal health, safety, and housing standards, and that's suitable given the unit's age, character, and location. This duty exists from day one, including for a unit the landlord rented out already needing work; taking someone's money for a place in disrepair doesn't lower the bar, it just means there's already a repair backlog to work through.

[Cite: Residential Tenancy Act, SBC 2002, c 78, s 32(1)]

#2. What counts as wear and tear, and what doesn't

Reasonable wear and tear is natural deterioration from aging and ordinary use, not misuse. Worn carpet in a high-traffic hallway, faded paint after several years, a mattress spring that's softened with normal sleeping on it, none of that is damage in the sense that shifts cost to the tenant. What isn't wear and tear: a hole punched in drywall, a burn mark from a dropped cigarette, a pet that's chewed through a door frame. If a landlord disputes which category something falls into, the move-out condition inspection report is where that disagreement actually gets recorded and resolved.

[Cite: Residential Tenancy Act, SBC 2002, c 78, s 32(4); Residential Tenancy Branch, Policy Guideline 1]

Do this instead

Photograph the unit at move-in and move-out, not just the inspection report's checkboxes. A photo dated against the move-in record settles more disputes than a written description ever does.

#3. When the tenant pays

A tenant has to repair damage to the unit or common areas that's caused by their own or a permitted guest's or pet's actions or neglect. That's the one category cost genuinely shifts. It's also connected to a real consequence: extraordinary damage, or a failure to fix damage they caused within a reasonable time once notified, are both listed grounds for ending the tenancy for cause.

[Cite: Residential Tenancy Act, SBC 2002, c 78, ss 32(3), 47(f), 47(g)]

#4. The emergency repair process

Emergency repairs are defined narrowly: major leaks in pipes or the roof, damaged or blocked water or sewer lines, a non-working primary heating system, a defective lock giving access to the unit, or an electrical hazard. For something that qualifies, the tenant has to make at least two attempts to reach the contact number the landlord provided for emergencies, then give a reasonable amount of time to respond, before arranging the repair themselves. Do that correctly, keep the receipts, and the landlord has to reimburse a reasonable amount; skip the documentation or the phone attempts, and that reimbursement right doesn't apply. If the landlord never reimburses, the tenant can deduct the cost from rent instead.

[Cite: Residential Tenancy Act, SBC 2002, c 78, s 33]

Do this instead

Post the actual emergency contact number where tenants can find it, and confirm it's a number someone actually answers. The two-attempt requirement only protects you if the number tenants are calling is a real one.

#5. Why reporting matters, even when it's not your fault

A tenant isn't required to fix ordinary problems themselves, but they are expected to tell the landlord promptly when something needs attention. If a tenant sits on a known issue and it turns into substantial damage as a result, they can end up on the hook for the part that staying quiet caused, even though the original problem was never theirs to begin with.

[Cite: Residential Tenancy Branch, Policy Guideline 5]

Reading this as a tenant?

Reporting a repair in writing, even a minor one, protects you either way. If it turns out to be wear and tear, you've lost nothing. If it turns out to matter, you've got a timestamp showing you flagged it.