Form K in BC: The Notice of Tenant's Responsibilities Landlords Forget

There is a one-page form that most BC strata landlords have never heard of, and skipping it can hand your tenant the right to walk out of the tenancy within 90 days and bill you for the movers.

It is called the Notice of Tenant's Responsibilities — Form K in the Strata Property Act forms — and it takes about four minutes to deal with properly.

This article is general information about the Strata Property Act and BC tenancy law, not legal advice. If you are dealing with a dispute, a notice to end tenancy or an assignment of rights, get advice from a lawyer or contact the Residential Tenancy Branch.

What section 146 requires

Before renting a residential strata lot, a landlord must give the prospective tenant:

• the current bylaws and rules of the strata corporation, and
• a Notice of Tenant's Responsibilities in the prescribed form

Then, within two weeks of renting the strata lot, the landlord must give the strata corporation a copy of the notice signed by the tenant.

That is the whole obligation. Three documents to the tenant, one signed copy back to the strata, inside two weeks.

The consequence of skipping it

This is the part that gets attention.

Where the landlord does not comply, the Act gives the tenant the right to end the tenancy within 90 days without penalty, and requires the landlord to reimburse the tenant's reasonable moving expenses, up to one month's rent.

For an investor with a unit in a rising rental market, that is a bad outcome created by a piece of paper. It is also entirely avoidable, and there is no discretion in it to argue about.

What Form K does not do

Three misconceptions, all common, all costly.

It does not make the bylaws apply. Tenants are bound by the strata's bylaws and rules whether or not they ever received a Form K. The notice informs the tenant; it does not create the obligation. A landlord cannot argue that an unnotified tenant is exempt, and a tenant cannot either.

It is not permission to rent. Since the changes brought in by Bill 44, BC strata corporations generally cannot restrict the rental of strata lots or screen tenants — see renting out your strata unit after Bill 44. Form K is a notification, not an application. A council that treats an incoming Form K as something it can approve or refuse has misread the Act. (Short-term rentals are a separate regime with separate bylaw powers — see BC's short-term rental rules.)

It does not transfer the landlord's rights to the tenant. That is a different mechanism entirely, and it is the one landlords most often get wrong.

Form K versus assigning your rights

Under the Act, a landlord may assign some or all of their powers and duties as an owner to the tenant, by giving written notice to the strata corporation. What a landlord cannot assign is responsibility for fines and for the cost of remedying a contravention — those stay with the owner.

Where a lease runs for three years or more, the Act treats the landlord's powers and duties as assigned to the tenant for the term, and the tenant must notify the strata corporation in writing.

The practical consequences:

• Voting. A tenant votes at a general meeting only where the landlord's voting rights have been assigned. Form K alone does not give a tenant a vote. The vote thresholds and eligibility rules explain who counts.
• Notices and correspondence. Assignment changes who the strata deals with, which matters for access notices, hearings and bylaw enforcement.
• Council eligibility. Whether a tenant may sit on council depends on assignment and on your bylaws.

Most landlords should think carefully before assigning voting rights. You retain the financial exposure either way; assigning the vote gives away the influence without shedding the liability.

A landlord's four-minute checklist

1. 1.Get the current bylaws and rules from the strata. You are entitled to them, and the Act requires the strata to provide bylaws and rules on request within one week — see requesting strata records in BC. Do not hand over a set you downloaded three years ago; bylaws get amended.
2. 2.Download the current Form K from the Province's strata forms page. Use the current version.
3. 3.Give the tenant all three documents before the tenancy starts and have the tenant sign the Form K.
4. 4.Send the signed copy to the strata corporation within two weeks, by a method that gives you proof of delivery. Email to the manager, with the tenancy start date in the subject line, is fine.
5. 5.Keep a copy with the tenancy agreement.
6. 6.Repeat for every new tenant. A new tenancy is a new notice. A renewal with the same tenant is not.
7. 7.When the bylaws change, send the amendments to your tenant. Not strictly required by section 146, but it is the difference between a tenant who complies and a tenant who is surprised by a fine.

What a council should do with the Form Ks it receives

• Log the tenancy. The strata is required to keep lists of tenants as part of its records, and the Form K is how that list stays accurate.
• Use it for notices. Access notices, building notices and emergency contact all depend on knowing who actually lives in the unit — which matters more than most councils realise the first time a 48-hour entry notice goes to an owner in another province.
• Do not treat it as an approval step. No fee, no interview, no conditions. The strata's role is to receive it.
• Chase the ones that never arrive. A polite standing reminder in the AGM package and in the welcome material is more effective than enforcement.
• Follow the Act when enforcing against a tenant. The strata can act against a tenant for a bylaw contravention, and when it does, it must notify the landlord as well. There are also specific rules about how a tenant's fine is attributed. Our guide to bylaw enforcement and fines covers the process.

Where strata bylaws meet the tenancy agreement

Two separate legal relationships run in parallel and landlords should keep them straight.

The strata corporation enforces its bylaws against the tenant as an occupant, under the Strata Property Act. The landlord enforces the tenancy agreement against the tenant under the Residential Tenancy Act, through the Residential Tenancy Branch.

A well-drafted tenancy agreement will incorporate the strata's bylaws and rules, so that a persistent bylaw breach is also a breach of the tenancy. That is what gives a landlord a route to act when the strata starts issuing fines the landlord will ultimately be paying. On the tenancy side, see grounds to evict a tenant in BC.

And remember that strata fees remain the owner's obligation regardless of the tenancy — see who pays strata fees when you rent out your unit.

Frequently asked questions

What is a Form K in BC? Form K is the Notice of Tenant's Responsibilities prescribed under the Strata Property Act. A landlord must give it to a prospective tenant of a residential strata lot, together with the current bylaws and rules, before renting, and must give the strata corporation a signed copy within two weeks.

What happens if a landlord does not provide a Form K? The tenant may end the tenancy within 90 days without penalty, and the landlord must reimburse the tenant's reasonable moving expenses up to one month's rent. The tenant remains bound by the bylaws regardless.

Does a tenant have to follow strata bylaws if they never received a Form K? Yes. Tenants are bound by the bylaws and rules whether or not the notice was given. The Form K informs the tenant; it does not create the obligation.

Does Form K let my tenant vote at the AGM? No. A tenant votes only where the landlord has assigned voting rights by written notice to the strata corporation, or where a lease of three years or more triggers assignment under the Act. Form K on its own does not transfer any of the landlord's powers.

Can the strata refuse to accept my tenant? No. Since the Bill 44 changes, strata corporations generally cannot screen tenants, impose screening criteria, require approval, or restrict the rental of strata lots. Short-term rentals are governed separately.

Related reading

• Renting Out Your Strata Unit After Bill 44 in BC
• Who Pays Strata Fees When You Rent Out Your Unit in BC? (+ Tax)
• BC's Short-Term Rental Rules: What Strata Owners Need to Know
• Strata Bylaw Enforcement & Fines in BC: How to Do It Right
• Grounds to Evict a Tenant in BC: A Landlord's Guide
• Strata Rental Hardship Exemptions in BC (and What Bill 44 Changed)

Part 8 of the Strata Property Act contains the rental provisions, and the Province publishes the current prescribed strata forms online.

Getting the paperwork right at the start of a tenancy prevents most of what goes wrong later. Onehive provides rental management for owners across Metro Vancouver, including Burnaby, Surrey and New Westminster — request a proposal.