Rental Management

What rental management with Onehive covers

Renting out a home in BC is more than finding someone to move in. It's screening the right tenant, collecting rent on time, documenting the property's condition, fixing things when they break, and following the Residential Tenancy Act at every step. Miss one of those and it costs you, sometimes in money and sometimes in a dispute you didn't see coming.

We take the whole thing off your plate. You stay the owner and make the big calls. We handle the day-to-day so you're not chasing a late payment or trying to book a plumber on a Sunday night.

What you get

Screening comes first, because the right tenant prevents most problems. We run credit and reference checks, verify income and employment, and follow up with past landlords before anyone signs. You see the results and have the final say.

Once a tenant is in place, rent collection runs through the owner portal. Tenants pay online, reminders go out automatically, and if a payment is late you'll know quickly, along with what we're doing about it. Every dollar in and out shows up on a clear monthly statement, so you always know what's landing in your account. At year-end you get a summary that makes tax time simpler.

We document the property properly, too. Move-in and move-out inspections are done in person with photos and a signed condition report, then stored in your searchable document library. That record is what protects your deposit claims and settles disagreements before they become disputes.

How maintenance works

Things break, and tenants notice at the worst times. Our emergency intake runs 24/7, so a burst pipe or a failed furnace gets a real response, not a voicemail. Routine repairs go to trades we've worked with and trust.

Every request becomes a ticket you can follow from your portal, so you can see what was reported, who's handling it, and when it's done. Nothing disappears into an inbox.

Staying onside with the RTB

BC's tenancy rules are specific, and small mistakes carry real consequences. We keep your tenancies compliant with the Residential Tenancy Act: proper agreements, correct notices, deposits handled and returned on the right timelines, and documentation that holds up if a matter ever reaches the Residential Tenancy Branch.

Where a situation is genuinely tricky, we'll tell you plainly and point you to a lawyer rather than guess. The goal is to keep you out of trouble in the first place.

Why boutique is better here

Big firms manage rentals by volume. Your property becomes one file among thousands, and you talk to whoever picks up. We work differently on purpose. Because we only take on small and mid-sized communities, the person you reach actually knows your property, your tenant, and your history.

That focus shows up in the small things: faster answers, fewer handoffs, and decisions made by someone who remembers the details. Serving 70+ communities across British Columbia, we're big enough to have real systems and small enough to still care about your one door. Proposals are answered within one business day, so you're never left waiting to get started.

Leasing: filling a vacancy without dropping the rent

An empty month costs more than most rent adjustments save, so leasing is where a manager either earns their fee or quietly loses you money.

We price the unit against what comparable homes actually rented for, not what similar homes are currently listed at — asking prices include everything that hasn't rented, which is exactly the wrong sample. Photographs and the listing copy get real attention, because the number of qualified enquiries in the first 72 hours largely determines whether you hold your price or start discounting in week three.

Showings are run in person. Applications are screened before anyone is shown a lease: credit and identity checks, income and employment verification, and reference calls to previous landlords with specific questions rather than a request for a general impression. You see the shortlist and the file behind each name, and the final decision is yours. Screening within the bounds of BC's human rights legislation is not optional, and the process is documented so it can stand up if it's ever questioned — the detail is in our guide to tenant screening in BC.

The tenancy agreement is prepared on the current Residential Tenancy Branch form with any addenda your property genuinely needs, and the move-in condition inspection is completed in person with photographs and signatures on the day possession changes hands. That report is the single most useful document you will own if a deposit is ever disputed.

Keeping a good tenant, and what turnover really costs

The most profitable tenancy is a long one. A turnover costs the vacant weeks, the cleaning and touch-ups, the leasing work, and the risk that the replacement is worse than the person who left — and none of that appears on a monthly statement as a line item, which is why it gets underweighted.

Retention is unglamorous and mostly mechanical: repairs handled quickly, communication that doesn't require chasing, and rent increases that arrive with correct notice and no surprises. Rent increases in BC are capped annually and tightly regulated on timing and form, and getting either wrong makes the increase unenforceable — we handle the notice and the timing, and explain the trade-off when the allowable increase and the market have drifted apart. There is more on both in reducing tenant turnover and raising rent in BC.

When a tenancy does need to end, the grounds and the notice periods are specific and the compensation rules have changed in recent years. We would rather end a tenancy correctly and slowly than incorrectly and fast — a defective notice restarts the clock and can cost you compensation on top of the vacancy.

Renting out a unit that sits inside a strata

A rental inside a strata is governed by two statutes at once, and most landlord trouble in BC starts where they meet.

The Residential Tenancy Act governs you and your tenant. The Strata Property Act governs what the corporation can require of you — and since Bill 44 removed rental restrictions in 2022, that is narrower than many councils still believe. The corporation can no longer cap the number of rented units or bar rentals outright. It can still restrict short-term rentals, enforce its bylaws against your tenant, and require a Form K notice of tenant's responsibilities.

Practically, this means your tenant has to be given the bylaws and rules, a Form K has to be filed, and a bylaw complaint aimed at your tenant lands on you as the owner. Fines follow the strata lot, not the occupant. Managing both sides is the part we do that a rental-only manager can't: we run the tenancy and handle the strata correspondence, so a parking complaint doesn't become a fine you learn about at year end.

Background reading: renting out your strata unit after Bill 44, who pays strata fees when renting, and short-term rental rules for owners.

Frequently asked questions

What's included in rental property management? Tenant screening and placement, rent collection, maintenance coordination, inspections, and compliance with BC's Residential Tenancy Act — plus clear monthly statements.

How much do you charge to manage a rental? Typically a percentage of monthly rent, with leasing and tenant placement handled separately. We'll quote your specific property honestly.

Do you manage rentals inside a strata? Yes — we handle both the tenancy and the strata-bylaw side, so your unit stays compliant with the RTA and the strata's rules.