Renting with a pet in Victoria
The local picture
Most households in the City of Victoria rent: about six in ten at the 2021 census.
Alongside the apartment blocks and condo units, some of that renting is in houses, in suites with the owner living on another floor. Saanich, Oak Bay and Esquimalt are separate municipalities with their own bylaws, even where the streets run straight through.
The law, which is the same everywhere in British Columbia
In British Columbia, the tenancy agreement decides
Section 18 of the Residential Tenancy Act allows a tenancy agreement to prohibit pets, or to restrict their size, kind or number. A landlord does not have to allow pets at all, and a no-pets term in your agreement holds. If a landlord agrees to your pet, have that written into the agreement.
Where pets are allowed, the landlord may require a pet damage deposit of no more than half of one month’s rent (section 19), separate from the security deposit, which has the same cap. Only one pet damage deposit is allowed per tenancy, however many pets are agreed (section 20), and a non-refundable pet fee is not among the fees the Residential Tenancy Regulation permits. Certified guide and service dogs are not treated as pets, and no pet damage deposit can be charged for them.
In a strata building the strata’s bylaws bind tenants too, and the landlord must give you the current bylaws and rules before you rent (Strata Property Act, section 146). Pets and tenancy law, province by province.
Disputes go to the Residential Tenancy Branch.
Suites in the owner’s house
British Columbia’s Residential Tenancy Act does not apply where you share a bathroom or kitchen with the owner. A self-contained suite with its own kitchen and bathroom is an ordinary tenancy, owner upstairs or not, and the deposit caps and the Residential Tenancy Branch apply.
Either way the owner can say no to pets, because BC law lets a tenancy agreement prohibit them. What changes is the protection around money: under the Act a pet damage deposit is capped at half a month’s rent and has to be returned or claimed under the Act’s rules at the end. In a room with a shared kitchen, none of that applies.
Practical notes for Victoria
- The City of Victoria requires every dog over four months old to be licensed.
- Together Against Poverty Society runs a Tenant Legal Advocacy Project for low-income tenants in Greater Victoria.
- TRAC’s Tenant Infoline gives free legal information to tenants anywhere in British Columbia.
- If the rental is a condo, ask for the strata’s bylaws and rules before signing. The landlord has to give them to you.
What there is to buy
A letter, if you would like help with one. We write the pet request letter from your answers, for British Columbia, with a one-page pet resume to go with it: $35 on its own, or $55 with the certificate. Or copy the free letter template and write it yourself: it is the same kind of letter. Neither obliges a landlord to agree. We would rather you sent a good letter than no letter.
One payment, delivered by email. With the certificate and card, $55 for both. Prices are in US dollars. Any sales tax is calculated by Creem and shown at checkout before you pay.
Not a legal document. Canada ESA Register is a private service, not a government body, and no official register of emotional support animals exists in Canada. It does not give you a legal right to keep a pet, to housing, or to access with your animal.
Other cities
Not a legal document. Canada ESA Register is a private service, not a government body, and no official register of emotional support animals exists in Canada. This page is general information about renting in British Columbia, not legal advice.