A landlord can give notice to end the tenancy agreement to a tenant who does not pay the rent when it is due. The notice is set up differently from other types of notices because it is cancelled if the tenant pays the rent owing within 5 days of receiving the notice.
The provision (section 46) in the BC Residential Tenancy Act is as follows:
(1) A landlord may end a tenancy if rent is unpaid on any day after the day it is due, by giving notice to end the tenancy effective on a date that is not earlier than 10 days after the date the tenant receives the notice.
(2) A notice under this section must comply with section 52 [form and content of notice to end tenancy].
(3) A notice under this section has no effect if the amount of rent that is unpaid is an amount the tenant is permitted under this Act to deduct from rent.
(4) Within 5 days after receiving a notice under this section, the tenant may
(a) pay the overdue rent, in which case the notice has no effect, or
(b) dispute the notice by applying for arbitration.
(5) If a tenant who has received a notice under this section does not pay the rent or apply for arbitration in accordance with subsection (4), the tenant
(a) is conclusively presumed to have accepted that the tenancy ends on the effective date of the notice, and
(b) must vacate the rental unit to which the notice relates by that date.
(6) If
(a) a tenancy agreement requires the tenant to pay utility charges to the landlord, and
(b) the utility charges are unpaid more than 30 days after the tenant is given a written demand for payment of them, the landlord may treat the unpaid utility charges as unpaid rent and may give notice under this section.
