A British Columbia landlord who evicted an old tenant and then advertised the same unit at a higher rent has been ordered to pay $16,000.

Tenant Nicholas Hill, who lived in a one-bedroom unit above the garage of a house in South Surrey for nearly six years, was forced to leave after the property was purchased by Fenlian Chee in March 2021, with a message from the landlord's estate agent that the family needed a nearby rental unit. He left home. According to the housing rental law of the province, at that time the landlord had to allocate the unit to his family members for at least six months.

But three months after Hill's eviction in June 2021, Chi began subletting the unit to a new tenant, raising the rent to $1,800 a month. The Supreme Court of British Columbia stated in its ruling that the main purpose of evicting the tenant for the residence of family members was not met and Chi was forced to pay compensation.

British Columbia's new law now requires family members to reside for at least 12 months in such cases, with heavy financial penalties for violation.

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