Renting Residential Property:
What Tenants Need to Know
This information from the Real Estate Council of BC explains the role of a real estate professional when you are considering renting a property.
The real estate professional who gave you this form represents the owner of this residential rental property.
While this real estate professional can provide some limited services to you as a prospective tenant of this rental property, they owe a duty of loyalty to the owner, and are working for the owner’s best interests.
This form sets out what this real estate professional can and cannot do for you as a prospective tenant in relation to this rental property.
BC Financial Services Authority is the legislated regulatory agency that works to ensure real estate professionals have the skills and knowledge to provide you with a high standard of service. All real estate professionals must follow rules that help protect consumers, like you. We’re here to help you understand your rights as a real estate consumer. Keep this information page for your reference.
You can work with a real estate professional in one of the following ways:
They cannot
give you advice on terms and conditions to include in a tenancy agreement
negotiate on your behalf
share any of the owner’s confidential information with you
Because this real estate professional is working in the owner’s best interests, they have a duty to share important information with the owner if disclosed by you including, for example: your motivations, your financial qualifications, and your preferred terms and conditions.
They can:
share statistics and general information about the rental property market
provide you with standard forms and contracts such as a rental application and/or tenancy agreement
show the property
assist you to fill out a tenancy agreement
communicate your messages and present your offers to their client
Find information about the rights and responsibilities of tenants and landlords from:
- BC Residential Tenancy Branch: gov.bc.ca/landlordtenant
- Tenant Resource & Advisory Centre: tenants.bc.ca
This is a required disclosure form in compliance with sections 54 and 55 of the Rules under the Real Estate Services Act. The real estate professional must present the Renting Residential Property: What Tenants Need to Know information page to you along with this disclosure form.