Tenant Protection

Effective July 1, 2026: All new redevelopments with tenant assistance obligations are subject to the Tenant Protection Bylaw.

All redevelopments submitted to the City before June 30, 2026 will continue to be subject to the Tenant Assistance Policy and are listed in the Tenant Assistance Policy Projects in Progress table.

Background

Burnaby’s Tenant Assistance Policy was first adopted by Council on May 4, 2015, and revised on March 5, 2018. This laid the foundation for supporting tenants through redevelopment. In response to the 2019 Mayor’s Task Force on Community Housing recommendations, the City introduced a more comprehensive and robust Tenant Assistance Policy. The updated policy set stronger standards to help tenants in multi-family market rental buildings who are displaced from their homes as a result of major redevelopment.

In 2024, changes to the Local Government Act and Community Charter enabled local governments to adopt Tenant Protection Bylaws and to establish Development Permit Areas where those bylaws apply. City Council approved Burnaby’s Tenant Protection Bylaw and Tenant Protection Development Permit Guidelines on May 26, 2026.

The City of Burnaby’s Tenant Protection Bylaw (TPB) builds on the success of the Tenant Assistance Policy and continues to support households with same set of key benefits.

Key benefits

Benefits offered under the Tenant Protection Bylaw or the Tenant Assistance Policy include:

help finding a new place to rent
financial support for moving and help with making arrangements
financial compensation in the form of rent top-up payments or a lump sum payment, to bridge the gap between current rents and market rents
the right to a replacement unit in the redeveloped building with the same number of bedrooms and at the same rent (plus any Residential Tenancy Act-approved rent increases)

This bylaw and past policy is one of several housing initiatives that support the City's efforts to address the full housing system and to support the needs of residents in Burnaby.

Who is protected?

Under the Tenant Protection Bylaw (TPB), households will become eligible for TPB benefits if they live at the development site on the date the notice to end tenancy is issued. The following table outlines applicability and eligibility requirements for the TPB:

Eligible projects are redevelopments of privately-owned rental buildings with:

five or more purpose-built rental* units
fewer than five rental units if those units are being combined into a larger redevelopment that includes a purpose-built rental building with five or more units

Purpose-built rental units or consolidated rental units that households need to vacate due to a redevelopment or renovation project are eligible.

Eligible households are:
- households living in an eligible unit on the eligibility date, which is the day the Four Month Notice to End Tenancy is issued in relation to the redevelopment
- households living in a unit that is provided or subsidized as a condition of employment (e.g., building manager or caretaker) on the eligibility date, which is the day the Four Month Notice to End Tenancy is issued in relation to the redevelopment

Households who move out before the Four Month Notice to End Tenancy is issued.
Households evicted for cause from their current home or interim housing.
Households receiving benefits under the previous Tenant Assistance Policy.
Sub-tenants who do not have a tenancy agreement with the original landlord, unless the eligible household chooses to transfer benefits to the sub-tenant.
Roommates/occupants who are not named on a written tenancy agreement, unless the tenant named on the tenancy agreement chooses to transfer benefits to the roommate/occupant.

*Purpose-built rental housing means a non-stratified, multi-unit building or portion of a multi-unit building where dwelling units are held in common ownership and used only for rental purposes but does not include a dormitory. Purpose-built rental housing may include market and non-market rental housing.

Tenant Assistance Policy

Under the Tenant Assistance Policy, households are eligible for benefits if they lived at the development site on the date that the development application was submitted to the City. These projects are listed in the tenant protection projects in progress table.

Further information on eligibility and applicability under the Tenant Assistance Policy can be found at the following links:

Information for households

The following sections outline the key information for households. There are no changes for households regarding these key supports and protections between the Tenant Assistance Policy and the Tenant Protection Bylaw.

A key pillar of support is that households subject to the Tenant Protection Bylaw or the Tenant Assistance Policy have the right to return to a unit with the same number of bedrooms in the new development at the same rent that they were paying before (plus any Residential Tenancy Act rent increases).

Households subject to the Tenant Protection Bylaw or the Tenant Assistance Policy have flexible options for choosing where they will live while their building is being redeveloped. This is called “interim housing”.

Households can accept the owner’s help to find suitable interim housing options. The owner will make every effort to find an interim unit within the same area of Burnaby unless the households request otherwise; or
Households can secure housing themselves to make other interim housing arrangements

While the redevelopment project is underway, households subject to the Tenant Protection Bylaw or the Tenant Assistance Policy can opt to receive a monthly rent top-up payment or a onetime lump sum payment. Households become eligible for financial support if a notice to end tenancy is issued in relation to the redevelopment.

Financial compensation support is provided in one of 3 ways:

Option 1–Top-up secured by the owner
- If a households choose to live in interim housing provided by the owner, they'll continue to pay the same rent, and the owner will pay a top up for the remainder of the interim housing rent.
Option 2–Top-ups secured by the household
- If a household choose to find their own interim housing, they will receive a rent top-up (paid by the owner) for the difference between the old and new rents up to a calculated maximum. The maximum top-up available is equal to 15% of the household’s current rent, or 30% above the median rent for a similar unit in the same neighbourhood, minus their rent at move out, whichever is greater.
Option 3–Lump sum payment
- If they households choose to find their own interim housing they can receive a one-time payment equivalent to 36 months’ top-up payment

Contact your Tenant Relocation Coordinator for an estimated Top-up or lump sum amount.

Median rents are based on data provided by the federal housing agency, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC). They can be viewed through the CMHC Housing Market Information Portal.

The latest median rents are from 2025 and are provided in the table below.

Unit size	Central Park/Metrotown	Southeast Burnaby	North Burnaby
Studio	$1,350*	$1,100*	$1,038
1-bedroom	$1,650	$1,550	$1,700
2-bedroom	$2,125	$1,850	$1,941
3-bedroom +	$2,171**	$1,800***	$2,250*

*Data from 2024; this rate may be adjusted at the City’s discretion.
**Data from 2023; this rate may be adjusted at the City’s discretion.
***Data from 2021; this rate may be adjusted at the City's discretion.

Moving can be stressful. Owners will help households subject to the Tenant Protection Bylaw or the Tenant Assistance Policy by providing a moving service, or financial compensation if a household wants to arrange the move themselves.

Households will have the option of either:

an insured moving company, arranged by the owner, or
a payment based on the unit bedroom size
- studio/one bedroom: $900
- 2-bedrooms: $1,200
- 3 or more bedrooms: $1,400

Owners will hire a Tenant Relocation Coordinator to assist households and deliver on all the items of the City’s Tenant Protection Bylaw or the Tenant Assistance Policy.

Tenant Relocation Coordinators are responsive and available to answer questions by phone or email during regular hours. Their contact information will be shared with all households and posted in the affected buildings. Tenant Relocation Coordinators are the main point of contact for households during the Tenant Protection Bylaw process.

Tenant Protection Bylaw

Effective July 1, 2026 all new redevelopments with tenant assistance obligations are subject to the Tenant Protection Bylaw. Redevelopments will be added to this list as applications are received by the City.

Tenant Assistance Policy

If you were a resident at one of these addresses on the date specified, and have never been contacted about your Tenant Assistance Policy benefits, please reach out to the [email protected] or 604-294-7750.

If you have already been in contact with City of Burnaby staff or your Tenant Relocation Coordinator, no further action is needed.

Address	Eligibility date	Rezoning number
5895 Barker	January 29, 2018	25-15 (previously 17-40)
3846, 3890 Carrigan Court	August 11, 2020	20-18
6366 Cassie, 6433 Mckay	April 9, 2018	17-34
6645, 6647, 6651, 6659, 6661, 6675, and 6691 Dow	December 4, 2018	25-23 (previously 18-49)
4475 Grange, 5777 Willingdon	March 29, 2023	23-07
5166 Halifax	April 20, 2022	21-36
6540 Marlborough	October 29, 2019	18-31
6556, 6566, 6580 Marlborough Avenue	January 29, 2018	17-30
4214, 4232, 4250 Maywood Avenue and 6562,6588 Willingdon	June 15, 2022	22-18
4330 Maywood	June 11, 2018	17-10004
4355 Maywood	April 27, 2018	18-21
5868 Olive	September 30, 2017	17-10000
5900 Olive	April 9, 2018	17-10001
5852 Patterson	January 29, 2018	17-35
6665 Royal Oak	July 29, 2017	17-10016
6387, 6425 Silver Avenue	August 23, 2023	23-17
6444 Silver	June 11, 2018	17-39
6470, 6508 Silver	September 17, 2021	25-12 (previously 21-36)
6544 Silver	August 23, 2023	23-18
6620, 6630 Sussex	September 16, 2019	18-20
6450-6508(6486) Telford	July 29, 2019	17-10009
6615 Telford	September 16, 2019	18-13
6540, 6592 Telford	October 21, 2021	21-39
6630 Telford	May 7, 2018	18-23
6280, 6350 Willingdon	January 25, 2018	18-03
6622, 6688 Willingdon	April 23, 2021	21-19
6004, 6006, 60018 Wilson	December 11, 2017	17-24
5978 Wilson	June 21, 2018	24-22 (previously 18-29)

Information for owners

In 2019, Burnaby became the first city in BC to take advantage of new provincial legislation aimed at protecting and increasing the supply of rental housing in BC. The legislation allows local governments to establish rental housing as a specific land use in multi-family residential areas. In Burnaby, this is used to require owners to include different types of market and non-market rental units in new housing developments, through the Rental Use Zoning Policy.

In 2026 the Tenant Protection Bylaw, the Burnaby Zoning Bylaw and associated bylaw updates were adopted by City Council. These regulatory tools work together to continue to provide a suite of support and protections for households facing relocation due to redevelopment. Learn more about each regulatory tools for Tenant Protection in the next section.

If an existing rental building is being redeveloped, the both the Tenant Assistance Policy (regulated through the Rental Use Zoning Policy) and the Tenant Protection Bylaw requires that tenants who were displaced from the original building will be offered a new replacement rental unit at the same rent as their old unit (plus any Residential Tenancy Act increases). Replacement rental units in the new building must have the same number of bedrooms as the units they're replacing.

The Tenant Assistance Policy and Tenant Protection Bylaw are applied differently if a tenant who was displaced from the original building leaves or chooses not to return. Under the Tenant Assistance Policy (regulated through the RUZP) these units must be made available to other renters at non-market rates. Under the Tenant Protection Bylaw these units must be made available to other renters at non-market or unregulated rental rates depending on the rezoning and tenancy type of the redevelopment.

Learn more about the inclusionary rental requirements in the Burnaby Zoning Bylaw.

Projects subject to the Tenant Protection Bylaw

There is a suite of regulatory tools to support tenant protection. The Tenant Protection Development Permit Guidelines outline the requirements that owners must meet to obtain a Development Permit. In addition, the Tenant Protection Bylaw sets out the support and services that must be provided to tenants throughout the redevelopment process.

Owners are responsible for understanding and adhering to the Tenant Protection Bylaw, Zoning Bylaw and associated bylaw requirements. City staff are available to provide guidance on these requirements. The following table outlines the regulatory tools for projects subject to the Tenant Protection Bylaw.

Regulatory tools for tenant protection	Description
Burnaby 2050 Official Community Plan - Appendix D. Tenant Protection Development Permit Area	Designates the Development Permit Area for the purpose of mitigating effects on tenants who will be or have been displaced from their rental units in relation to a redevelopment or a proposed redevelopment.
Burnaby Zoning Bylaw - Schedule III Tenant Protection Development Permit Guidelines	Outlines the Tenant Protection Development Permit Guidelines which are the requirements needed to be issued a Development Permit.
Burnaby Tenant Protection Bylaw (BL No. 14821)	A bylaw, which among other purposes, establishes the fees and charges associated with non-compliance with the Tenant Protection Bylaw, after a Tenant Protection Development Permit is approved.
Burnaby Notice Enforcement Bylaw (BL No. 14822)	A bylaw, which among other purposes, establishes the fees and charges associated with non-compliance with the Tenant Protection Bylaw, after a Tenant Protection Development Permit is approved.
Burnaby Development Procedures Bylaw (BL No. 14824)	A bylaw, which among other purposes, establishes the development procedures such as the security calculation for the Tenant Protection Bylaw.
Burnaby Zoning Bylaw - Part 5 Rental Housing and Bonus Incentives Part 5	Establishes requirements in relation to inclusionary rental units, and replacement rental units, and community benefit bonus incentives.

Schedule A of the Tenant Assistance Policy describes the required deliverables. Owners are also responsible for understanding and adhering to the rest of the policy. Completing the policy is a condition of rezoning. City Staff is available to help owners navigate the policy and has templates for most deliverables.

Learn more about the Tenant Assistance Policy.

As landlords, owners have additional responsibilities under the Residential Tenancy Act. Owners are responsible for knowing and adhering to these responsibilities and may contact the BC Residential Tenancy Branch for assistance if they have questions.