Quick facts about the Commercial Tenancy Act Reform Project
February 3, 2017
BY Kevin Zakreski
This post is part of a series highlighting four projects endorsed in the Agenda for Justice 2017 published by the Canadian Bar Association, BC Branch. To read the other posts in the series click here.
About the project
BCLI’s Commercial Tenancy Act Reform Project:
- was carried out from 2007 to 2009 with the assistance of a six-person volunteer project committee;
- was supported by the Real Estate Foundation of British Columbia and the Notary Foundation of British Columbia;
- featured a six-month consultation, which allowed the public to comment on 58 proposals for reform;
- culminated in a final report containing a draft of a new Commercial Tenancy Act.
What will a new Commercial Tenancy Act do?
The new Commercial Tenancy Act will:
- clarify four areas of pressing concern in commercial-tenancy law: provisions implied in leases; the landlord’s consent to an assignment of a lease or a sublease; the application of contractual principles to leases; and, the implications of a tenant’s bankruptcy;
- enable the creation of a new summary dispute-resolution procedure for commercial-leasing disputes;
- repeal a host of obsolete provisions in the current legislation.
Why should the legislature enact it?
The new Commercial Tenancy Act will benefit British Columbians by:
- creating a faster and less expensive means for resolving commercial-leasing disputes;
- fostering certainty and clarity on the core areas of commercial-tenancy law;
- bringing an old and out-of-date statute into the 21st century.
For more information on the Commercial Tenancy Act Reform Project, please visit the project webpage.
