Is there a time limit for a former tenant to challenge that a landlord actually moved into the rental unit?

After a landlord gives a tenant notice that they or a close family member plan to move into the rental unit, they must move into the unit within a reasonable amount of time after the tenancy ends. A close family member is a parent or child of the landlord or the landlord's spouse. Siblings, cousins, uncles or aunts are not considered close family members.

The landlord (or their close family member) must also live in the unit for at least 12 months. If they don’t, they might have to pay the former tenant the equivalent of 12 months’ rent under this law.

You can apply for compensation

If you suspect your landlord didn’t move their family member in, you can apply for dispute resolution at the Residential Tenancy Branch. You would have up to two years from the date of the end of your tenancy to do this. (Note that this is different than disputing the notice to end the tenancy itself, which is when you want to stay in the unit. In that case, you’d have 30 days to dispute the landlord’s four-month notice.)

Gather evidence

For the compensation claim to be successful, you should come with proof. Just a suspicion that they haven’t moved in isn’t very compelling. Good proof could be a copy of a new ad that lists the unit for rent after you moved out.

You can try to find out the new tenant’s relationship to the landlord, but be mindful of privacy considerations. As in, hiding in the bushes near the property, or harassing the new tenants to give you information, could result in you getting sued for invasion of privacy. A better approach might be getting a sworn statement from a neighbour that supports your claim (basically, an official written statement prepared in front of a lawyer or notary).

If there’s no one living in the home, you may be able to document this. Photos of an unchanging front view of the home on different days over the course of several months would be quite compelling. For example, the photos might show garbage cans never going out and mail never being picked up. Even though you have two years to bring the claim, your evidence has to revolve around those first six to 18 months after you move out. That’s the material time for the landlord or their family member to have moved in.