Planning a trip away from Vancouver Island? Whether it's two weeks in Mexico or six months in Portugal, being a landlord doesn't pause because you do. BC's Residential Tenancy Act (RTA) keeps running, your tenant still has rights, and emergencies don't schedule themselves around your itinerary.
The good news: with a bit of preparation before you leave, you can travel with real peace of mind. Here's what you need to have sorted.
This is the most important one. Under BC's RTA, if you're a landlord who is not ordinarily resident in BC — or who will be absent for an extended period — you are expected to have a local contact who can respond to your tenant's concerns and handle property matters.
In practice, this means your tenant needs to know:
Before you leave, decide how much a local contact or caretaker is authorized to spend on repairs without calling you first. This is called a per-incident spending limit, and it's a standard part of any property caretaking arrangement.
For context, common urgent repairs on Vancouver Island include:
A typical spending limit is $500–$1,000 per incident. Anything above that threshold, your contact calls or messages you before authorizing work — unless it's a genuine safety emergency.
Some landlord insurance policies have clauses that limit or void coverage if the property owner is absent for an extended period without notifying the insurer. Before you travel:
This five-minute phone call can save you from a denied claim if something goes wrong while you're away.
Don't just hand over a phone number — arrange a proper introduction. This can be a brief in-person meeting, a phone call, or even a video call. The goal is for your tenant to:
A tenant who knows and trusts your property caretaker is far more likely to report a slow leak, a heating issue, or a neighbour concern early — before it becomes expensive.
Rent doesn't stop because you're on a beach. Make sure you have a clear plan for:
Under the RTA, rent must be paid on time and the landlord (or their agent) is entitled to serve a 10-day Notice to End Tenancy if rent is more than 5 days late. You need someone local who can handle this process correctly if it ever comes up — mailing legal notices from another country is not practical.
Even with a property caretaker in place, entry to your tenant's unit is governed by the RTA. In most situations, your caretaker must provide 24 hours' written notice before entering the unit — specifying the reason and time of entry. Exceptions exist for genuine emergencies (flooding, fire, immediate safety risk), where entry can occur without notice.
This matters because a well-intentioned "just pop by to check on things" visit can be a breach of the RTA if it's done without proper notice. A dedicated local caretaker will handle this correctly without you having to think about it.
Before you leave, make sure your property caretaker (or emergency contact) has copies of:
Some landlords try to manage their property remotely while travelling — handling tenant texts during layovers, approving repairs between excursions, and hoping nothing major happens. This works until it doesn't. A burst pipe in January or a tenant lockout at midnight requires someone who can physically show up on Vancouver Island, not someone with a roaming data plan.
Temporary professional caretaking isn't just a convenience — for many landlords, it's the difference between a relaxing trip and a stressful one.
LandlordAway provides temporary property caretaking services for Vancouver Island landlords — from 1 week to 12 months. Rent collection, tenant communication, emergencies, and maintenance handled locally while you travel.
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