canada rental-property british-columbia
When moving into a rental home, must a landlord inspect it before requiring damage deposit?
<p>I moved into a shared house. The landlord will be wanting a damage deposit (aka security deposit), though I know for a fact that he hasn't inspected the room after the previous tenant moved out. Is he required by law to do this before I pay for the damage deposit?</p>

<p>This is in B.C. Canada.</p>

<p>You should document the condition of the property with photographs before you move in.</p>

<p>This will be your evidence if later you are charged for something that you did not do — or was already that way when you moved in. As @DaleM points out this is called a <strong><em>Dilapidation Report</em></strong>.</p>

<p>When you fight for your security deposit back if there is a later dispute, it will be a battle of evidence. If you claim something was that way when you moved in, you must prove it. Photographs with a timestamp will be useful if not necessary to prove your case.</p>

<p>You can prove the time stamp by posting the photos to a third party image host (like Flicker, Instagram, Tumblr, etc.) that has a reliable timestamp at the time of posting.</p>

<p>In British Columbia, if the landlord fails to complete a condition report,</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>[t]he right of a landlord to claim against a security deposit or a pet damage deposit, or both, for damage to residential property is extinguished</p>
</blockquote>

<ul>
<li><a href="http://tenants.bc.ca/condition-inspection-reports/" rel="nofollow">Plain english summary of the law by the BC Tenant Resource and Advisory Centre</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.bclaws.ca/EPLibraries/bclaws_new/document/ID/freeside/00_02078_01#section23" rel="nofollow">Requirement for condition inspection, and consequences of not doing one</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.bclaws.ca/Recon/document/ID/freeside/10_477_2003#part3" rel="nofollow">Scheduling of the condition inspection</a></li>
</ul>

<p>The damage deposit can be (and generally is) required as a condition of entering the tenancy agreement. The inspection has to happen on the day you move in or at another <a href="http://www.bclaws.ca/Recon/document/ID/freeside/10_477_2003#part3" rel="nofollow">mutually agreed time</a> in order for the landlord to maintain their right to claim against the damage deposit.</p>
