Renters with pets need better protection

PRINCE GEORGE – First United and the BC SPCA say that broad pet bans in apartment buildings are causing people to lose their homes and forcing many to give up healthy pets to shelters.

Since 2014, the BC SPCA has taken in over 12,400 pets because their owners faced housing problems.

First United has recommended changes to the Residential Tenancy Act to stop pet bans in buildings with five or more units, most recently in March 2026.

The charity found that in over 82 percent of cases reviewed in the past eight years, pet damage cost less than the deposits tenants had already paid.