How do I get my roommate who isn't on the lease to leave?

Last reviewed August 2025 by the Clicklaw editors

Many people live with roommates who aren’t on the tenancy agreement or lease. This rental situation isn’t covered by tenancy law, specifically the Residential Tenancy Act (RTA). If you’re dealing with a dispute — for example, if your roommate owes money for rent — you can’t get help from the Residential Tenancy Branch (RTB). But you still have legal options.

For living arrangements not covered by the RTA, ideally you would have had a roommate agreement in place. The Tenant Resource and Advisory Centre has a roommate agreement template on their website. Having all roommates listed on the lease with the landlord is also a good idea.

If you didn’t have a roommate agreement and talking to them doesn’t fix the problem, you might have to ask them to leave, or bring the problem to court.

If you didn’t have a roommate agreement and talking to them doesn’t fix the problem, you might have to ask them to leave, or bring the problem to court.

Asking a roommate to move out

The act covers the eviction process that landlords use with tenants, but not with roommates. You still have to give your roommate reasonable notice. If you have a roommate agreement, it should say how much notice to give when asking someone to move out. If you don’t have an agreement, check what the courts have to say about reasonable notice. You can do this by going to CanLII (Canadian Legal Information Institute), a free database of past legal decisions from across Canada.

The police don’t have the authority to help you evict someone, but you can call them if you’re concerned about your safety. As a last resort, you may be able to change the locks with the landlord’s permission, but you’ll need to explore other solutions first.

The Civil Resolution Tribunal

If you discussed things with your roommate and still aren’t able to agree on a solution, or if they ignore your eviction notice, you may need to go to court.

The Civil Resolution Tribunal (CRT) can help with disputes up to $5,000, such as unpaid rent. The CRT is a way to resolve your case online. It’s part of BC’s justice system and can help people settle problems collaboratively without a lawyer. The CRT can’t order an eviction, but they can give information about next steps and let you know what’s considered reasonable notice. The “Small Claims” section of their website has a section on housing and roommates.

Try searching CanLII for cases involving roommate disputes to see which kind of problems the CRT will look at. Finding cases that are like yours may help you decide what kind of evidence you need for the CRT.

If you get a judgment in your favour, you’ll also need to enforce the CRT order by first filing it with the small claims registry. This gives it the same force and effect as an order from a judge in small claims court, which deals with disputes between $5,001 and $35,000. You can read about these steps on Justice Education Society’s Small Claims BC website.

The Supreme Court of BC

If you need to ask for a court order of eviction, then your next step is the Supreme Court of BC. BC Supreme Court is a long and expensive process, so you may want to talk to a lawyer first. (See “Helpful services” below.) You must fill out and file a general form where you write out what you want the judge to order, the facts about the situation, and any laws or other cases that support what you’re asking for. This is usually a Notice of Civil Claim (Form 1) (PDF) and a supporting affidavit (Form 109) (PDF). (See some tips about using the forms.) The affidavit contains supporting evidence like your sworn testimony about the facts and describes documents you’re planning to rely on and attach to the affidavit.

You might want to discuss options with your landlord before going this route. Your landlord may need to become involved.

There are helpful guides on going to court: the Justice Education Society’s Supreme Court BC website and the CanLII Manual to British Columbia Civil Litigation. The court has also published a memo for self-represented litigants (PDF) that describes what happens on the day that you attend court.

Enforcing a Supreme Court order

Even if you get a court order, you might still need to enforce it. There are procedures for getting someone to pay money — see the Supreme Court BC website. If the court order is for an eviction and the roommate still won’t leave, you may be able to get your landlord or the police involved. Your landlord is required to provide their leased tenants with quiet enjoyment — see the Government of BC website for what this means. Dispute resolution through the Residential Tenancy Board may be an option at this point.

Helpful resources

Helpful services

  • Tenant Infoline (Tenant Resource & Advisory Centre): This info line provides information, referrals, and help for tenants dealing with residential tenancy law matters. They won’t be able to help with cases outside the RTB but may be able to offer some advice on next steps.
  • Summary Advice Program (Access Pro Bono): This service offers free legal advice to low- and modest-income individuals by telephone or videoconference. Book an appointment with a volunteer lawyer by filling out the online form or calling the client line.
  • Lawyer Referral Service (Access Pro Bono): The service offers a free, brief initial consultation with a lawyer to determine your legal needs. If you would like further help from your lawyer, you can retain them at a rate you both agree to.
  • Find more services.