Residential Inspections - Provincial Law

Received from the Residential Tenancy Office in Victoria, in response to my inquiry, the following information - it seems to say that inspections of rental property can be random or can even be as regular as monthly, but that they cannot be done without cause, nor without notice:

Please refer to the following:
http://www.rto.gov.bc.ca/documents/RTB-107.pdf
When the legislation was updated in January of 2004, it allowed the
landlord to conduct monthly inspections with proper notice in writing.
This "inspection" is not limited to suspicion of illegal activities, it
is just that - an inspection and as such, is allowable by law. Not all
landlords exercise their right to conduct monthly inspections, but they
are permitted by law to do so. If you wish further confirmation of the
landlord's right to inspect monthly, please refer to the following
section of the RTA.

Landlord's right to enter rental unit restricted
29 (1) A landlord must not enter a rental unit that is subject to a
tenancy agreement for any purpose unless one of the following applies:

(a) the tenant gives permission at the time of the entry or not more
than 30 days before the entry;

(b) at least 24 hours and not more than 30 days before the entry, the
landlord gives the tenant written notice that includes the following
information:

(i) the purpose for entering, which must be reasonable;

(ii) the date and the time of the entry, which must be between 8 a.m.
and 9 p.m. unless the tenant otherwise agrees;

(c) the landlord provides housekeeping or related services under the
terms of a written tenancy agreement and the entry is for that purpose
and in accordance with those terms;

(d) the landlord has an order of the director authorizing the entry;

(e) the tenant has abandoned the rental unit;

(f) an emergency exists and the entry is necessary to protect life or
property.

(2) A landlord may inspect a rental unit monthly in accordance with
subsection (1) (b).

Hope this helps for now.

...Information Officer
RTB Victoria