The summer forecast is HOT, the air conditioning frenzy has begun and one tenant advocacy group wants landlords on the hook for keeping their homes from becoming a sauna.
Local advocates are renewing their calls for a bylaw that would prevent renters from losing their homes and protect them from bad landlords.Known as a ‘renoviction,’ the term refers to the practice of forcing a tenant out of a building, citing the need for extensive renovations or repairs in the unit.On Monday, more than a dozen people took their fight to Kitchener City Hall, hoping to grab the attention of councillors and city staff.“People need a renoviction bylaw passed,” said Ryan Murdock, secretary of the Waterloo chapter of the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN). “They need it passed now. They needed it passed yesterday.”
While the Nova Scotia government has no plans to regulate a type of lease that’s been called a loophole in the province’s rent cap legislation, some real estate listings are advertising fixed-term leases as a financial benefit for potential buyers. Tim Allenby, chair of the Dartmouth chapter of tenant group ACORN, said he’s not surprised by this marketing tactic. “It’s the incentives of the system that currently exists,” Allenby told CBC News in an interview. “They have it set up in such a way that landlords benefit from primarily relying on fixed-term leases, so of course that’s going to end up being an investment benefit.”
“It’s a big problem,” says Marcia Bryan, chairperson for the Cooksville chapter of Peel ACORN, an independent social and economic justice organization comprised of low- and moderate-income residents. “It’s a problem I’ve dealt with myself, especially last summer. When it’s hot, it’s hot and when it’s cold, it’s cold in here.” Bryan and other ACORN members recently appeared at Celebration Square in Mississauga to highlight the findings of a recent report, released by the advocacy group, that indicates that 44 per cent of low- and moderate-income tenants lack access to air conditioning, often because they cannot afford it.
As director of the University of New Brunswick’s legal clinic, Jeannette Savoie says some of the most common legal questions she’s asked are about how the province’s rent cap works. Nichola Taylor, chair of ACORN’s New Brunswick chapter, said legal clinics like these are also crucial for renters with low to moderate income who might not be able to afford someone who can advocate on their behalf during a legal crisis. “There’s no one there really to help them,” Taylor said. “I’m sure often they feel like they’re forgotten.” Taylor said newcomers and other first-time renters should inform themselves about tenants regulations that are specific to the province — but that can be difficult.
Members of ACORN, a tenants’ right group, rallied outside Kitchener City Hall, calling for more action on renovictions. CTV’s Alexandra Holyk reports.
3000
