{"id":1319,"date":"2014-12-02T10:55:35","date_gmt":"2014-12-02T15:55:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/acorncanada.org\/chronicle-herald-dartmouth-tenants-ire-grows-over-health-safety-issues-metcap-building\/"},"modified":"2014-12-02T10:55:35","modified_gmt":"2014-12-02T15:55:35","slug":"chronicle-herald-dartmouth-tenants-ire-grows-over-health-safety-issues-metcap-building","status":"publish","type":"news","link":"https:\/\/acorncanada.org\/news\/chronicle-herald-dartmouth-tenants-ire-grows-over-health-safety-issues-metcap-building\/","title":{"rendered":"Chronicle Herald: Dartmouth tenants\u2019 ire grows over health, safety issues in MetCap building"},"content":{"rendered":"

Nova Scotia ACORN is pushing the city to implement a landlord licensing system where rental units will be registered and inspected on a regular basis to ensure they comply with Halifax\u2019s housing standards bylaw.<\/p>\n

Posted December 2, 2014<\/em><\/p>\n

Click here <\/a>to watch the video<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"The first time Kathleen Latter\u2019s toilet clogged, she called her husband over with a plunger.<\/div>\n
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Minutes later, raw sewage spewed up through the toilet and bathtub drain, spilling onto the bathroom floor and into the hallway.<\/div>\n
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\u201cThe pee and poop and all the toilet paper backed up in my tub,\u201d said Latter, a tenant at a MetCap Living apartment building in Dartmouth. \u201cIt flooded all over the bathroom floor and onto the carpet outside the bathroom.\u201d<\/div>\n
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She called the superintendent of 11 Joseph Young St. \u2014 one of five who has assumed the role over the last year or so \u2014 but it took days before a plumber came to fix the problem.<\/div>\n
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But the fix didn\u2019t last long. Within weeks, Latter\u2019s bathroom was deluged with sewage again.<\/div>\n
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\u201cThey came twice, but they didn\u2019t fix it properly,\u201d she said. \u201cThe third time it happened, it took them four days to get back to me.\u201d<\/div>\n
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With a five-year-old son at home in need of a bath, Latter decided to temporarily move to her father\u2019s place. Her husband stayed to clean up the apartment while a plumber fixed the problem for good.<\/div>\n
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\u201cNow I think it\u2019s finally fixed. Thank God it hasn\u2019t happened again.\u201d<\/div>\n
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Though the plumbing was fixed, Latter said the carpet was never changed or professionally cleaned.<\/div>\n
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She\u2019s worried there is mould growing underneath the carpet and in the walls. Her husband\u2019s asthma has been acting up since the flooding occurred and her son has been getting sick more often than usual.<\/div>\n
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Meanwhile, there is water damage in her bedroom closet, broken fixtures in her living room and a faulty smoke alarm.<\/div>\n
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\u201cWe have one but it\u2019s not hooked up,\u201d she said. \u201cThe wires are hanging down.\u201d<\/div>\n
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Although tenants of the apartment building have complained to MetCap Living about health and safety concerns, they say their complaints are mostly ignored.<\/div>\n
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Shay Enxuga, a community organizer with Acorn Nova Scotia, said people feel unsafe in the building.<\/div>\n
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\u201cWe\u2019ve had people come to us with health and safety issues,\u201d he said, noting that for months the mailroom door was left unlocked.<\/div>\n
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\u201cPeople had mail and cheques stolen and MetCap didn\u2019t do anything about it,\u201d Enxuga said. \u201cIt\u2019s advertised as a secure building but they don\u2019t provide any kind of security.\u201d<\/div>\n
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In October, Acorn presented MetCap with a letter outlining the concerns of tenants, but the Toronto-based company has refused to meet with the organization.<\/div>\n
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MetCap, which owns more than 100 apartment buildings in Nova Scotia, most of them in Halifax and Dartmouth, did not respond to requests for comment.<\/div>\n
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Acorn is pushing the city to implement a landlord licensing system where rental units will be registered and inspected on a regular basis to ensure they comply with Halifax\u2019s housing standards bylaw.<\/div>\n
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Matt Covey, Halifax\u2019s manager of building standards, said the bylaw is under review.<\/div>\n
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\u201cThe bylaw is 10 years old so there are a lot of housekeeping changes,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019re also looking at the request to examine some form of landlord licensing.\u201d<\/div>\n
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Under current rules, once a building receives an occupancy permit, it can continue to rent out apartments indefinitely.<\/div>\n
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However, Covey said all tenants are covered by the bylaw, which sets minimum standards for everything from smoke alarms and ventilation to rodents and plumbing.<\/div>\n
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He said a tenant who thinks an apartment is not up to par should call the city\u2019s 311 call centre to report a complaint. Covey said a building inspector will come to the apartment and if it fails inspection, the landlord will be issued an order to comply that spells out the work that must be done and when it must be completed.<\/div>\n
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Since January, the municipality has issued 159 orders to comply.<\/div>\n
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Covey said bringing in landlord licensing requirements would add a significant amount of red tape without necessarily addressing the most pressing issue, which is getting inside apartments and making sure they meet minimum standards.<\/div>\n
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He said the biggest issue is encouraging tenants to report problems to the city.<\/div>\n
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Carol Charlebois, executive director of the Metro Non-Profit Housing Association, said that landlord licensing or rent control could negatively impact tenants.<\/div>\n
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\u201cResearch has shown that rent controls make it less likely there is going to be good housing built or come on stream because it makes it difficult for landlords,\u201d she said.<\/div>\n
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Charlebois noted that a decrease in supply could lead to a lower vacancy rate and possibly put pressure on rent.<\/div>\n
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Instead, she said, one of the most significant issues contributing to substandard housing is social assistance rates.<\/div>\n
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\u201cOne of the biggest problems is the shelter rate for people on income assistance hasn\u2019t changed since 1996,\u201d Charlebois said. \u201cSingle people have $535 a month for housing, everything included.\u201d<\/div>\n
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Because the amount is insufficient, she said people often dip into their food and transportation budget to pay for rent and utilities.<\/div>\n
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She said the low social assistance rates make it difficult for a landlord to do extensive repairs or upgrades because tenants often can\u2019t afford rent increases.<\/div>\n
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Metro Non-Profit Housing manages six buildings and about 83 tenants. Charlebois said increases in utilities could mean the organization has to raise rent just to cover costs.<\/div>\n
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\u201cWe\u2019re finding it increasingly difficult to keep rents at $535 with recent increases in utility prices. We hate to do it but we\u2019ll have to start to budge ours up a bit over that.\u201d<\/div>\n
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Lisa Fairn has lived in a MetCap apartment in Dartmouth for two years. \"\"<\/div>\n
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She pays $595 a month for a one-bedroom apartment with a den. The rent doesn\u2019t include utilities.<\/div>\n
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\u201cIt\u2019s difficult,\u201d she said. \u201cAlmost all my money goes to rent and heat and hot water. There\u2019s not a lot left over.\u201d<\/div>\n
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Meanwhile, Fairn said there is water damage in her apartment, with signs of mould in the bathroom.<\/div>\n
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When she complained about cracks on her bedroom wall, her superintendent sent in someone to paint over it but using a different colour of paint.<\/div>\n
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\u201cIt would be appreciated if they would fix these problems,\u201d she said, pointing to a litany of issues around her small apartment. \u201cBut it\u2019s not getting done. I just want them to finish the job and paint it the right colour, for Pete\u2019s sake.\u201d<\/div>\n
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***<\/div>\n
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Article by Brett Bundale for the Chronicle Herald<\/a><\/div>\n
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