A government-appointed rental task force is calling for an end to renovictions through a recommendation that would allow a renter to maintain tenancy while renovations to their suite are underway.
It's one of 23 recommendations put forward to the B.C. government with the aim of making the renting process more fair for tenants and landlords.
Many renters across B.C. have raised concerns about being unfairly evicted because the landlord wants to renovate suites in the building. Some landlords have used it as a tactic to evict low-income renters, make cosmetic improvements only and then raise the rent.
The report recommends that evictions for renovations should only be done in rare instances of serious, major and long-term renovations, such as seismic upgrades. Otherwise, the tenancy can continue during construction, as long as the tenant is willing to accommodate the work.
In some cases, the Residential Tenancy Branch has relied on a B.C. Supreme Court ruling that an eviction notice is not necessary if the landlord can carry out renovations without ending the tenancy, but the task force recommends clear guidelines in the Residential Tenancy Act on what accommodations should be made by landlords and tenants during renovations.
"I think the 23 recommendations being presented are balanced and will make life better for renters and for landlords," said the task force's chair, Spencer Chandra Herbert, NDP MLA for Vancouver-West End. "They will give renters more protection from renovictions, they will give landlords incentive to invest in their homes and ensure the rent gets paid."
Other recommendations include:
-Working with local governments to develop tenant compensation and relocation guidelines in the event of the demolition of a purpose-built rental building
-Strengthening enforcement on those who violate the Residential Tenancy Act, with steeper penalties for bad landlords and tenants alike.
-Eliminating a strata corporation's ability to ban owners from renting their own strata units.
Housing Minister Selina Robinson, who received the recommendations on behalf of Premier John Horgan said the government will be giving careful consideration to the report before implementing any changes.
"We need to make sure that the rental market is working for landlords and for renters," Robinson said.
The three-member task force, appointed by Horgan in April, spent the summer consulting with landlords, renters, interest groups and the public about the Residential Tenancy Act. Green Party's Adam Olsen (Saanich North and the Islands) and New Democrat Ronna-Rae Leonard (Courtenay-Comox) also sat on the task force.
Emily Rogers, legal advocate for rental advocacy group Together Against Poverty Society, said she's disappointed the task force endorsed the status quo of tying the rent to the renter, not the unit. TAPS was pushing for the rent to be tied to the unit, which would prevent landlords from hiking the rent when someone ends their tenancy. Currently, landlords can only raise a tenant's rent by a maximum of 4.5 per cent each year. However, when the renter ends their tenancy, there is no limit on the rent charged to the next tenant.
"Without vacancy control, the affordability crisis will continue to escalate in our province," Rogers said.
Rogers said she's delighted to see the recommendations that aim to put a stop to renovictions, but "without vacancy control, we're still going to see landlords incentivized to evict old tenants and bring in new ones."
