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MacDuff’s Call: Rental housing market hard on landlords

‘B.C. budget pledged to improve Residential Tenancy Act.’
11116605_web1_Cheryl.Ashlie.jpg_1
Cheryl Ashlie.

It seems like every day we hear of another hardship within the housing market arena.

And although the stories often relay the plight of renters, the arena can be just as challenging for landlords.

And since the government announced in the B.C. budget 2018, that it will be improving the Residential Tenancy Act, in order to protect renters from eviction through demolition or renovations, it only seems fair that it also review the act to ensure well known landlord challenges are also addressed, because if fewer people opt to become landlords, the rental situation will continue to be exasperated.

To be clear, I am talking about long-term rentals, not Airbnb and other companies that provide short-term stays. However, after researching the upcoming changes being proposed by the government for the Residential Tenancy Act and hearing of the pitfalls of it, from landlords’ perspectives, I can now see why property owners are turning to short-term rental options.

After having conversations with friends who were in the rental business, but got out, due to the challenges of protecting their properties when the renters reneged on the terms of the rental agreement — namely refusing to pay the rent and respecting the property — as well as local property managers, and reflecting on the numerous calls that I processed while working in the MLA’s office from landlords lamenting about the failings of the RTA in addressing tenants who damage property, or commit crimes within the properties, it appears that improving the act in this area will go a long way in encouraging people to remain willing providers of rental units.

Al Hogarth, a property manager and former colleague from my council days, shared that a good renter virtually costs a landlord minimal dollars, and most landlord/tenant interactions are positive ones, as those tenants genuinely care about their environment and also want their damage deposit back, therefore they live up to the lease agreement.

However, examples he gave of renters on the other end of the spectrum, suggest that costs can rise into the thousands of dollars due to damage, courts and bailiffs, as well as lost rental income, as well as the time dedicated to the onerous process that has to be met under the act.

The government is pledging more resources towards this issue, with the creation of a new compliance unit to take action against landlords and tenants who are repeat or serious offenders, so there may be some relief in this area.

Another property manager, Kelly Fry, shared concerns regarding the changes to the act relating to the fixed-term lease agreements, as this was a safe way to remove a tenant who was not working out. Fry said that removing a tenant who does not pay rent is the easiest process. But when a renter does pay the rent, but is disruptive, or engaging in criminal activity, it is difficult to remove that person, and fixed-term leases with vacate clauses were a mechanism that landlords could use to end the agreement.

Unfortunately, some landlords have been using the fixed-term lease as a means to treat the renter as a new lease agreement, which allowed them to raise the rent on the same unit and the same renter, which was a loophole to circumvent legislated annual rent controls.

This concern was also raised by members of the Opposition in the House during the Legislative session introducing the Tenancy Amendment Act (Hansard, Thursday Nov. 2, 2017, Afternoon Sitting, Issue No. 52), which mentioned the fact that landlords do need an effective method to deal with renters who are causing harm to the property.

Fry has been in the property management business for over 14 years and understands the challenges that landlords face when they have to go to the Residential Tenancy Branch in hopes of getting a timely hearing to remove a tenant.

But it can take time.

Fry cautions anyone who is planning on getting into the rental business to do their research up front on potential renters, especially in the area of credit checks, which she said give one of the best indications of whether you want the person as a renter, or not.

One mistake with a renter can lead to costly outcomes in damages and court proceedings.

Landlords who have single-rental units are pretty much on their own when it comes to dealing with tenants who are damaging their property, as it is often viewed as a civil matter by the RCMP, which can be pretty challenging if it is a basement suite in a family home

One program that the RCMP take the lead on in our community is a voluntary Crime Free Housing program, which is aimed towards multi-unit complexes that are 100 per cent rental units.

However, this program is preventive in that it supports building managers in gaining skills to be effective in mitigating bad behaviour before it starts to happen, through strong tenant screening processes and oversight that supports tenants to be aware of activities in and around the building.

Unfortunately, the actual program does not have any enforcement authority.

The B.C. budget pledges more money for the RTB, which the government claims will allow for quicker processing of disputes. However, that is only part of the issue.

Supporting good landlords is another key piece, which MLA Andrew Weaver argues for during the House debates relating to these changes (referenced as Bill 16: Tenancy Statutes Amendment Act 2017), by stating: “We have a crisis on our hands. We need to deal with that crisis to ensure that renters, the most vulnerable in the society, are not being taken advantage of by those exploiting it. But at the same time, in the longer term, I think we need to look very carefully at how we actually move the whole Residential Tenancy Act forward to ensure that we protect good landlords.”

MLA Weaver, having been a landlord, understands the challenges. They raise legitimate concerns faced by landlords that need to be heeded.

Addressing these issues and giving teeth through legislation to programs such as Crime Free Housing is long overdue and may assist with keeping, or even adding some rental stock.

If not addressed, with Metro Vancouver vacancy rates sitting at less than one per cent, we may see more units moved over to the short-term market (Airbnb), leaving the taxpayer to fill the gap through affordable housing projects—and we have all seen how that has worked out for us.

Or not.

Cheryl Ashlie is a former Maple Ridge school trustee, city councillor, constituency assistant and current

citizen of the year.