Whereas local governments have limited authority to require enhanced protections for tenants, except in limited instances, such as rezoning applications; And whereas the benefits provided to tenants under local government tenant assistance policies often help vulnerable individuals and families in the community, including those receiving income assistance from senior levels of government; And whereas even when local government tenant assistance policies may apply, implementation and enforcement of local government tenant assistance plans are challenging due to overarching provincial mandates, jurisdiction, and processes: Therefore be it resolved that UBCM urge the provincial government to review the Residential Tenancy Act and other provincial legislation to: - Allow local governments the ability to require tenant assistance, such as financial compensation and supports to tenants above those required in the Residential Tenancy Act, for additional types of permits and applications, and provide local governments greater enforcement powers to ensure compliance and delivery of tenant assistance benefits secured by local governments; - Ensure monthly rental supplement payments received during displacement as benefits under local government tenant assistance policies are not considered income, which may inadvertently affect an individuals ability to qualify for income and disability assistance programs and other financial assistance; and - Have the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner for British Columbia create guidance documents for local governments and landlords on the collection of personal information for the purpose of tenant assistance policies.
Ministry of Attorney General and Minister Responsible for Housing The Ministry is listening to local governments with concerns about tenant displacement and continues to strive to meet the needs in those communities with a province-wide perspective. Some new strategies in use by local governments are pending legal challenges, which the Ministry is observing with interest. The Compliance and Enforcement Unit of RTB is available to support local governments that are concerned about illegal or problematic landlord or tenant behaviour under the Residential Tenancy Act. Local governments have the authority to regulate the development of lands and the construction of buildings within their respective areas. This includes the issuing of development and building permits. Building permits applications are assessed by qualified building officials, guided by the Building Act and a suite of building codes that set minimum technical requirements for health and safety. Evaluating the socio-economic impacts of tenant displacement is outside the scope of expertise required of building officials. Allowing local governments to attach conditions relating to tenant supports to a building permit would require a significant change to that legislative and regulatory framework which would affect all building permits, not just rental properties. Based on these impacts, the Ministry is not presently considering amendments to allow tenant protection conditions to be attached to building permits at this time. The Ministry has been working with planning officials in local governments throughout the province to evaluate what impacts might be associated with enabling local governments to attach tenant protection conditions to development permits. We have heard that replacement of rental housing under a development permit without rezoning is extremely rare and focused in only a small handful of jurisdictions where existing allowable densities provide economically viable opportunities to redevelop a site containing rental housing. Changes to development permits will affect all local governments and may introduce unintended costs or complexities. The Ministry is currently looking at other approaches to supporting tenant protections that could more directly address this issue. The Province is committed to continue work with local governments, landlords and tenants to prevent evictions due to renovations and demolitions and make the rental market more secure.