The province is still considering how to enforce rules for landlords and tenants.
Premier Tim Houston says the province is still considering the best way to go about implementing an enforcement agency for the Residential Tenancies Act.
“The discussions around the enforcement arm, those are ongoing discussions that we continue to look at what’s the best way to do it,” he told reporters after a cabinet meeting Thursday.
Landlords who violate the law can make it tough if you are looking for or living in an apartment. But without an agency that enforces the rules, all a tenant can do is apply to the Residential Tenancies Program, which deals with disputes.
However, Houston said the housing crisis will be solved by building more housing, which is what his government is focused on.
To improve housing, he said his government is trying to make crown land available for projects, along with spending on the MOST Program (More Opportunity for Skilled Trades and Occupations Tax Refund). The program returns to the provincial tax collected on the first $50,000 made by eligible trades workers under 30.
B.C. has a program that looks into violations of the tenancy act to prevent them from happening.
The Residential Tenancy Branch’s Compliance and Enforcement Unit (CEU) “investigates allegations of repeated or serious and deliberate violations of the Residential Tenancy Act or the Manufactured Home Park Tenancy Act,” according to a web page from the British Columbia government.
The Manufactured Home Park Tenancy Act outlines regulations for trailer parks, where people lease land and can own or lease a home.
Local government compliance units and police work with the CEU to enforce rules from those acts.
People can also submit online complaints against landlords.
The Nova Scotia government recently announced it would offer online appeal forms for security deposit disputes, which would help speed up the process of appeals. The new forms release in August.
Houston says if your landlord disobeys the law, you should apply to the tenancies program, even if the process can take longer.
