Downtown Eastside service provider First United released a law reform platform earlier this fall, calling for changes to the Residential Tenancy Act in B.C.
Staff lawyer Vinson Shih spoke with People First Radio about the platform, which called for an end to pet bans in rentals, and the right for tenants to install cooling devices in their units, among other measures.
Shih says there are already tools in place to respond to issues that pets could cause.
“If landlords are worried about damage to property, we have pet damage deposits. They already have the right to compensation when something happens, when your pet pees on the ground and the floor is messed up. If your pet is disturbing neighbors, for example, there’s already an existing mechanism to end a tenancy.”
He says that other jurisdictions, including Ontario do not allow pet bans. He says that First United has done eviction mapping in B.C, and that people have reported that pet bans make the process of finding a new place to live more difficult.
“They say they’re forced to be displaced or become homeless, or they’re forced to let go of their pet, and that’s just not a reasonable choice to make.”.
Shih also highlighted calls for the right for tenants to install cooling devices in their units.
“The ultimate long-term goal is to require maximum temperatures in all housing, like as a matter of maintenance standards,” he said. “In the same way that there’s heating requirements for buildings, we want cooling requirements.”
“New buildings now are required to have cooling, under the new building code. So it doesn’t really make sense that cooling is now a minimum standard, but people who can’t afford to be in a new building aren’t afforded those protections.”
The platform also included calls for selective vacancy control between tenancies in times of low vacancy, and changes to the procedures the Residential Tenancy Board follows when dealing with evictions.
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