N.S. Lawful Aid lawyer phone calls for renoviction ban to relieve growing rental housing disaster
Councillor Sam Austin referred to as it an emergency.
Elizabeth Fry Society experienced just unveiled its annual homelessness survey and the effects were being alarming. The report confirmed that the amount of people today in the metropolis sleeping outdoors has additional than doubled in the earlier calendar year, to 178. Most are guys, 1 third are Indigenous, 1 in four are women of all ages.
A day after its launch this summer season, the Dartmouth Centre municipal councillor posted the report on his social media account. He integrated a stern concept for the province.
Austin advised the Nova Scotia government “to stop dithering” and to address homelessness “as the unexpected emergency it is.”
This is not a organic evolution of summer season. 178 persons dwelling tough in hottest issue in time count compared to 81 last yr. Province requirements to stop dithering and handle this as the crisis it is, like are with fires and floods https://t.co/M44QWfsNNV

— Sam Austin (@SamAustinD5) August 2, 2023
The report available authorities a warning: renovictions are generating the homeless disaster in the town worse. A quarter of the men and women surveyed in the report reported they dropped their house since they ended up renovicted or being pressured out just after their fastened-expression leases expired.
Tammy Wohler, a Nova Scotia authorized support law firm, states Austin is suitable. She goes further more, stating the province must reinstate a ban on renovictions and demolitions that was in spot in the course of the pandemic. And the city need to back it up by denying renovation and demolition permits for occupied buildings.
Wohler, who specializes in tenancy matters, claims the housing disaster needs quick motion. Vacancy prices in the town are at an all-time minimal and rents are among the the best in the nation. There is no place for individuals to go.
“We have experienced an unprecedented 12 months,” stated Wohler. Fires and floods destroyed hundreds of residences. “Nova Scotia tenants have to have time for housing to be designed.”
Wohler claims renovictions are producing the trouble even worse. Renoviction is when a landlord forces tenants out of a creating so it can be fastened up and rented out for a good deal additional funds.
‘We should have a short term pause’
Tom Urbaniak, a political science professor at Cape Breton College, agrees. He says Nova Scotians will need some time to capture their breath.
“We should have a non permanent pause on renovictions that displace tenants to make space for upcoming larger-conclusion housing,” said Urbaniak. “We also want a pause on demolitions that can leave gaps on the landscape for years with no housing at all.”
Wohler claims the province also needs to occur up with laws that halts the demolitions of current units in the metropolis.
The metropolis is also component of the problem, Wohler states. The city is liable for issuing permits that make it possible for condominium structures to be renovated or demolished. The software course of action does not look at whether or not persons are dwelling in the developing.
It must, claims Wohler. Wohler suggests that the town should really prevent issuing permits that outcome in folks staying evicted.
SaltWire arrived at out to Coun. Austin on Monday to see no matter if he would guidance these kinds of a go. Even though he claimed there is place for extra manage about the amount of money of renovictions and demolitions happening in the metropolis he wasn’t guaranteed what the metropolis could do about it. He reported he believed the town won’t have the lawful authority to convert down permit purposes if they comply with municipality’s land use bylaw.
“I really do not have a business situation on what we could do and what we could not do lawfully.”
SaltWire asked Mayor Mike Savage the same query previous week. He did not respond.

Permits go on
The town proceeds to problem permits at a regular clip. So considerably this 12 months, it has issued much more than 200 demolition permits and about 300 permits to renovate.
Again in March 2022, the province lifted the renoviction ban that was put in area during the pandemic. We questioned the office that oversees the Household Tenancies Act regardless of whether it would consider bringing the ban back again. Company Nova Scotia said it has no ideas to suspend evictions that are asked for for renovations.
“There are a amount of valid motives why an eviction may perhaps be required for renovations, this kind of as when upgrades are demanded for overall health and basic safety reasons (these as flooding, fire damage, defective wiring, a leaky roof, etc.),” claimed Geoffrey Tobin, a spokesperson for Support Nova Scotia.
When the ban was lifted, new protections were being additional to The Residential Tenancies Act. Landlords have been essential to compensate tenants a minimum of three months rent. If landlords desired to empty a setting up to do renovations, they ended up required to confirm that the get the job done was so intensive that tenants experienced to depart.
Wohler reported that Nova Scotia Legal Assist is having a constant stream of purposes from folks experiencing renoviction and seeking for assistance. But the selection is reduced than envisioned given what’s taking place on the ground in Halifax.
“We’ve been contacted by 3rd events on behalf of tenants in structures slated for renoviction, but we’re obtaining the perception that tenants are often concerned about retaliation if they formally look for authorized advice–so these worries do not necessarily translate into apps.”
‘It normally takes courage’
She suggests the household tenancies system desires to be set up to allow a group of tenants to file with each other.
“It requires courage for that to start with tenant to assert them selves. If they were ready to file jointly, or if the landlord could deal with all tenants at once, this would let for great efficiency and reliable outcomes. It’s troublesome when one particular tenant is renovicted and a different in the exact building is not, on the very same points.”
Correct now, landlords in this province can only ask tenants to leave because of renovations. The landlord is supposed to give 3 months notice or fork out them the equal in rent.
If the tenant objects, the make any difference goes to the tenancies board. If the landlord has a permit and argues effectively that the renovations are necessary, the eviction goes through.
So considerably, there have been couple of programs designed by landlords to evict tenants on the foundation of renovations. Considering that the renoviction ban was lifted a calendar year-and-a-50 percent ago, only 193 apps have been built by landlords and just 33 evictions have took place through this system.
That implies that numerous landlords are discovering other approaches to renovict, suggests Wohler.