Port Moody wants to ensure tenants are living in safe, healthy conditions.
Tonight, Oct. 22, council will consider a new bylaw that sets standards of maintenance for rental units.
That includes ensuring elevators are maintained, in a safe, clean condition, exterior doors, windows and skylights are weather tight and any openings are protected to prevent the entry of birds, rodents or insects.
As well, locks on doors and windows must work, plumbing fixtures operate properly and are free from leaks and heating systems are capable of maintaining a temperature of 22°C. Landlords also cannot unreasonably prevent tenants from using a portable air conditioning unit to keep their apartment cool.
Violators could face a municipal fine between $250 to $1,000 for each infraction or $50,000 if proceedings are brought under the Offence Act.
“The purpose of this bylaw is to provide the city with the mechanisms to require improvements for rental properties where tenants are living in unsafe and/or unhealthy accommodations,” said Port Moody social planner Sharon Chin in a report.
Chin said current tenants with repair and maintenance issues in their apartment that haven’t been rectified by the landlord have to seek resolution through the provincial Residential Tenancy Branch, an often lengthy process that “can lead to the tenant being exposed to potentially unhealthy and unsafe living environments.”
Using a municipal bylaw could speed the process of getting repairs done, as well as bolster a tenant’s case to the tenancy branch, she added.
Chin said, to craft Port Moody’s draft bylaw, staff reviewed similar rules for minimum standards in Abbotsford, Nanaimo, New Westminster, North Vancouver, Victoria and Vancouver.
She said it’s important the city dedicate resources for inspections and enforcement of the bylaw, set higher fines to ensure landlords comply and include measures protecting tenants from eviction.
Chin said while Port Moody currently doesn’t track complaints from tenants, anecdotally staff report about two or three calls a month. She recommends an operating budget of $25,000 be allocated to track staff time related to the implementation of the new bylaw.
Port Moody Coun. Amy Lubik has been a vocal proponent for increasing protections for tenants.
She said the issue is particularly important as extreme weather events like heat waves and atmospheric rivers can put vulnerable tenants in substandard rental accommodations at increased risk.
"When a unit or a building is in disrepair, the tenant’s health, safety and quality of life is at risk," she said in a 2022 report to council.
"In a changing climate we are seeing many vulnerable residents, particularly those who are low income, become ill or die in extreme heat conditions.”
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