Residential tenancy legislation aims to reduce renovictions, illegal rent increases

The government of P.E.I. is seeking public input on its newly proposed Residential Tenancy Act, which aims to provide additional protections for Island landlords and tenants.

The new legislation, released Thursday, would replace the 30-year-old Rental of Residential Properties Act.

The proposed legislation outlines rules that would affect landlords and tenants on issues like emergency repairs, rent increases, evictions and rent, according to a statement from the province.

Islanders are being encouraged to review the proposed legislation online and provide feedback by the end of March.

Renoviction changes

A number of changes have been proposed to deal with the issue of renovictions — landlords evicting a tenant under the premise of conducting repairs or renovations to a unit.

With the changes, landlords would be required to provide six months' notice to tenants facing such an eviction, up from the current 60 days. The renovations would also have to be extensive enough as to require a building permit and for the unit to be vacant.

I think it'll take some of the fear and the stress around being evicted away.— Amanda Blakeney, lawyer

Tenants who were evicted would have to be provided the right of first refusal when the unit reopens, and if they felt they were evicted under false pretences they would have up to one year to file a complaint with the Island Regulatory and Appeals Commission.

If the director of residential property at IRAC agreed with the complaint, they could order a landlord pay a tenant for increased rent and out-of-pocket moving expenses, and require the landlord pay an administrative penalty of up to $10,000.

Could lead to 'fewer illegal rent increases'

Amanda Blakeney, a lawyer who is working with government on the legislation, said she hopes the changes will lead to "fewer illegal rent increases for one, which would lead to maybe more security and stability for tenants.… I think it'll take some of the fear and the stress around being evicted away."

It does create an atmosphere by which tenants may be expected to live in circumstances which they normally wouldn't.— Amanda Blakeney, lawyer

Currently landlords are only allowed to increase rents once per year, with IRAC setting the maximum allowable increase. That restriction is in place even if a new tenant moves into a unit.

The new legislation provides a strict formula for determining what the maximum allowable annual increase should be, with a maximum limit of 2.5 per cent. The new bill also increases the number of factors to be considered by IRAC in assessing an application to increase a rent beyond the maximum.

Under the new legislation, a landlord would also have to indicate the amount of rent paid for a unit by the previous tenant in a lease agreement drawn up with a new tenant.

Blakeney said P.E.I.'s low vacancy rate — 1.2 per cent as of October 2019, the lowest in the country — has put renters at a disadvantage, making them "less likely to take action in the event of an illegal rent increase, for example."

"So certainly it does create an atmosphere by which tenants may be expected to live in circumstances which they normally wouldn't."

Some other changes included in the draft legislation:

• Landlords would have to provide tenants with contact information in the event a unit requires emergency repairs. If a tenant tries to contact a landlord twice without results, they can pay for the repairs themselves and bill their landlord. If the landlord doesn't pay within seven days, IRAC can allow for the cost to be deducted from the tenant's rent.
• Landlords and tenants would be required to conduct joint inspections of a rental unit when the tenant moves in and when they move out, a change meant to limit disputes over unreturned damage deposits.
• Victims of domestic violence would be able to exit a lease agreement early, after providing at least one month's notice.

The legislation also provides some new measures to help landlords deal with problem tenants: the number of days before a tenant could be evicted after being provided notice for non-payment of rent would decrease from 20 to 14.

Landlords could also bill their former tenant if the landlord was required to place their belongings in storage. And the legislation includes provisions for landlords to charge tenants for bounced cheques or replacing lost keys.

Public consultations

In the release, the province said it hopes the updated legislation will help address housing challenges across the province.

Public consultation sessions will be held in Alberton on March 9, in Summerside on March 11, in Montague on March 25 and in Charlottetown on March 26. 

According to the release, an online survey will also be available from March 3 to 20, and written submissions will be accepted until March 20. 

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