Dartmouth family must leave rental unit after Supreme Court overturns previous decision
Property owners plan to move in their daughter after winning appeal
A Nova Scotia Supreme Court judge will allow property owners in Dartmouth, N.S., to move a family of six out of a duplex so they can move in their daughter, overturning an earlier ruling against the landlords.
Following an appeal hearing, Justice John Keith found Carlo and Loretta Simmons properly followed the province's Residential Tenancies Act in their plan to take back the unit.
They had been prevented from ending the tenancy of a family that has rented the unit for about 13 years.
A small claims court adjudicator ruled last May it would be inappropriate to disrupt the living arrangements of the family and also noted the shortage of other housing options.
But in his Dec. 31 decision, Keith said the landlords demonstrated a "good-faith requirement" under the act that allows for possession of the unit so they or other family members can live there.
He wrote that the lower court's interpretation of the act was incorrect and raised a series of other tests to assess whether the landlords' plan was appropriate.
Those included measuring the severity of the housing crisis and the availability of other homes.
However, the judge found those factors to be unworkable, risking a decision-making process that appears more "arbitrary than judicial."
The approach, he said, "dramatically tilts the legislated balance between landlord rights and tenants' rights in favour of the tenant."
While Keith characterized the small claims court adjudicator's interpretation as "well-intentioned" given his concerns about available affordable housing, he said the court must protect the rule of law.
Landlords always planned to keep the duplex in the family
The Simmonses, who have been renting the duplex for $900 a month, had always aimed to make the unit available for their children.
They have been planning for one of their daughters, who recently got married, to move in, and for the unit to be available to their other daughter on weekends and holidays.
"They're excited to be able to assist their daughters going forward, to assist them when they're starting their next chapter of their life," said John Boyle, the lawyer who argued their appeal.
In researching similar cases, Boyle said the additional tests laid out by the lower court had not been used anywhere else in the country.
"The main criteria is that there's a good-faith need for the units," Boyle explained. "There is no additional appropriate analysis."
The tenants, who have four children, said Thursday they realize they're not the only ones in this type of situation in Nova Scotia but have felt blindsided from the beginning of the process.
Their hope is to find a bigger home that's more appropriate for their needs.
Nova Scotia Legal Aid, which represented the tenants, said it was disappointed with the decision but respects the findings.
"The court was concerned about the lack of evidence about the housing crisis before them. It's not that we can't recognize that there is a housing crisis," said Tammy Wohler, managing lawyer of the organization's social justice office.
She spoke because the lawyer who handled the appeal could not be available, but she is familiar with the case and thinks the ruling raises further questions.
"I do think there is room for the legislation to change," Wohler said. "That we can take into account things like a housing crisis."
Rental Housing Providers Nova Scotia, which advocates for investment property owners, issued a statement saying it is satisfied the court system has confirmed the rights of rental housing providers "to access the properties they own in a fair and reasonable way."
In allowing the Simmonses' appeal, the judge granted them an order for the unit to be vacant by Aug. 1.
He said that should provide the tenants enough time to find somewhere else to live.
