New year target for next steps on voluntary landlord registry

“We are exploring some opportunities right now to bring back to council for consideration,” she said.

Other development incentives will be coming to council in December, and the city has already discussed the idea of a problem property registry.

“We don’t want to spend a lot of resources driving this right now until we know exactly what our problem property initiative looks like because the two align very nicely,” Dinsdale said.

Coun. Blake Edwards expressed concern about the proposed name, how landlords would respond to the changes and said issues exist on both sides.

He suggested it would be beneficial to have a bad tenant registry as well, although the city would not be able to run it due to freedom of information rules that govern municipalities.

“I would actually like to see a registration of tenants that are renting, but that’s a LAFOIP issue,” he said. “There’s people that are renting in this community that have destroyed multiple homes.”

Many of them are tenants in public housing, which the city funds a small proportion of, which is “an issue,” he said.

“Often, I think our landlords are battling the people that are living in the homes and they can’t often remove them or recuperate damage that’s occurred.”

The city knows it has a rental shortage along with other housing types, which it has been trying to boost.

The secondary rental market, which includes suites in homes, has about 3,395 units, or 139 per cent of the formal rental market.

Documentation provided to council shows the secondary rental market “is both a crucial housing resource and a quality and safety risk.”

Non-code-compliant suites carry fire and safety risks, while the city has a significant gap in housing availability.

“The city has been explicit that they do not want to solve a safety problem by creating a homelessness problem. Any recommended approach for Prince Albert has to satisfy both concerns.”

Staff said they hope landlords volunteer to register, show they have basic safety items and are listed on a public registry as certified safe rentals while paying a modest registration fee.

For larger rental buildings, administration would like to see a Crime Free Multi-Housing program delivered by police working with landlords and tenants.

Tenants agree as part of an addendum to their lease that they will not engage in criminal behaviour and breaching the agreement is grounds for eviction.

This is more straightforward than going through the Office of Residential Tenancies and has reduced criminal incidents in certified buildings by 25 per cent.

A second phase would include a property safety assessment for lighting, secure locks and well-maintained common areas.

Landlords would also be able to learn more about tenant screening, lease administration and proper eviction procedures.

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susan.mcneil@pattisonmedia.com

by Susan McNeil

New year target for next steps on voluntary landlord registry

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