Advocates call for tougher legislation
Landlord fined $1,000 for destroying tenant’s apartment
The fine came to $1,000.
The Department of Labour had issued Ardmore Hall Ltd. seven compliance orders after the landlord took matters into its own hands and destroyed a tenant's apartment.
The tenant was appealing his eviction to the residential tenancies board when an excavator arrived on site on Dec. 4 and tore through the north-end Halifax apartment.
The orders that followed contained a slew of Occupational Health and Safety Act violations. The illegal demolition made the building a safety hazard and uninhabitable. The landlord had ignored basic steps in its certified demotion plan, including gutting the building of hazardous material, and providing proof that gas, electrical and water supply to the building had been disconnected.
In the end the Department of Labour imposed two administrative penalties on Ardmore Hall totaling $1,000.
Nova Scotia Legal Aid lawyer Tammy Wohler represents the tenant forced out of Ardmore Hall. She said tougher legislation is required to protect tenants from delinquent landlords. That also includes adding teeth to the Residential Tenancies Act. The Act, for example, allows for prosecution of landlords who violate the Act, but they are rare, said Wohler. Fines are capped at $1,000. It's up to the tenant to make the complaint and request prosecution.
"I strongly suspect that a thousand dollars is not a lot of money to a large landlord with multiple properties," she said.
Ardmore Hall's parent company Mosaik Properties owns eight other apartment buildings in the Halifax area. Mosaik Properties had planned to tear down the building on the corners or North and Oxford streets this month to start construction on a sevenstorey, 130-unit building.
The company skirted the Act in evicting tenants. Rather than issuing tenants official Notice to Quit forms the company opted for eviction notices on company letterhead. The Act also prohibits landlords from ever using force to remove tenants, including turning off power and changing locks.
Wohler couldn't comment on her client's case which is ongoing. But she said she wants to see the province amend the Act to provide the director of residential tenancies and the province with the tools needed to act as a deterrent. That includes fines that will actually have an impact on large landlords, she said.
"I would like to see transparency and oversight. Landlords planning mass evictions should undergo scrutinization by the director before notices of mass evictions are handed out to entire buildings."
She said she's pleased with the current renoviction ban that the province pledged to keep in place for the duration of the pandemic. But Wohler said tenants need protection beyond that to prevent another rash of mass evictions that occurred in Halifax last year.
“The community does not benefit if whole cohorts of low-income renters are being evicted en masse at a time when the vacancy rate is at an all-time low, there is work to be done to increase affordable housing and we are still in a pandemic.”
Minister of Service Nova Scotia Patricia Arab is responsible for the Residential Tenancies Act. The Chronicle Herald inquired whether the minister would consider amending the Act to include stiffer penalties on delinquent landlords.
A department spokeswoman responded in a written statement saying, “We are always looking for ways to improve our legislation. Any changes in the future will be done in consultation with stakeholders.”
Halifax Regional Municipality's legal department is also investigating the demoeviction and Mayor Mike Savage said he's confident charges will eventually be laid. But the fines the city can impose on the landlord under the Building Code Act and By-law M-200 are capped at $1,272.50 for out of court settlement.
HRM spokeswoman Erin Dicarlo said the city has up to two years from the incident to lay charges.
The city has imposed a stop work order on the property but it only prevents the building from being torn down until the tenant and landlord dispute is resolved. The Department of Labour had also imposed a stop work order but it was lifted Jan. 4 after the developer met the conditions laid out in the compliance orders.
Mosiak Properties continues to prepare the site for demolition. The city has revoked the developer's demolition permit and says it will be reinstated once the tenancy issue has been resolved. If that doesn't happen, the city has the authority to permit demolition of the building.
Wayne Mackay, a Dalhousie University law professor, said the demo-eviction clearly shows municipal and provincial legislation fails to deter large-scale delinquent landlords. He said HRM and the province need to start with significantly increasing fines particularly in cases like Ardmore Hall.
“There are not enough restrictions and requirements on landlords and developers to play by the rules in this province,” said Mackay, an expert in public policy.
He said what's clear is that the landlord in this case determined the easiest course of action was to ignore the Residential Tenancies Act and get on with demolishing the building.
That should be enough for governments to act, said the professor.
"There is a strong imperative for governments at all levels to do everything they can to provide more protection for tenants, more access to affordable housing to ensure that these various landlords and developers are held to account."
The Herald made several attempts to reach Mosaik Properties but did not get a response.