Minimize the disruption of renovations

Re: “Don’t demonize law-abiding landlords,” letter, Feb. 1. Mass renovictions, in which an entire building of renters are evicted for the purposes of renovation, can have serious implications.

In a region with almost no vacancy and with some of the highest rents in Canada, evictions can force tenants into precarious situations that jeopardize health, safety and dignity. This community is very cognizant of the impacts that homelessness can have and of the resultant social and economic costs that are far too high.

In improving tenant protections, the goal is certainly not to attempt to dissuade landlords from upgrading their buildings. Renovations are necessary for keeping rental housing in good condition, as well as important for maintaining our city’s limited existing affordable rental stock. It is in the best interest of both landlords and tenants that landlords exercise their rights and obligations in respect to repairs, maintenance and upgrades.

Doing these renovations can come at an increased cost to building operators. The current law provides a mechanism for landlords to increase the rent above the existing allowable annual rate of 3.7 per cent, which is itself higher than the rate of inflation, where they can demonstrate these increased costs.

It is a reasonable precaution to require landlords to use this mechanism to raise the rent following renovations if there is a demonstrable reason for the increase. This, combined with giving tenants first right of refusal, would effectively prevent landlords from circumventing rent-control law while still providing the opportunity for landlords to recoup their costs fairly. Anthony J. Pullman Saanich