Rental act changes call for expert’s eye
SOME amendments to the Rental Housing Act that are about to be passed by parliament will make it all the more necessary for residential landlords to seek professional help to manage their properties.
That’s the word from Andrew Schaefer, MD of leading national property management company Trafalgar, who says the amendments will mean, for example, that every property lease has to be in writing and has to be correctly drafted to comply with certain statutory requirements as regards landlord and tenant rights and responsibilities.
“This alone is a departure from the current act, which says a lease only needs to be in writing if the tenant requires it and which has led to many thousands of tenants and landlords, especially in informal housing settlements, living without any legal document stipulating what their respective rights and responsibilities may be.”
Most landlords do not have the know-how to draft a fully compliant lease themselves nor the time to handle the many other tasks imposed by the Rental Housing Act, Schaefer says. “These include issuing of detailed receipts for every payment made by the tenant, management of deposits and proof of the interest earned on these deposits as well as receipts for damages repaired, and the organisation of inspections every time a tenant moves in or out.”
In order to comply with the amendments, landlords will need help from professional rental property managers with access to standardised documentation, automated administration systems and advice from specialist attorneys.
The Rental Housing Amendment Bill, due to be enacted later this year, will also make it mandatory for landlords to provide tenants and their households with safe, weatherproof accommodation of adequate size, to keep the property in a state of good repair and, where possible, “to facilitate provision of utilities”. Schaefer says this clause is obviously intended to prevent people from letting backyard structures that violate most building and planning regulations. “But it also applies to landlords in the formal sector, and it
Increased regulation will result in an increased burden that will largely fall on landlords
holds the potential for serious disputes if their tenants and properties are not regularly monitored and inspected by professional rental property managers”. And speaking of disputes, he says, one excellent aspect of the new law is that it will make it mandatory for every local authority to establish a rental housing information office, and for every province to establish a rental housing tribunal, as opposed to the current arrangement where this function is left to the provinces to decide. “This will give many more landlords and tenants access to impartial advice and assistance when it comes to resolving disputes.”