The owner of a Port Coquitlam building that is evicting tenants to make way for a renovation has only held the property for a short time and planned to make mostly cosmetic changes, says the city’s mayor.
And Brad West says he hopes a proposed bylaw amendment that would prevent renovictions will pass in time to prevent renters from having to leave the suites they rent at the 51-year-old Bonny Brae Apartments at 1955 Western Drive.
“The alternative from us taking action is what — that the 100 of them who have lived in this community for decades and decades, [and] who have been volunteers and active citizens get tossed out of their homes, and have nowhere to go.”
West’s comments come as he takes heat on Twitter from some local developers and realtors and Landlord BC for a business bylaw amendment that would require rental apartment businesses with five or more units to provide interim accommodations for residents during renovations and allow them back in at the same rent after the construction project is done.
Landlord BC, an association for landlords in the province, is taking issue with the proposed bylaw and CEO David Hutniak said in email to The Tri-City News that, if passed, it would stop landlords from making necessary repairs to apartments, many of them 50 to 60 years old, and prevent redevelopment of properties that are nearing the end of their functional life.
“Rental property owners, to remain viable, must be able to invest in their properties and have the ability to operate in a legislative and regulatory environment that is conducive to the risks and costs associated with providing this critical form of housing for B.C. families,” Hutniak said.
He also noted that tenants already receive protection under the Residential Tenancy Act, and that work must be sufficient to end tenancies.
“We fear that the end result will be very old rental housing further declining in quality and no new purpose-built rental being built in the community to the detriment of current and future renters," noted Hutniak, who also expressed concern that the city of PoCo may be operating outside of its jurisdiction.
But West said landlords can already raise rents, albeit within limits allowed by the Residential Tenancy Branch.
“I understand when you make improvements and investments in a building, you want to se an return on an investment.”
In the case of Bonny Brae, however, the renovation plans, such as creating “open concept kitchens” laid out in a building permit request is not enough to justify an eviction.
“This is not a case of a long-standing owner having fallen behind the market. This was a new owner who purchased the building and who I think thought there was an opportunity to evict then make cosmetic improvements and significantly increase the rent they were charging,” West told The Tri-City News.
PoCo’s proposed bylaw wouldn’t eliminate all major repairs, however. Landlords could end tenancy agreements in the case of major structural repairs, such as damage from a building failure or natural disaster.
However, it would then be up to the tenancy branch to approve a rent increase.
Mayor Brad West said that kicking renters out then doubling their housing costs after cosmetic improvements are made is “immoral. That’s not how we treat people and we’re not going to allow it in PoCo” #vanre #bcpoli https://t.co/ynq2V1CNpd
— Brad West (@BradWestPoCo) March 21, 2019
“In those situations we do build in an opportunity for exemptions to be requested,” he said.
M1 World Developments, which has planned to evict residents of 65 suites by June 30, has not yet responded to the Tri-City News’ request for an interview.
However, on the company website, M1 Group states that it renovates and builds homes “edited for renters” to make their lives easier and more efficient.
West will meet with the Bonny Brae landlords on Monday to discuss specifics of the draft bylaw. Fourth reading of the building bylaw amendment is set to take place at the March 26 city council meeting, starting at 6 p.m.
— with files from Janis Cleugh
