N.S. rent cap an 'early Christmas gift' for many renters, says legal aid lawyer
Tammy Wohler says there are still problems with Nova Scotia's Residential Tenancies Act
A Nova Scotia Legal Aid lawyer who works with tenants in disputes with their landlords is praising the province's move to temporarily cap rents and ban so-called renovictions.
Tammy Wohler said she spent part of Wednesday calling her clients with the good news.
"I was able to literally call them and tell them, 'Look, you're going to be able to stay,'" she told CBC Radio's Information Morning on Thursday. "It was a really good early Christmas gift."
She's optimistic the two per cent cap on rents and other short-term measures announced by Housing Minister Chuck Porter will lead to permanent fixes to some of the concerns raised by renters and advocates.
CBC Radio's Information Morning has been taking a deep dive into these problems, including record-low vacancy rates in the Halifax area and rising rental costs, in its series, Unaffordable or Unfit: Nova Scotia's Housing Challenge.
Wohler said she's worked with tenants who've lived in buildings for well over a decade and were forced out by 60 per cent increases to their monthly rent.
"It's not based on any changes or improvements being made. It's simply based on the fact that a landlord is able to do that," she said.
Renovictions are also "very, very common," Wohler said, adding that sometimes people are given little notice.
"I am aware of, you know, one or two buildings this year where in early November, the tenants were told, 'You need to be out by the end of this month,'" and so this ban comes at such a great time," she said.
But while she's pleased to see the provincial government begin to address housing affordability, she said more needs to be done to help vulnerable renters.
That begins with giving the Residential Tenancies Act more teeth, Wohler said.
"The act was certainly written to treat people equally, but sometimes that doesn't lead to equity," she said. "The remedies favour the landlord at this point, in my view."
Listen to Tammy Wohler's full interview here:
With files from CBC Radio's Information Morning