B.C. is planning to alter the Residential Tenancy Act to make it easier for supportive housing providers to deal with disruptive tenants and those who bring weapons into the building.
Housing Minister Christine Boyle said the new legislation seeks to “strike the right balance” between safety and rights under the Residential Tenancy Act. It allows the temporary eviction of disruptive residents and gives operators an easier path to full eviction for tenants who possess weapons.
“Everyone deserves a safe place to live and work,” Boyle said, introducing the bill in the legislature on Wednesday (March 4). “To achieve this, the right tools are needed.”
A group of 20 supportive housing providers from across B.C. had called for change last April after a suspected homicide in Pacifica Housing’s Waterview Supportive Housing building in Victoria.
The group argued that the Residential Tenancy Act made it difficult to remove weapons and unwanted visitors, and called for supportive housing to be removed from the Residential Tenancy Act altogether.
In response, the government created a working group of police, providers, government officials and union representatives to examine the issue, promising changes.
The legislation announced on Wednesday falls short of the group’s demand to remove supportive housing from the Act, but does make substantive changes to address some of the concerns raised.
“Many supportive housing providers already have weapons bans in place, but have told us that they need additional tools to be able to enforce them,” Boyle told reporters at the legislature after introducing the bill.
Mental Health and Addictions Critic Claire Rattée said she is still analyzing the legislation. On first glance, she said it appeared to contain some things that are “long overdue and desperately needed,” but that it likely doesn’t go far enough.
She brought up two things she wants to see done immediately: a ban on butane torches and modified e-bikes, both of which are known fire hazards.
The bill also does not address secondhand fentanyl smoke, something that the province also said it was working on last summer.
Boyle said that the work “continues to be underway” with WorkSafe B.C. and the B.C. Centre for Disease Control. Still lacking a long-term solution, she said B.C. Housing is working with operators to provide air filtration and protective equipment.
Rattée said this is another thing that should have been addressed years ago.
“We’ve known for a very long time that this is a huge problem that this is affecting other tenants and this is affecting the people that are working in those facilities,” she said.
This legislation still must go through two more readings and the committee stage, where it could be amended before final passage. Rattée said she plans to bring amendments related to e-bikes and butane torches.