Halifax council votes to introduce rental registry
Halifax Regional Council has approved a rental registry and the major violations will be shared online.
The vote came Tuesday after years of debate, consultation and reports.
It means landlords will have to register their properties by next April or face a fine.
Those in favour of the registry argue the comprehensive list will help the city keep tabs on rentals and launch pro-active inspections.
“The intent of this is to require that you have to be registered to rent and then stay on top of making sure people are meeting the minimum standards,” said District 7 councillor Waye Mason.
Mason said both before and after he was elected he saw houses that were converted without permits, didn't meet fire code and were overloaded with people.
“The key thing is to be able to aggregate the data and identify if landlords or companies are having a pattern of bad behavior of not meeting the minimum standards,” Mason said.
Housing advocates with ACORN gathered outside Halifax City Hall before council’s meeting Tuesday.
It was one last nudge of public pressure to help push the proposed rental registry past the finish line.
“It’s just important regulation,” Hannah Wood, chair of ACORN’s Halifax-Peninsula chapter, said. “Right now, there are more bylaws enforcing running a hot dog cart in this city than there are being a landlord.”
Representatives of ACORN also noted the registry could help people feel more comfortable complaining about an issue at their rental unit without fear of retaliation.
The one vote against the registry came from District 15 councillor Paul Russell.
“The intent is good, I think that the hopes are good, I think the promise is good. I don’t think we’re seeing enough benefit for it,” said Russell.
In addition to approving the rental registry, Halifax Regional Council voted to amend a bylaw that would beef up minimum safety standards, such as ensuring doors have working locks that can operate from inside without keys and making sure water in plumbing fixtures flows and drains free from obstruction.
The rental registry will require landlords to provide contact information of the owner, proof of insurance and a maintenance plan.
Kevin Russell, executive director of the Investment Property Owners Association of Nova Scotia, called the registry onerous and warns many landlords won’t register and others will sell.
“The rent cap and now the registry, they’re leaving the industry. The small mom-pops are just saying, ‘we didn’t sign up for this,’” Russell said.
He’s written to John Lohr, Nova Scotia’s minister of municipal affairs and housing, asking him to nullify the bylaw.
“And the reason we’re asking for this is because it’s going to impact housing,” Russell said.
“We need more housing supply, not less, and so this is going to shrink the inventory at a time when we need more inventory.”
“I don’t like being bullied. I am not interested in that conversation with them,” said Mason. “I would find it outlandish if the province decided to override a bylaw designed to make people safe.”
The rental registry requires fines ranging from $150 to $10,000 depending on the type and recurrence of the offence.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
![](https://www.ctvnews.ca/polopoly_fs/1.7011481.1724383649!/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_800/image.jpg)
Final day of the DNC: Kamala Harris accepts the Democratic nomination for president
On the final night of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, U.S. Vice-President Kamala Harris accepted the party's nomination for president on Thursday.
Railways prepare to restart after federal government forces binding arbitration in labour dispute
Canada's Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon is intervening to end a work stoppage that saw this country's two largest railways grind to a standstill Thursday, by forcing the parties into binding arbitration.
Remains of missing Markham woman found in Parry Sound: police
York Regional Police say that human remains discovered in Parry Sound more than a week ago are those of a missing Markham woman. Yuk-Ying Anita Mui was first reported missing by her family on Aug. 9. Three days later on Aug. 12, OPP located burned human remains, which have since been confirmed to be those of Mui, police said.
German warship blasts Darth Vader anthem in heart of London. 'No deeper message,' navy says
Germany's navy says there was 'no deeper message' in the choice to blast the famed Imperial March, Darth Vader's theme song in the 'Star Wars' films, from one of its warships as it cruised down the River Thames through London this week.
Toronto Zoo's red panda who gave surprise birth to two cubs in June dies
A 10-year-old female red panda who recently gave birth to two cubs at the Toronto Zoo in June has died.
TikTok has fallen hard for yet another grocery store staple
How does a piece of produce go viral?
Daryl Hall ends Vancouver concert after 3 songs; management says he has COVID
Rock icon and singer-songwriter Daryl Hall walked off stage after only three songs in Vancouver on Wednesday night, his set cut short due to an unspecified illness.
CUPE Ontario president to continue to 'fight side by side' with union members amid calls to resign
CUPE Ontario president Fred Hahn says he fully rejects 'the charge of antisemitism,' and said he will 'continue to fight side by side' with his union members despite calls for his resignation by the national executive board.
Bill Morneau: Canada needs to spend more on defence faster to make inroads with next U.S. administration
As the Canadian government seeks to make inroads with the next U.S. administration, former Liberal finance minister Bill Morneau says Canada needs to take U.S. security concerns seriously and accelerate the timeline by which Canada will hit NATO's defence spending obligation.