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Consultant’s report on rental housing says Nova Scotia needs residential tenancy enforcement unit

The current situation where both rental housing providers and tenants have to go through a six-month process to discover residential tenancy orders lack enforceability is concerning.”.

A report commissioned by the provincial government is recommending the creation of a residential tenancy compliance and enforcement unit, CBC News has learned.

Although the Tory government has had the consultant’s report for months, it has so far refused to release it.

But documents obtained by CBC show the consultant recommends the new unit be in place by next March, a timeline that would almost certainly require government to introduce legislation during the upcoming fall sitting of the legislature.

The report was ordered last November amid concerns from tenants and landlords that the system is slow to respond and makes it difficult to enforce the Residential Tenancies Act.

The documents get at those concerns, noting that the time it takes for residential tenancy hearings and director’s orders to be issued “have been identified as a pain point, and some complainants remain unsatisfied by the outcomes.” …[Continue Reading]