N.S. government not moving ahead with a residential tenancy enforcement unit this year
Report called for it to be in place by March, but province will miss that timeline
The Nova Scotia government will not introduce legislation this fall to create a residential tenancy compliance and enforcement unit, meaning it will miss the timeline recommended in a report it commissioned on the issue.
Colton LeBlanc, the minister responsible for the Residential Tenancies Act, said on Thursday that creating a unit is something that’s “on the radar” of his department, but right now the focus is on an awareness and education campaign about the rights and responsibilities of tenants and landlords.
“We’ll start that new campaign this month,” he said in an interview at Province House in Halifax.
“It is complex. It impacts many, many Nova Scotians and we want to make sure that we’re getting it right.”
In the midst of a housing crisis that has seen vacancy rates plummet and rents skyrocket, advocates for both tenants and landlords have said an enforcement unit would help address shortcomings in the system that often sees long waits to get tenancy hearings and results in decisions that are difficult to enforce. …[Continue Reading]