The Province introduced Bill 38 this spring. It proposed a number of changes to the Residential Tenancies Act. You can find Bill 38 by going to the RTB website and looking at What’s New or at
http://web2.gov.mb.ca/bills/sess/b038e.php.
On June 6, 2005 Shaun Parsons and I attended the Legislative hearings to submit the PPMA’s position on this bill. We expressed our thanks for their heeding our advice on some sections and some of the positive changes in the Bill. We expressed concern that some sections require regulations which have not been written. The regulations may eliminate the positive effects that the Department hopes items like suite by suite rehabilitation will have on the industry. We received a positive hearing from the Legislative committee and the Minister’s assurance that we will continue to be involved in the process of drafting regulations and legislation that affect our industry.
Bill 38 passed through 3rd reading on June 16 and the majority of it is in effect. Sections 5, 7, 14, and 16(1) are not in effect until Proclaimed at a later date. They require regulations to be written or changed. Here is a summary of the changes contained in Bill 38. I note in brackets the related section of Bill 38:
* There will be a 20 year exemption from rent regulation on new construction (S12) first occupied after March 7, 2005. Rents can not be increased during the first 12 months that a new building is in existence (S2,3,13).
* At least three month’s notice must be provided before a rental discount is removed unless the removal is due to a penalty clause allowing removal on breach of agreement (usually late payment). This can be done on the NOIR (Notice of Increase in Rent) form. The RTB plans to change the wording of this form shortly to better inform tenants of a landlord’s obligations (S4).
* (Not In Effect yet – regulations/policies to be written) A landlord who fails to effect a repair which has been ordered by the RTB or another lawful authority (Health Inspector, etc) in a timely manner may be forced to pay compensation to a tenant (S5). This will not take effect on the filing of a simple repair request. The landlord must fail to effect a repair, be ordered to do so, and fail to comply with the order first.
* A Landlord can not raise the rent on a non-controlled unit with the intent to evict (S6). An example would be raising all but one tenant’s rent in a property that is exempt due to rehabilitation by 1% and raising that last tenant’s rent by 50% without reasonable justification.
* (Not In Effect yet – fee to be set) A landlord will be allowed to add a fee (similar to a sublet fee) to the balance due on any tenant’s account if they abandon their unit (S7).
* The rules regarding automatic renewal of tenancy agreements if a renewal is errantly not delivered have changed as have some rules regarding the length of notice a tenant must provide under Rehabilitation schemes (S8-11).
* (Not In Effect yet – No regulations yet) Rehabilitation of distressed properties and Rehabilitation of suites on a unit by unit basis (S14,17) can not be described until regulations are written. I received assurances again from the Department of Finance that we will be consulted in the drafting of the regulations when I called to confirm which Sections were in force as of June 2005.
* The RTB has the right to grant discretion to a landlord if there is a breach of the requirement of filing NOIRs and/or Notice to New Tenants. Contact the RTB for details but do not expect discretion on intentional neglect, only on honest errors or omissions such as failing to fill in one box on submitted form(s). (S15)
* (Not In Effect yet – regulations/policy to be drafted) The successful party in a hearing may be granted more than 10% of the ordered amount in costs. (S16). An example may be an OP (Order for Possession) being filed for $500 in rent. Where the RTB used to only be able to grant $50 in costs they may decide that they can grant the full $60 filing fee (or more). Fees for filing a Writ of Possession are also to be automatically added to Orders once regulations are written. That is to say that the costs of a Sheriff enforcing an OP will be added to that Order without holding an additional hearing.
This is a summary of all the important changes to the Residential Tenancies Act. Consult the RTB or call a PPMA executive member if you require clarification.
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