The provincial rental tribunal is investigating whether the eviction of an elderly couple to pave the way for their Airbnb-style apartment is revenge.
Last Christmas, a couple from Fredericton received a notice of a 67 percent increase in rent. They complained to the tribunal, which ruled the increase was too large given the area.
This month, the couple is again facing eviction after receiving word that their apartment will be converted into a “short-term rental” in the style of Airbnb.
Pauline Trump, 67, and her 84-year-old husband, Charles Trump, went before the tribunal again.
New Brunswick service minister Mary Wilson said on Friday that while landlords were allowed to change their business model from housing to tourism, the tribunal was looking for evidence that the conversion was not “revenge”.
“The tenant hired for her case is investigating this,” Wilson told Information Morning Fredericton Friday. “Is it a reciprocal change?” Is it a real change? [landlords] are you acting in good faith or not? ”
The landlord must have a plan for the conversion and implement it, she said.
Charles Trumbull, 84, and his wife, Pauline, have lived in the same apartment building in Fredericton for 33 years. New owners want to hide the apartment for short-term rent. (Ed Hunter / CBC News)
The Trump family and their neighbor received the news three days after the New Brunswick government passed legislation to limit rent increases by 3.8 percent and “protect tenants from termination without good reason.”
After the rent increase ceiling was announced, a video appeared with landlords discussing ways to circumvent the temporary rent increase. They discussed moving to short-term rents and planning major renovations as ways to remove current tenants so they can increase rents as much as they want for new tenants.
The tribunal only investigates if tenants complain
Wilson said tenants experiencing these problems should alert the tribunal. The tribunal will then investigate and decide whether the landlord really intends to carry out the repairs or rent out the apartments for less than 90 days at a time.
“These are the rules,” she said. “[Tenants] you need to contact us. We will follow. We will make sure that this is done. ”
Information in the morning – Fredericton13: 57 Pressing the rental cap
A few weeks after the rental ceiling and some cracks appear. We ask New Brunswick Service Secretary Mary Wilson why the legislation includes provisions to circumvent it.
Wilson said it was the tenant’s responsibility, not the landlord’s, because “many situations do not require any intervention.”
“There is often an agreement between the tenant and the landlord that yes, you know what, there is asbestos on the walls, I can’t live here. It works so that all we need is contact from this tenant and that’s all. “
Wilson said that if it was found that the landlord was not acting in good faith, the province would charge them accordingly. This may mean penalties for the landlord and financial compensation for the tenant.
The protection of the owners
Willie Scholten, president of the New Brunswick Apartment Owners’ Association, which represents landlords, said he could not speak specifically about the Trambles case.
However, he said he would support a landlord to turn a home into a short-term rental if that was the only way they could not miss their mortgage payments and lose property.
He said it was not acceptable if the reason was to maximize profits.
“If they get an extraordinary increase in their costs… if so, then they are fighting tooth and nail perhaps to keep the property,” he said.
“If someone is just trying to make an excessive increase, I would certainly not support it.
Willy Scholten, president of the New Brunswick Association of Apartment Owners, said he could not comment on the Trambles case, but generally did not support the eviction of tenants solely to maximize profits. (CBC)
Scholten said the video, showing landlords discussing how to circumvent the rental ceiling, came out when landlords faced a 20 percent increase in property taxes and inflation on everything else.
“Landlords are confused,” he said. “The costs have been astronomical coming to landlords and they’re just trying to handle it.”
Asked about the imbalance between the risk of losing a lucrative property and the risk of tenants losing their homes, he said the imbalance falls on the government.
He said that if the government is going to limit landlords’ incomes, it must also limit spending to “balance” them.
He did not give examples of how the government can reduce costs for landlords, but noted that it has already helped landlords with a reduced property tax increase.
“We need to start figuring out how to reduce the cost of providing housing so we can make rents more affordable,” he said.
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