From a press release:
HALIFAX: After more than a decade, the landlord registry in London, Ontario, shows the risks in Halifax Regional Municipality adopting a similar regime.
“London’s landlord registry regime has proven to be costly, requires a lot of taxpayer-funded staff and doesn’t cover the vast majority of properties,” said Kevin Russell, Executive Director of the Investment Property Owners Association of Nova Scotia (IPOANS).
“When existing municipal by-laws aren’t properly enforced, it makes zero sense for Halifax to create new by-laws that will cost millions more tax dollars and won’t work.”
Last month, Halifax Regional Council passed By-Laws R-400 and M-202 at First Reading.
With no recent consultation on R-400 and no consultation on M-202, IPOANS has been highlighting the many problems with the proposed By-Laws.
London and Halifax are similarly sized urban centres, with comparable university student populations. Halifax is estimated to be home to 85,000 rental units, with London being home to 56,000 rental units.
Since London introduced its landlord registry in 2010:
– Only 6,200 units (12.4%) are registered, with 50,000 units (87.6%) unregistered; and
– City of London staff recently concluded that 37 additional staff need to be hired to inspect the 50,000 unregistered units.
Halifax Regional Municipality asserts that only four staff are required to be hired to enforce the proposed landlord registry and additional building requirements proposed under By-Law R-400 and M-202.
If London’s staffing formula for 50,000 unregistered rental units is applied to Halifax’s 85,000 rental units, Halifax would need to hire 62 new staff. Halifax Regional Municipality estimates that every new inspector hired for the By-Laws would cost $85,000 a year, bringing the cost to pay 62 staff at $5.3 million.
Assuming a $35,000 vehicle for every new inspector, an additional $2.2 million expenditure would be incurred to provide transport for the 62 new staff.
“The running total to enforce these new By-Laws would be $7.5 million and that doesn’t include any other administrative expenses or fuel costs,” added Russell.
“Halifax Regional Council needs to pause these proposed By-Laws and listen and consult more.
“Otherwise, we will have no choice, but to continue to urge the Nova Scotia government to nullify these By-Laws.”
IPOANS is looking forward to more consultation with Halifax Regional Councillors and staff in advance of the by-laws proceeding to Second Reading.
