The B.C. government has launched a public education initiative to improve security and fairness in the province’s rental market.
As the first step in addressing various recommendations offered recently by a rental housing task force, B.C.’s Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing has promised to bolster public education and enforcement to protect renters’ and landlords’ rights.
“To make renting work better for everyone, we need to make sure both renters and landlords know their rights under the law and have a place to go when there’s an issue with those rights,” Municipal Affairs and Housing Minister Selina Robinson said, as quoted by The Canadian Press.
The Ministry noted that the campaign, which will be funded by the province through Landlord BC and the Tenant Resource and Advisory Centre, will particularly aim at enlightening the public about renovictions – especially the cases when ending a tenant’s term could be considered illegal or unnecessary.
The Ministry added that a new compliance and enforcement unit, nested in the Residential Tenancy Branch, will investigate and penalize repeat or serious offenders among renters and landlords alike.
“Housing is the foundation of people’s lives. We want to create a rental market where there are no surprises, renters and landlords are treated fairly and there is better security for both sides,” Robinson stated.
Ephraim is currently a journalist at Mortgage Broker News, Real Estate Professional and Canadian Real Estate Wealth.
Ephraim is a highly accomplished news reporter whose work has been published across North America and the Asia Pacific region. Before joining Key Media, Ephraim spent eight years working as a journalist with Reuters TV. His areas of expertise include real estate, mortgage, and finance.
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