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Opinion: Burnaby landlord tries sneaky ‘parking fee’ to skirt ban on rent hikes

With a provincial state of emergency in effect right now in B.C. due to the COVID-19 pandemic, landlords are not allowed to collect rent hikes.
parking
One landlord is trying a new parking fee to get around a ban on rent hikes. Photo Dan Toulgoet

With a provincial state of emergency in effect right now in B.C. due to the COVID-19 pandemic, landlords are not allowed to collect rent hikes.

Burnaby landlords can issue notice of a looming rent hike, but nothing can take effect until after the state of emergency is over.

But that hasn’t stopped one unscrupulous Burnaby landlord from trying to skirt the rules.

I received a package of information from Joe (I’m protecting his full name because he fears retaliation from his landlord) about how his landlord started pressuring him for more money almost as soon as the pandemic started.

Joe is employed and has been paying his rent, but pointed out the state of emergency rules regarding rent hikes.

“On Friday, when I went to give the rent money, I was asked to give 15% more,” Joe said.

One issue with this is that even if rent hikes were allowed right now, the Province of B.C. has capped increases at 2.6% a year – so this rent hike would never fly.

Well, all of a sudden, the landlord came to him saying he had to pay a “parking fee” because Joe parks at the back of this Burnaby home. Joe has lived there for years and has always been allowed to park there for no charge.

“They said if I don’t pay them or move my car, then they will start the procedure to evict me,” Joe said.

That sounds like extortion.

You also can’t evict anyone during the state of emergency, unless it’s something extreme. This doesn’t meet that standard.

All of this is taking a toll on Joe.

I know that the Residential Tenancy Branch is there to help tenants with this sort of stuff, but Joe says that doesn’t necessarily help when your landlord tries to intimidate you.

“(The landlord) is very aggressive and abusive. And my stress level is very high right now. I’m already stressed from (work).”

This is truly some sneaky garbage. From what I see on message boards of renters, some landlords are looking at these “fees” to get around the rules.

Imagine being the kind of person to try and bleed money out of someone during a pandemic. Imagine being a landlord and thinking the rules don't apply to you.

Joe pays his rent on time and always has. The landlord should be happy with that.

Follow Chris Campbell on Twitter @shinebox44.