Editor: I can only imagine the conversations at some of the strata council meetings since Premier Eby’s announcement about allowing rental in condominiums and I can understand the anxiety some of the owners might be experiencing, after all it is their home.
However, it is already happening. There are some existing condominiums in which a person purchases many units and then rents them out so this is not a new concept.
I think the problem comes when the owners who rents their units forget they are still owners and they are now also governed by the Residential Tenancy Act as well as the condominium act even though those owners do not live in the building. Fortunately, if the building has a property manager this person would be able to help manage the building.
I would say to the owners who might be feeling anxious about this initiative, renters are people too looking for safe secure homes; they are not creatures from the black lagoon and as I recall the creature only became violent after being hunted by humans. I would also like to point out it is easier to evict a tenant than it is an owner from hell. I applaud the premier bold steps in adding to the rental housing stock.
There is a message I would like to send to all developers, this initiative does not give you licence to create “poor door” housing; this type of housing is discriminatory. The condominium by-laws should be able to give everyone some security of sharing space.
Angela Sealy
