Over 10 per cent of renters in B.C. report being evicted.
A new study out of the University of British Columbia finds the amount of evictions that take place in B.C. is far higher than in other provinces by 害羞草研究所渁lmost four percentage points.害羞草研究所�
害羞草研究所淲hen that number came out害羞草研究所� I was very surprised,害羞草研究所� said researcher Craig Jones. 害羞草研究所淚 knew that was going to be the key finding of the work that we were doing.害羞草研究所�
The Sept. 2021 study is called . It looks at data collected in 2018 from the Community Housing Survey to determine the extent of evictions and to compare them between provinces.
害羞草研究所滻n that survey, they asked people a lot of really interesting questions that to our knowledge weren害羞草研究所檛 really being asked,害羞草研究所� Jones said, adding that before the survey, 害羞草研究所渢here really was no way to compare that experience in B.C害羞草研究所� to the rest of the country. Now at least we害羞草研究所檝e got the beginning of an evidence base in this.害羞草研究所�
According to the study, 10.6 per cent of renters in British Columbia reported at the time being evicted within the past five years, 害羞草研究所渕ore than any other province or territory whereas less than four per cent of renters were evicted within five years in Manitoba, Qu茅bec, and Nunavut.害羞草研究所�
害羞草研究所淎fter controlling for other sociodemographic characteristics, being aged 45-54, living in British Columbia and having a shelter cost to income ratio above 50 per cent are risk factors for eviction,害羞草研究所� it continued.
The survey also concluded that people who are evicted have lower self-reported levels of health and mental health, as well as lower levels of life satisfaction and increased financial difficulty.
The way evictions work in B.C. is different than in other jurisdictions. Most of the time, landlords have to file a legal request to begin the eviction process. In B.C., the landlord just has to serve a notice to the tenant.
害羞草研究所淏ecause of that, there is a ton of cases where tenants may receive notices and then choose to move out and we wouldn害羞草研究所檛 know how many those are,害羞草研究所� said Robert Patterson, a lawyer with the Tenant Resource and Advisory Centre (TRAC). 害羞草研究所淎t some point in most other jurisdictions, somebody in a position of power or decision making authority has to look at an eviction and say 害羞草研究所榳ell this makes sense害羞草研究所� or 害羞草研究所榯his doesn害羞草研究所檛 make sense.害羞草研究所� It meets the legal requirements or it doesn害羞草研究所檛. In B.C., our system doesn害羞草研究所檛 actually require anyone to do that.害羞草研究所�
Since many evictions do not get reported in B.C., the information from the survey provides a more accurate eviction rate, which could inform future policy.
One such route could be to change how landlords can evict tenants for 害羞草研究所渓andlord害羞草研究所檚 own use,害羞草研究所� which are when the landlord wants to use the property themselves. A recent change to 害羞草研究所渞enoviction害羞草研究所� rules could be an inspiration, Patterson says.
害羞草研究所淭he change that was made this summer is now that if a landlord wants to do that害羞草研究所� They have to be the ones who pay the filing fee and begin the legal process and puts their evidence on the table first so the tenants can see what is actually going on,害羞草研究所� he said. 害羞草研究所淥ne of the ways we can tell it害羞草研究所檚 been successful is that we can see a massive uptick in clearly bad faith evictions of other kinds, especially the two month notice for landlord use, where they say they害羞草研究所檙e moving in.害羞草研究所�
Not all evictions are in bad faith, but Patterson says that 害羞草研究所渞equiring landlords害羞草研究所� to begin the process with the Rental Tenancy Board, to file and provide their evidence first would be incredibly helpful in cutting down those bad faith evictions.害羞草研究所�
Some policy changes have already taken place since this data was collected. However, the pandemic, which started after the 2018 Community Housing Survey, has also had an effect.
害羞草研究所淲e害羞草研究所檝e seen a 20-25 per cent increase in people contacting TRAC for all sorts of reasons since the beginning of the pandemic. The number one issue has always remained evictions,害羞草研究所� Patterson said. 害羞草研究所淚t also just caused more stress on all the parties, which led to more conflict, tension and therefore evictions. There害羞草研究所檚 been a huge demand.害羞草研究所�
Another Canadian Housing Survey was conducted earlier this year, and Jones and his team plan to do a similar study of the data when it is available.
害羞草研究所淎s far as I know, we didn害羞草研究所檛 have any way of estimating what renter eviction rates are across the country,害羞草研究所� Jones said. 害羞草研究所淲e didn害羞草研究所檛 know how the different provinces and territories compared to each other. The fact that B.C. has a pretty high eviction rate compared to the other provinces, and that difference is statistically significant.害羞草研究所�
害羞草研究所淚 really hope this study brings more attention to how this process works and how many people are getting evicted,害羞草研究所� Patterson said. 害羞草研究所淚t害羞草研究所檚 pretty crazy.害羞草研究所�
The full study is available .
RELATED:
marc.kitteringham@campbellrivermirror.com
Like us on and follow us on
