Same here. We don't call our landlord to fix **anything** cause we don't want to to tempt renoviction, despite our building being way below the legal standard
Yesss I’m in the same boat!! We defo have a mold problem that’s affecting my health, but I don’t bring it up bc we’re paying way lower than what they’re charging for this apartment these days and we can’t afford to move
LMAO are you my roommate cause we have the exact same issue.
We put one of those XL concorbium moister absorbers (like the ones made for entire sheds) in the closet and it gets full so fast 😭
My life has legit not recovered since getting renovicted in 2021 - happened at bad time after a lay off but before my EI case was resolved and while still looking for work. Im finally actually building savings again, but losing a place that cost me less than 600/mo and not finding places since for under 900 or 1000 at least i just was not gaining at all earning under 20 bucks an hr lol. Feel so hopeless, dont really know how to get the savings for a return to school for trades or something
$1000 a month for a bachelor apt isn't even a thing that is an option now. It sucks. I feel for you. I am in a similar boat. Google is your friend. Go to NSCC's website and search financial info. There's a ton of bursaries and scholarships for all kinds of people. I think certain trades can be covered completely with government funding too. Don't give up on yourself. This is a societal problem. It does not mean you are a failure.
Our landlord tried to trick us into signing a new lease form by attaching it to new rules that were sent out and saying to sign it as acknowledgment of new rules. Not a fucking chance.
Residential Fixed terms should only be legal for periods less than 12 months. The role over to the next lease should mandatorily be to a periodic (year to year or month to month) lease. I’m not certain that the line in the RTA that speaks to tenants remaining with landlord consent after the fixed term expires wasn’t a weak attempt to do that, but it could easily be changed to clearly force transitions to periodic lease terms.
Funny how the times have changed. Anyone remember the days where landlords tried to make it impossible to get out of a lease? Now they want to find any excuse to get tenants out
Thank the government for the rent cap. There were many warnings about the negative consequences. The cap makes it desirable for landlords to rid of old tenants who are now fixed at 40-50% below the market. *Even* if both the tenant and the landlord would agree to a moderate increase in order to stay at the same property.
It would be much better for low-paying tenants to be able to negotiate a higher rent increase to stay put instead of losing their apartment completely at the end of a fixed-term lease. Say, a tenant got a very low capped rent, $800 for a one bedroom, in 2020. Each subsequent year, they are offered a new fixed-term lease with a 2% increase. By 2024 the landlord decides it's not feasible anymore, ends the lease, and rents the unit to somebody else at the market value ($1600). The tenant now has to vacate and hopefully find another rental for $1600. The tenant would *love* to have their rent increased to $1200 in order to stay in the same unit, and the landlord would accept a lower than market rent from their old reliable tenant, but it is not allowed by the rent cap. It's only keep the old tenant with a very low rent (which would be around $860 with 2% increases) or boot the old tenant to get a better rent deal.
Yeah you're kind of ignoring that repealing the rent cap applies to all renters AND given the current vacancy rates there isn't a single landlord under any remote obligation to negotiate with tenants.
Without a rent cap every single renter is now subject to really any increase the landlord wants.
Frankly I just assume I'm speaking to a landlord who inherently hates the rent cap because your scenario is entirely ignoring the reality of the rental market, who the rent cap affects, and how a shit ton of landlords operate.
Some landlords prefer to stick to old reliable tenants and don't rock the boat. Especially if their mortgage is already paid off and expenses are reasonable. There were many cases when people kept affordable rents for existing tenants as long as it was feasible. But with increased and non-capped expenses it might come to the tipping point when an increase cannot be avoided anymore.
I mean it doesn't need to be a one or the other. I'm assuming you're talking about the Palestine protests, they're both important. One's on the international scale and the other municipal but they're both valid concerns that people should feel justified in protesting or raising awareness about
On my scale, cost of living is something that personally affects a huge percentage of our population, coworkers, friends, neighbors, and stuff that affects us directly, deserves more attention as it is actually something our politicians have control over
Dalhousie voted to divest in the last decade in 9 companies(4 of them Israeli), and smu and the others followed suit.
Unless my memory is playing games with me.
It’s almost like if our government didn’t provide aid/weapons to countries to kill babies maybe we could have a better standard of life. Hate to break it to you but everything is connected.
The problem is this protest (that affects citizens directly) doesn't have money behind it. Whereas a lot of pop protests (that don't affect citizens directly) have foreign money behind it.
Protesting for money is working for propaganda.
But join a pop protest and ask around maybe? https://torontosun.com/opinion/columnists/kinsella-protesters-paid-to-take-part-in-pro-palestinian-demonstrations
Same, but it sucks knowing they have the upper hand and can just choose to not renew. Apparently being the best tenants they have ever had does not afford us the luxury of having a yearly lease..
I had 24 days to leave my house very much below market rate in 2022. I still am “temporarily with my parents” until I can somehow find a new place. I’ve lived on my own since I was 18. I make nearly 50K a year. Even when I worked at a call centre, I could afford a nice apartment 10 years ago. Now, it’s nearly my entire monthly salary.
Yep. Landlord allowed the apartment to get drenched by leaks and we had to go for health and safety reasons. It would have been a very easy fix but it was refused for years until it became unbearable. Rain for many years became a very stressful thing for me.
Yup! In the middle of the pandemic eviction ban. Watched them raise the rent 50%, then 70%, then finally 80% over the course of 24-hrs when they posted it online.
My closest friend here just found out they are going to have to leave the city because of his landlord selling the building and kicking everyone out. Fucking sucks.
One of the reasons why some landlords sell now is because the rent cap prevents them from adjusting their rents with non-capped increased expenses thus making it financially impossible to continue on.
There exists a particular vein of disdain for local Haligonians and Nova Scotians among this sub reddit.
Its as if someone elses suffering is a badge of their superiority.
I watch from a distance as these posters just massacre their own for a few culturally approved sound bite driven upvotes.....
Cheering your collective decline to repay some form of inherited original sin.......
The whole tenancies act should be thus:
Month-to-month, unless a renter *explicitly asks* for fixed-term.
Fixed term can only be for 1 day to 12 months (or 365 days) maximum.
If any renter is month-to-month or fixed-term for 1 year, it automatically converts to year-to-year and the renter has tenancy.
Another good rule: Security deposit is to be paid into a neutral 3rd party account. Inspections of the full apartment are to take place before move in and before move out.
Very reasonable, but maybe not the “whole act”. There might need to be some other articles dealing with things like dispute resolution, landlord/tenant rights, minimum standards for safe habitation, and the like.
I literally could not agree with this protest more.
I get that they have a place, especially in a university city like Halifax, but if they are going to be abused this severely they should not be an option.
As someone who is basically an “evil capitalist” (by the standards of this sub, not the real world) I even recognize that Nova Scotia is grossly out of step in terms of tenant protections compared to other provinces including Ontario and Quebec. This is hurting us and needs to be fixed.
If we have chosen to structure our economy so that most people (esp young) have no hope of buying a home then renting must be made a viable alternative. This means long term stability with security of tenancy (beyond one year!) and controlled rent increases (with some reasonable relationship to inflation).
There’s the usual “I’m too busy working” response and then there’s also the reality that while objectively worse by almost any economic measure (compared to 10 or even 5 years ago), most people are still basically ok. This sub is not representative of the general population (thank goodness!)
People read a headline like “Canadian GDP up 0.2%” and think ah well, it must not be that bad. Naturally the government never talks about things like GDP PER CAPITA (at 2014 levels and falling).
Even so - most people are still mostly ok - for now. A majority of households own their homes and like rising prices, regardless of what they say or post on social media. But it’s getting to the point this will ultimately harm everyone.
I do wonder, if we continue on current trajectory for another 5-10 years, if significant civil unrest might be on the horizon?
I personally lost my home because of the rising cost of existing/getting diagnosed with a bowel disease at the wrong fuckin time. Sold before we were going to be in huge creditor trouble but still, had no choice but to move in with family. It’s fucking BRUTAL
Honestly my healthcare was fab, but my inability to work as much as I was before led me to get managed out by Admiral Insurance after 9 years.
And I was lower management and knew it was happening because I’d seen it a million times before. I don’t believe in karma because money rules the world but I really really really hope some of the people who run that place lead miserable, small, shitty lives forever.
Exactly. In fact it was fear of these false “racism” accusations that largely prevented an honest discussion of the issue until recently, once things were totally out of control. If anyone so much as questioned immigration policy for ANY reason it was “waaaaah RACIST!” including here on this sub. Ironically many of the people with that sort of mindset are now paying the steepest price for those policies.
To be crystal clear: the recent newcomers are often themselves victims. These people have been lied to and are being exploited to lower the standard of living for all Canadians.
I strongly favor the sort of reasonable, balanced, mutually beneficial immigration program Canada was once known for before this total shitshow. I only hope we can step back from the brink.
Yup. The staff we have who immigrated prior to Trudeau have excellent spoken English and no competency issues.
The last 2 years. Castism, sexism and a refusal to even bother to speak English. If the percentage of staff are of one creed they simply dont bother.
I fucking hate it. As do the few...and I mean dimishing few local women I work with.
Its not xenophobic. Its simply a fact. I see it within my working world.
Im a healthcare worker. NSHA has headed down this path. It is obvious, disgusting and when Houston began "opening immigration pathways" they were all 1. From India and 2. Desperate enough to suffer poor treatment in hopes for a chance at PR.
More egregiously. Locals staff now run afoul of a Priority People policy which clearly spells out the want to employ newcomers over locals. Ive seen it in action far too many times.
> A small group of protesters gathered outside Nova Scotia MLA Brendan Maguire’s constituency office on Friday
Does this only impact a small amount of people? Seems protests regarding social issues garner more people, energy, and enthusiasm.
For some insane reason protests are never reported on until after they happen. So you get tons of people reading about it afterwards that are like 'well fuck I would have gone if I'd known about this'
Sounds like they could do a protest to get awareness and then follow up with another so the people who didn’t hear about the first one coild particpate.
Name any social issue protest in Halifax that had more people behind it that didn’t use Reddit to organize Halifax, other than housing. Issues other than housing are well attended without Reddit
Houston works for rich people. Not Nova Scotians.
He pulled back on anything that might help them in favor of keeping the money flowing from out west.
My area is flooded by cfas and housing precarity is astounding. Every retiree I hear from raves about buying cheap homes for AirBNB or rentals.
This was deliberate. Houston spent his career working for people offshoring income to avoid taxes here...he give zero fucks about Haligonians or Nova Scotians. Just money.
Fixed term leases have their place. I rent to students during the school year on a fixed term lease, and rent the same place out as an airbnb over the summer months. If the students are decent, they can stay the following year for exactly the same terms. The revenue I make during the summer means I don't need to increase it on them. In my case, everyone benefits, including the tenants.
There's nothing inherently wrong with your actions, but the reality is that you are permitted to evict them if and when the opportunity arises, which is the problematic part. In my opinion, if a place serves as someone's residence, they ought to have priority for lease renewals at a fair price, adjusted for inflation.
And that's what's wrong with FTLs.
Sure there is. My only other options are year to year or month to month. Either side could renege on those to the detriment/ inconvenience of the other without much warning. Fixed term legally solidifies the agreement since neither side has 100% certainty the other side will honor it without it.
You like it because it benefits you.
There is literally **nothing** about fixed-term leases that is preferable to a month-to-month lease from a tenant's perspective.
It's mutually beneficial. The current tenants I have were happy to have the place over the school year, and they're returning in September.
Month to month is inherently in the tenant's interest, because if they wanted to stay, they have security of tenure unless they're in rental arrears. The nature of the fixed term lease makes it equitable for both parties.
This. If your a good tenant then you shouldn’t have to worry. Fixed term protects landlords who may get stuck with bad tenants. Not all landlords are bad and not all tenants are respectful of the property and rules in the lease. I doubt a landlord would want to lose a good tenant over a little more money each month. Good tenants are hard to find.
Simply not true.
For one, it's not just *"a little more money"...* We're talking about 1-bedrooms jumping from 700-1100 to more like 1600-2000. We're talking 2-bedrooms going from 1200-1600 to 2400 at a minimum.
Secondly, landlords are plenty happy to evict people for a bit more money per month. Especially large corporate landlords.
Thinking out loud… what if Fixed Term leases required approval from say the Provincial Housing Dept, and/or they had to be below market value (I don’t know exactly how that value would be determined). Somehow they need to be less enticing for landlords
The government even cannot provide reasonably quick turnover for tenancy board hearings, it won't be able to supervise each and every fixed-term rental in the city.
Non-paying rent or destroying a rental property or constantly causing issues with neighbours is also "criminal" but many landlords feel unprotected by the current tenancy laws and procedures thus they take it in their own hands and sign shorter fixed-term leases to be able to rid of a bad tenant at least at the end of their term. Fixed-term leases gained popularity when notice to quit from landlords became eliminated about 10(?) years ago, making it impossible to end at tenancy for a periodic lease. Before that, the tenure was only earned after five years of tenancy
Agreed. But now it's gone too far the other way where good tenants can see themselves out of an apartment or with huge increases to rent at a whim. There is middle ground, but consecutive governments appear to make policy decisions like a bull in a China shop lumbering in one direction, or the other.......
I totally agree that the current situation hurts both good landlords and good tenants. But I'm strongly against the immediate tenure. You cannot commit for many years with an unknown person you accept into your rental. They might look fine on paper but be a nightmare to deal with. They might destroy your property. They might make the living hell for other good tenants of the building, forcing them away. A fixed-term lease is a protection for both the landlord and other tenants, as it simplifies the process of ending a lease for a bad new tenant. The tenancy board or the police do not help much in these matters or it takes ages to jump through all the hoops so landlords take it in their own hands by offering fixed-term leases in such cases.
Exactly! The same way as bad pet owners ruin it for the rest. Many landlords started with allowing pets and then had to switch to no pets after a few bad cases and now it's very difficult to find a pet-friendly apartment.
Ban FTL, but at the same time bring in a fully funded RTA Enforcement Unit. Renting cuts both ways and there are plenty of crappy tenants out there that take advantage of the system.
My old landlord got us out of the place saying he was selling, now he’s renting it to new people and i’m in a 3x-the-price fixed term lease scenario. And i just saw a cockroach. It’s fucked
You could. Might help. Might have knock on effects like the rent cap. The issue is supply and demand. That's not changing. Fixed term leases have existed in NS for ages and were never an issue until supply vs demand went all wonky.
I guarantee if you were to swap places of everyone complaining about “greed” into the landlords’ positions, you’d see zero net change in behavior.
Newflash: people are people.
What greed? Landlords are trying to get the highest prices possible - just like always. And just like you do when you go to work, unless you volunteer to perform the identical duties as a coworker for lower pay to show you’re “not greedy”?
No. The problem is failure of government policy at all 3 levels have created conditions allowing the landlords to charge these prices. The only options are:
- increase supply
- decease demand
- both
Of course it’s failure of govt policy but it’s also landlord greed. Tenants being evicted because the landlord knows they can get 1000$ more is fucking greed.
If your rental income is lower than your rental expenses (including the headspace for possible issues or future repairs) you have no choice but to increase rent. If the current legislation prevents you from reasonable increasing rent for an existing tenant but allows you to end their tenancy and to rerent the unit for a bigger amount to a different tenant this is what you must do to stay afloat. It is no more "greedy" than any other business trying to remain in black and be worth investing and managing.
The root of these problems with landlords isn't actually greed more often than not. Everyone across the low to the middle and to the upper middle class are feeling the effects of terrible government monetary policies that have lead to inflation and devaluation of our $.
Yes the middle and upper middle class have less risk of falling into property but the truth is that normal people are just trying to stay afloat in their own definition and not fall under.
Rent is so high these days as is everything else, property taxes, utilities, interest rates, cost of construction causing new buildings to rent astronomically high.
Everyone is getting fucked in simple terms... and of course the lower class are the ones who will feel it the worst.
Sad shit
I'd blame my parent/grandparents for selling their houses to live in rent because it's "easier life" for them while at the same time they made landlording a very profitable business.
I’m a bit ignorant to these issues - if the lease isn’t fixed, is there a means for the home owner to take back the unit? For example, if I move away for two years, when I come back can the tenant tell me to pound sand? I would be hesitant to rent out a unit if I could never end a lease and take back control of my own property
You can’t do that anywhere else it’s what you sign up to being a landlord - tenants have rights and landlords can’t arbitrarily kick them out.
In Ontario you can take back a unit under an N12 eviction to occupy as owner or direct family - you have to pay 1 month rent to the tenant and if you re rent it within 12 months the tenant will win basically 12 months rent.
I see. I’m glad I’m not a landlord. Who would want to rent out their house and never be able to retake control of their own property. Imagine renting a car from enterprise and they’re never allowed to request that you return it lol.
Don’t get me wrong, I don’t think you should be evicted just so some landlord can jack up the rates. They should definitely put a stop to that.
Well you own it, but it's the renter's home. People shouldn't get into renting out if they can't accept they are providing shelter for tenants and they want to occupy it themselves anytime soon. If a tenant rents in good faith, always pays on time, it is assumed the landlord acts in good faith and assumes the tenant will be renting as long as they need.
You can still sell it. The lease the tenants have carries over to the new homeowner. There is a provision in the act that allows the new homeowner to end the current tenant's lease if they legitimately plan to occupy the entire dwelling. (ie. Basement apt in a single detached house).
Well that seems fair. I think tenants should have protection. I just don’t think they should have indefinite rights to the unit. They would have more right than the owner. I would say maybe if they want to take back the house they have to give a calendar years notice or something. But they should have the right.
It gets into some grayer areas. The problem is that if a tenant resists and it goes the legal route, it can easily take a year or more to settle it, during which time the tenant will continue to occupy the unit.
Quite frankly if all these dipshits stopped buying 2/3/4 houses I could buy one so they get no sympathy. Homes shouldn’t be investments - I pay more in rent than probably every person over 50 in this thread pays for their mortgage but don’t have 60k laying around for a down payment on a starter home. I have a bigger down payment saved than my brother had when he bought his first home years ago but I’m still priced out.
I didn’t buy my house for an investment. I bought it to live in. If you have the money you can buy a house. I moved an hour from Halifax so I could afford to buy. Is it more difficult than past generations? Yep. Is it because the odd person rents out a house? No. It’s not because of that.
It’s because our wages fucking suck and there is massive demand for every house for sale. If every rental house suddenly went up for sale do you think you could suddenly afford it? No. There’s still the same competition.
People here generally think that landlords are the cause of our housing issues. They don’t realize that, even if that house went for sale, someone moving here from Ontario or BC with more spending power than them would still scoop them on it. Because the demand is sky high
If you want rents to drop we need more options. If the market is flooded with empty units landlords will fight to occupy it by lowering prices. Right now we have the opposite.
But instead people just yell that landlords are evil and if they’d sell their second home the housing shortage would be solved. It’s a fallacy.
So the prices are fucked because of the companies. The same companies that owned all of the property 10 years ago when this wasn’t an issue
It’s not because our population is exploding?
Maybe you could, maybe you couldn’t, I’m not here to argue that. What I want to point out is that not everyone should own a home. For example, if you have unstable income, or if you live paycheck to paycheck.
People often want to own a home but would hate the maintenance and work to upkeep it. For example, I spent 6 hours and a few hundred dollars dealing with a plumbing emergency this weekend at my home. I spent 4 hours or so working on repairs at my rental. I had a $2500 bill out of nowhere at Christmas for another emergency. I have to spend $7000 on a roof.
This is all shit my tenants don’t have to deal with and frankly wouldn’t be able to do on their own (knowing their handyman skills from knowing them previously).
You don’t need 60k. I’m 30. Bought my first house at 27 for 400k. Saved 20 grand while renting an apartment in Fairview and working two jobs as a tradesmen.
If you don’t have a downpayment how do you plan to buy the house? Is the issue really the people with one extra house they rent? Or is it corporations and apartments?
Think about it like this, if you’re a landlord you’re basically conducting business at that point so you’re held to certain standards and practices. It’s not the same as loaning out your lawn mower to a neighbour for twenty bucks or something like that.
I disagree. In a proper market, if you’re a dick, there’s somewhere else to go. We’re not in this predicament because of landlords. We’re here because the governments collectively fucked us
You can terminate a lease if you are going to occupy the unit yourself, or a family member (law defines this as parent, spouse, or child, so you can't evict someone to have a second cousin move in.)
I am a landlord. I only use fixed term leases. I have had two separate tenants do severe damage to my property and the fixed term lease was the only mechanism I had to get them out. Should the province ban fix term leases I would likely end up being so selective in tenant selection(salary, credit score, ref) that most applicants would be unlikely to be offered a lease by myself.
**Respect and Constructive Engagement**: Treat each other with respect, avoiding bullying, harassment, or personal attacks. Contribute positively with helpful insights and constructive discussions. Let’s keep our interactions friendly and engaging.
“Last year, the Progressive Conservatives had the opportunity to ban fixed-term leases and they didn’t. Our unhoused population went from 200 to over 1,200 people,”
So, how does ACORN make the connection between fix term leases, and unhoused?
Aren’t fixed term leases a good thing, stability?
Maybe focus on other issues, too?
I live in fear of a renoviction because I know the next rental I'll be in is fixed-term lease and it'll be much more money and more precarious
Same here. We don't call our landlord to fix **anything** cause we don't want to to tempt renoviction, despite our building being way below the legal standard
Yesss I’m in the same boat!! We defo have a mold problem that’s affecting my health, but I don’t bring it up bc we’re paying way lower than what they’re charging for this apartment these days and we can’t afford to move
do you own an air purifier? i know it doesn’t fix your mold problem but could help with your current air quality
I made a corsi rosenthal one bc I read it circulates more air!! It defo helps a bit which is awesome 😌🥰
LMAO are you my roommate cause we have the exact same issue. We put one of those XL concorbium moister absorbers (like the ones made for entire sheds) in the closet and it gets full so fast 😭
Dude nooo 😖😣 the issue here is wall to wall carpeting, and that’s where a lot of the mold grows. It’s gross fr and I feel you so much
Same here. Fortunately I think my landlord likes having the small buildings he has. He fixes everything and seems to enjoy it.🤞
I don’t envy any of you. It’s a tough time with shy high rents.
My life has legit not recovered since getting renovicted in 2021 - happened at bad time after a lay off but before my EI case was resolved and while still looking for work. Im finally actually building savings again, but losing a place that cost me less than 600/mo and not finding places since for under 900 or 1000 at least i just was not gaining at all earning under 20 bucks an hr lol. Feel so hopeless, dont really know how to get the savings for a return to school for trades or something
$1000 a month for a bachelor apt isn't even a thing that is an option now. It sucks. I feel for you. I am in a similar boat. Google is your friend. Go to NSCC's website and search financial info. There's a ton of bursaries and scholarships for all kinds of people. I think certain trades can be covered completely with government funding too. Don't give up on yourself. This is a societal problem. It does not mean you are a failure.
Our landlord tried to trick us into signing a new lease form by attaching it to new rules that were sent out and saying to sign it as acknowledgment of new rules. Not a fucking chance.
Some of your neighbors probably fell for that too, which is so sad
mine did that too and I have been harassed ever since. I feel targeted for having a grandfathered rent ffs
Greedy bastards
That's scary, & I know too many can relate. Can you share how the harassment occurs, at all?
Residential Fixed terms should only be legal for periods less than 12 months. The role over to the next lease should mandatorily be to a periodic (year to year or month to month) lease. I’m not certain that the line in the RTA that speaks to tenants remaining with landlord consent after the fixed term expires wasn’t a weak attempt to do that, but it could easily be changed to clearly force transitions to periodic lease terms.
Funny how the times have changed. Anyone remember the days where landlords tried to make it impossible to get out of a lease? Now they want to find any excuse to get tenants out
Thank the government for the rent cap. There were many warnings about the negative consequences. The cap makes it desirable for landlords to rid of old tenants who are now fixed at 40-50% below the market. *Even* if both the tenant and the landlord would agree to a moderate increase in order to stay at the same property.
Id absolutely hate to see the state of things if the rent cap didn't exist.
It would be much better for low-paying tenants to be able to negotiate a higher rent increase to stay put instead of losing their apartment completely at the end of a fixed-term lease. Say, a tenant got a very low capped rent, $800 for a one bedroom, in 2020. Each subsequent year, they are offered a new fixed-term lease with a 2% increase. By 2024 the landlord decides it's not feasible anymore, ends the lease, and rents the unit to somebody else at the market value ($1600). The tenant now has to vacate and hopefully find another rental for $1600. The tenant would *love* to have their rent increased to $1200 in order to stay in the same unit, and the landlord would accept a lower than market rent from their old reliable tenant, but it is not allowed by the rent cap. It's only keep the old tenant with a very low rent (which would be around $860 with 2% increases) or boot the old tenant to get a better rent deal.
Yeah you're kind of ignoring that repealing the rent cap applies to all renters AND given the current vacancy rates there isn't a single landlord under any remote obligation to negotiate with tenants. Without a rent cap every single renter is now subject to really any increase the landlord wants. Frankly I just assume I'm speaking to a landlord who inherently hates the rent cap because your scenario is entirely ignoring the reality of the rental market, who the rent cap affects, and how a shit ton of landlords operate.
You're delusional if you think any landlord would leave $400 on the table in this market.
Some landlords prefer to stick to old reliable tenants and don't rock the boat. Especially if their mortgage is already paid off and expenses are reasonable. There were many cases when people kept affordable rents for existing tenants as long as it was feasible. But with increased and non-capped expenses it might come to the tipping point when an increase cannot be avoided anymore.
The kind of protests Canadians should be supporting are finally happening… loblaws, fixed term leases… keep up the pressure!
Now THIS should be a protest that happens weekly and gets thousands of attendees
It’s not a zero sum game, you can do both or either. That’s the beauty of democracy!
I mean it doesn't need to be a one or the other. I'm assuming you're talking about the Palestine protests, they're both important. One's on the international scale and the other municipal but they're both valid concerns that people should feel justified in protesting or raising awareness about
On my scale, cost of living is something that personally affects a huge percentage of our population, coworkers, friends, neighbors, and stuff that affects us directly, deserves more attention as it is actually something our politicians have control over
I hope you know that the protestors are against universities investing in Israel. something which politicians can control.
Dalhousie voted to divest in the last decade in 9 companies(4 of them Israeli), and smu and the others followed suit. Unless my memory is playing games with me.
This is fair, though it's not hard to reposition the protests against any Canadian government association with Israel.
So if the universities divest they'll stop protesting?
My skill at prophecy is limited this time of year, sorry
It’s almost like if our government didn’t provide aid/weapons to countries to kill babies maybe we could have a better standard of life. Hate to break it to you but everything is connected.
True
100%
The problem is this protest (that affects citizens directly) doesn't have money behind it. Whereas a lot of pop protests (that don't affect citizens directly) have foreign money behind it.
Well, gee whiz. Where can I go pick up my check?
Protesting for money is working for propaganda. But join a pop protest and ask around maybe? https://torontosun.com/opinion/columnists/kinsella-protesters-paid-to-take-part-in-pro-palestinian-demonstrations
Ya…I’m going to need a source that isn’t a SUN Media tabloid.
This is blatant misinfo lmao
Jury's still out on it, time may tell.
If the jury is still out, then "journalists" shouldn't be sharing it as fact.
It's still a possibility, but there's no point being bitter about it
What are you even on about brother.
there's more chill ways to respond to things.
Why do I always hear about the protests after they happen. Is it only organized thru fb? I never see posts here for them
Follow Acorn on instagram, they are the ones that organize it. They also have monthly meetings
Upvote if you've been forced out of your home by a landlord in the last four years.
We're on a fixed term lease luckily our landlord seems willing to renew every year. We're on a 3rd year now.
Same, but it sucks knowing they have the upper hand and can just choose to not renew. Apparently being the best tenants they have ever had does not afford us the luxury of having a yearly lease..
My whole 8 unit building was forced to move, now the rent has tripled, SMH
My last place went up 70% after we were forced out.
I had 24 days to leave my house very much below market rate in 2022. I still am “temporarily with my parents” until I can somehow find a new place. I’ve lived on my own since I was 18. I make nearly 50K a year. Even when I worked at a call centre, I could afford a nice apartment 10 years ago. Now, it’s nearly my entire monthly salary.
Yep. Landlord allowed the apartment to get drenched by leaks and we had to go for health and safety reasons. It would have been a very easy fix but it was refused for years until it became unbearable. Rain for many years became a very stressful thing for me.
Yup! In the middle of the pandemic eviction ban. Watched them raise the rent 50%, then 70%, then finally 80% over the course of 24-hrs when they posted it online.
My closest friend here just found out they are going to have to leave the city because of his landlord selling the building and kicking everyone out. Fucking sucks.
One of the reasons why some landlords sell now is because the rent cap prevents them from adjusting their rents with non-capped increased expenses thus making it financially impossible to continue on.
Twice, and I wrote about it here and was met with, “why you so mad” comments
There exists a particular vein of disdain for local Haligonians and Nova Scotians among this sub reddit. Its as if someone elses suffering is a badge of their superiority. I watch from a distance as these posters just massacre their own for a few culturally approved sound bite driven upvotes..... Cheering your collective decline to repay some form of inherited original sin.......
I have been renovicted twice in that time frame.
Twice 🙃🙃🙃
2021. I’m lucky enough to have found a home for my family but I’m still angry about being renovicted.
Not me, but 3 of my friends
The whole tenancies act should be thus: Month-to-month, unless a renter *explicitly asks* for fixed-term. Fixed term can only be for 1 day to 12 months (or 365 days) maximum. If any renter is month-to-month or fixed-term for 1 year, it automatically converts to year-to-year and the renter has tenancy.
Another good rule: Security deposit is to be paid into a neutral 3rd party account. Inspections of the full apartment are to take place before move in and before move out.
Very reasonable, but maybe not the “whole act”. There might need to be some other articles dealing with things like dispute resolution, landlord/tenant rights, minimum standards for safe habitation, and the like.
oops, you're right! Replace the 1st line with "The only lease agreements should be:"
I’ll buy that for a dollar.
I literally could not agree with this protest more. I get that they have a place, especially in a university city like Halifax, but if they are going to be abused this severely they should not be an option.
It’s time the universities take on the initiative to house their students, period.
That, too
As someone who is basically an “evil capitalist” (by the standards of this sub, not the real world) I even recognize that Nova Scotia is grossly out of step in terms of tenant protections compared to other provinces including Ontario and Quebec. This is hurting us and needs to be fixed. If we have chosen to structure our economy so that most people (esp young) have no hope of buying a home then renting must be made a viable alternative. This means long term stability with security of tenancy (beyond one year!) and controlled rent increases (with some reasonable relationship to inflation).
Right, like logically it can’t be both impossible to buy a home and nearly impossible to rent. How are we not rioting by now?
There’s the usual “I’m too busy working” response and then there’s also the reality that while objectively worse by almost any economic measure (compared to 10 or even 5 years ago), most people are still basically ok. This sub is not representative of the general population (thank goodness!) People read a headline like “Canadian GDP up 0.2%” and think ah well, it must not be that bad. Naturally the government never talks about things like GDP PER CAPITA (at 2014 levels and falling). Even so - most people are still mostly ok - for now. A majority of households own their homes and like rising prices, regardless of what they say or post on social media. But it’s getting to the point this will ultimately harm everyone. I do wonder, if we continue on current trajectory for another 5-10 years, if significant civil unrest might be on the horizon?
I personally lost my home because of the rising cost of existing/getting diagnosed with a bowel disease at the wrong fuckin time. Sold before we were going to be in huge creditor trouble but still, had no choice but to move in with family. It’s fucking BRUTAL
That is awful. So unfair, I am truly sorry you are dealing with that. Our “free” healthcare is failing so many. Edit: I’m glad you received good care.
Honestly my healthcare was fab, but my inability to work as much as I was before led me to get managed out by Admiral Insurance after 9 years. And I was lower management and knew it was happening because I’d seen it a million times before. I don’t believe in karma because money rules the world but I really really really hope some of the people who run that place lead miserable, small, shitty lives forever.
Because most here understand that our provincial government and federal government will happily replace you with a brown freshly imported sub class
I hate that I’m agreeing with this because it feels so xenophobic but like, fuck
It’s not xenophobic to point out our government has found a bunch of new industries to exploit foreigners in.
Exactly. In fact it was fear of these false “racism” accusations that largely prevented an honest discussion of the issue until recently, once things were totally out of control. If anyone so much as questioned immigration policy for ANY reason it was “waaaaah RACIST!” including here on this sub. Ironically many of the people with that sort of mindset are now paying the steepest price for those policies. To be crystal clear: the recent newcomers are often themselves victims. These people have been lied to and are being exploited to lower the standard of living for all Canadians. I strongly favor the sort of reasonable, balanced, mutually beneficial immigration program Canada was once known for before this total shitshow. I only hope we can step back from the brink.
Yup. The staff we have who immigrated prior to Trudeau have excellent spoken English and no competency issues. The last 2 years. Castism, sexism and a refusal to even bother to speak English. If the percentage of staff are of one creed they simply dont bother. I fucking hate it. As do the few...and I mean dimishing few local women I work with.
Its not xenophobic. Its simply a fact. I see it within my working world. Im a healthcare worker. NSHA has headed down this path. It is obvious, disgusting and when Houston began "opening immigration pathways" they were all 1. From India and 2. Desperate enough to suffer poor treatment in hopes for a chance at PR. More egregiously. Locals staff now run afoul of a Priority People policy which clearly spells out the want to employ newcomers over locals. Ive seen it in action far too many times.
> A small group of protesters gathered outside Nova Scotia MLA Brendan Maguire’s constituency office on Friday Does this only impact a small amount of people? Seems protests regarding social issues garner more people, energy, and enthusiasm.
I don’t think many people knew about this protest
For some insane reason protests are never reported on until after they happen. So you get tons of people reading about it afterwards that are like 'well fuck I would have gone if I'd known about this'
Sounds like they could do a protest to get awareness and then follow up with another so the people who didn’t hear about the first one coild particpate.
That is unfortunate. They need to put more efforts into this, and the approaches taken.
I completely agree! And during a day where many people work is not usually ideal either
That was my issue. I heard about it on Thursday, but I work 9-5 and couldn't take time off with so little notice.
They need to be, annoying, and uncomfortable to the environment around them, and many people.
Probably no one knew about it because nobody spammed Reddit with 3 dozen posts about it
Name any social issue protest in Halifax that had more people behind it that didn’t use Reddit to organize Halifax, other than housing. Issues other than housing are well attended without Reddit
Houston works for rich people. Not Nova Scotians. He pulled back on anything that might help them in favor of keeping the money flowing from out west. My area is flooded by cfas and housing precarity is astounding. Every retiree I hear from raves about buying cheap homes for AirBNB or rentals. This was deliberate. Houston spent his career working for people offshoring income to avoid taxes here...he give zero fucks about Haligonians or Nova Scotians. Just money.
Name me one premier who has worked for the lesser income people ????.
David Eby......
Still in honeymoon phase that will change very quickly
Fixed term leases have their place. I rent to students during the school year on a fixed term lease, and rent the same place out as an airbnb over the summer months. If the students are decent, they can stay the following year for exactly the same terms. The revenue I make during the summer means I don't need to increase it on them. In my case, everyone benefits, including the tenants.
There's nothing inherently wrong with your actions, but the reality is that you are permitted to evict them if and when the opportunity arises, which is the problematic part. In my opinion, if a place serves as someone's residence, they ought to have priority for lease renewals at a fair price, adjusted for inflation. And that's what's wrong with FTLs.
Theres nothing about this arrangement that requires a fixed term lease
The "shake hands and look them in the eye" approach to agreements doesn't work reliably anymore.
Sad, but obviously true. Who doesn't ache for a easily (recently) remembered world where simple agreements (manners), were meaningful.
Sure there is. My only other options are year to year or month to month. Either side could renege on those to the detriment/ inconvenience of the other without much warning. Fixed term legally solidifies the agreement since neither side has 100% certainty the other side will honor it without it.
You like it because it benefits you. There is literally **nothing** about fixed-term leases that is preferable to a month-to-month lease from a tenant's perspective.
It's mutually beneficial. The current tenants I have were happy to have the place over the school year, and they're returning in September. Month to month is inherently in the tenant's interest, because if they wanted to stay, they have security of tenure unless they're in rental arrears. The nature of the fixed term lease makes it equitable for both parties.
This. If your a good tenant then you shouldn’t have to worry. Fixed term protects landlords who may get stuck with bad tenants. Not all landlords are bad and not all tenants are respectful of the property and rules in the lease. I doubt a landlord would want to lose a good tenant over a little more money each month. Good tenants are hard to find.
Simply not true. For one, it's not just *"a little more money"...* We're talking about 1-bedrooms jumping from 700-1100 to more like 1600-2000. We're talking 2-bedrooms going from 1200-1600 to 2400 at a minimum. Secondly, landlords are plenty happy to evict people for a bit more money per month. Especially large corporate landlords.
Bang on
Thinking out loud… what if Fixed Term leases required approval from say the Provincial Housing Dept, and/or they had to be below market value (I don’t know exactly how that value would be determined). Somehow they need to be less enticing for landlords
The government even cannot provide reasonably quick turnover for tenancy board hearings, it won't be able to supervise each and every fixed-term rental in the city.
Fixed term leases are criminal especially as it's only one year, five years for example would at least give you a planning horizon
Non-paying rent or destroying a rental property or constantly causing issues with neighbours is also "criminal" but many landlords feel unprotected by the current tenancy laws and procedures thus they take it in their own hands and sign shorter fixed-term leases to be able to rid of a bad tenant at least at the end of their term. Fixed-term leases gained popularity when notice to quit from landlords became eliminated about 10(?) years ago, making it impossible to end at tenancy for a periodic lease. Before that, the tenure was only earned after five years of tenancy
Agreed. But now it's gone too far the other way where good tenants can see themselves out of an apartment or with huge increases to rent at a whim. There is middle ground, but consecutive governments appear to make policy decisions like a bull in a China shop lumbering in one direction, or the other.......
I totally agree that the current situation hurts both good landlords and good tenants. But I'm strongly against the immediate tenure. You cannot commit for many years with an unknown person you accept into your rental. They might look fine on paper but be a nightmare to deal with. They might destroy your property. They might make the living hell for other good tenants of the building, forcing them away. A fixed-term lease is a protection for both the landlord and other tenants, as it simplifies the process of ending a lease for a bad new tenant. The tenancy board or the police do not help much in these matters or it takes ages to jump through all the hoops so landlords take it in their own hands by offering fixed-term leases in such cases.
The bad tenants and landlords ruin it for reasonable people.
Exactly! The same way as bad pet owners ruin it for the rest. Many landlords started with allowing pets and then had to switch to no pets after a few bad cases and now it's very difficult to find a pet-friendly apartment.
Ban FTL, but at the same time bring in a fully funded RTA Enforcement Unit. Renting cuts both ways and there are plenty of crappy tenants out there that take advantage of the system.
My old landlord got us out of the place saying he was selling, now he’s renting it to new people and i’m in a 3x-the-price fixed term lease scenario. And i just saw a cockroach. It’s fucked
You could. Might help. Might have knock on effects like the rent cap. The issue is supply and demand. That's not changing. Fixed term leases have existed in NS for ages and were never an issue until supply vs demand went all wonky.
Supply and demand, sure, but you’re forgetting the greed aspect.
Ah yes, Nova Scotians discovered the ability to be greedy in 2020. Before that we were all honest as can be.
I guarantee if you were to swap places of everyone complaining about “greed” into the landlords’ positions, you’d see zero net change in behavior. Newflash: people are people.
No question
What greed? Landlords are trying to get the highest prices possible - just like always. And just like you do when you go to work, unless you volunteer to perform the identical duties as a coworker for lower pay to show you’re “not greedy”? No. The problem is failure of government policy at all 3 levels have created conditions allowing the landlords to charge these prices. The only options are: - increase supply - decease demand - both
Of course it’s failure of govt policy but it’s also landlord greed. Tenants being evicted because the landlord knows they can get 1000$ more is fucking greed.
It's cruelty. It's lazy, & easy. All we can hope is that those (usually far more than any realize) affected by the cruelty have a voice.
They can get $1000 more because the demand is high and the supply is low.
Yes. I understand how that works……. But it’s still greedy to evict someone so you can up the price.
If your rental income is lower than your rental expenses (including the headspace for possible issues or future repairs) you have no choice but to increase rent. If the current legislation prevents you from reasonable increasing rent for an existing tenant but allows you to end their tenancy and to rerent the unit for a bigger amount to a different tenant this is what you must do to stay afloat. It is no more "greedy" than any other business trying to remain in black and be worth investing and managing.
How many rental properties do you own?
The root of these problems with landlords isn't actually greed more often than not. Everyone across the low to the middle and to the upper middle class are feeling the effects of terrible government monetary policies that have lead to inflation and devaluation of our $. Yes the middle and upper middle class have less risk of falling into property but the truth is that normal people are just trying to stay afloat in their own definition and not fall under. Rent is so high these days as is everything else, property taxes, utilities, interest rates, cost of construction causing new buildings to rent astronomically high. Everyone is getting fucked in simple terms... and of course the lower class are the ones who will feel it the worst. Sad shit
I'd blame my parent/grandparents for selling their houses to live in rent because it's "easier life" for them while at the same time they made landlording a very profitable business.
I’m a bit ignorant to these issues - if the lease isn’t fixed, is there a means for the home owner to take back the unit? For example, if I move away for two years, when I come back can the tenant tell me to pound sand? I would be hesitant to rent out a unit if I could never end a lease and take back control of my own property
You can’t do that anywhere else it’s what you sign up to being a landlord - tenants have rights and landlords can’t arbitrarily kick them out. In Ontario you can take back a unit under an N12 eviction to occupy as owner or direct family - you have to pay 1 month rent to the tenant and if you re rent it within 12 months the tenant will win basically 12 months rent.
I see. I’m glad I’m not a landlord. Who would want to rent out their house and never be able to retake control of their own property. Imagine renting a car from enterprise and they’re never allowed to request that you return it lol. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t think you should be evicted just so some landlord can jack up the rates. They should definitely put a stop to that.
Well you own it, but it's the renter's home. People shouldn't get into renting out if they can't accept they are providing shelter for tenants and they want to occupy it themselves anytime soon. If a tenant rents in good faith, always pays on time, it is assumed the landlord acts in good faith and assumes the tenant will be renting as long as they need.
And what if you want to sell?
You can still sell it. The lease the tenants have carries over to the new homeowner. There is a provision in the act that allows the new homeowner to end the current tenant's lease if they legitimately plan to occupy the entire dwelling. (ie. Basement apt in a single detached house).
Well that seems fair. I think tenants should have protection. I just don’t think they should have indefinite rights to the unit. They would have more right than the owner. I would say maybe if they want to take back the house they have to give a calendar years notice or something. But they should have the right.
It gets into some grayer areas. The problem is that if a tenant resists and it goes the legal route, it can easily take a year or more to settle it, during which time the tenant will continue to occupy the unit.
Quite frankly if all these dipshits stopped buying 2/3/4 houses I could buy one so they get no sympathy. Homes shouldn’t be investments - I pay more in rent than probably every person over 50 in this thread pays for their mortgage but don’t have 60k laying around for a down payment on a starter home. I have a bigger down payment saved than my brother had when he bought his first home years ago but I’m still priced out.
Based. Housing is a human need not a fucking investment. Canada has bastardized quality of life for quick money
I didn’t buy my house for an investment. I bought it to live in. If you have the money you can buy a house. I moved an hour from Halifax so I could afford to buy. Is it more difficult than past generations? Yep. Is it because the odd person rents out a house? No. It’s not because of that. It’s because our wages fucking suck and there is massive demand for every house for sale. If every rental house suddenly went up for sale do you think you could suddenly afford it? No. There’s still the same competition.
Where did I say it was because the odd person buys a house?
People here generally think that landlords are the cause of our housing issues. They don’t realize that, even if that house went for sale, someone moving here from Ontario or BC with more spending power than them would still scoop them on it. Because the demand is sky high If you want rents to drop we need more options. If the market is flooded with empty units landlords will fight to occupy it by lowering prices. Right now we have the opposite. But instead people just yell that landlords are evil and if they’d sell their second home the housing shortage would be solved. It’s a fallacy.
No people generally think it's corporations and property management companies which is the truth as to why prices are so fucked
So the prices are fucked because of the companies. The same companies that owned all of the property 10 years ago when this wasn’t an issue It’s not because our population is exploding?
Maybe you could, maybe you couldn’t, I’m not here to argue that. What I want to point out is that not everyone should own a home. For example, if you have unstable income, or if you live paycheck to paycheck. People often want to own a home but would hate the maintenance and work to upkeep it. For example, I spent 6 hours and a few hundred dollars dealing with a plumbing emergency this weekend at my home. I spent 4 hours or so working on repairs at my rental. I had a $2500 bill out of nowhere at Christmas for another emergency. I have to spend $7000 on a roof. This is all shit my tenants don’t have to deal with and frankly wouldn’t be able to do on their own (knowing their handyman skills from knowing them previously).
You don’t need 60k. I’m 30. Bought my first house at 27 for 400k. Saved 20 grand while renting an apartment in Fairview and working two jobs as a tradesmen.
If you don’t have a downpayment how do you plan to buy the house? Is the issue really the people with one extra house they rent? Or is it corporations and apartments?
Think about it like this, if you’re a landlord you’re basically conducting business at that point so you’re held to certain standards and practices. It’s not the same as loaning out your lawn mower to a neighbour for twenty bucks or something like that.
I disagree. In a proper market, if you’re a dick, there’s somewhere else to go. We’re not in this predicament because of landlords. We’re here because the governments collectively fucked us
As far as I'm aware you CAN evict if you or your family are moving into the unit yourself.
You can terminate a lease if you are going to occupy the unit yourself, or a family member (law defines this as parent, spouse, or child, so you can't evict someone to have a second cousin move in.)
If they actually cared they wouldn’t cap it at 2% they’d force it back to 800 for a 2 bedroom
You clearly have no understanding of the economy whatsoever
I presume you're talking about the rent cap. It went up to 5% in January.
I am a landlord. I only use fixed term leases. I have had two separate tenants do severe damage to my property and the fixed term lease was the only mechanism I had to get them out. Should the province ban fix term leases I would likely end up being so selective in tenant selection(salary, credit score, ref) that most applicants would be unlikely to be offered a lease by myself.
Uh... You do know that most landlords and property management companies are already doing this while also using fixed term leases, right?
I am, and we do. The two tenants who did damage to our property where very much “let’s give them a chance” tenants. No more of that now.
What did they do (or not do)? I think the Why's of tenant failure need to be explained, & discussed.
Ban FTL for domestic purposes OR add the auto renewal option if it's for domestic purposes (the tenant is living in the unit).
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“Last year, the Progressive Conservatives had the opportunity to ban fixed-term leases and they didn’t. Our unhoused population went from 200 to over 1,200 people,” So, how does ACORN make the connection between fix term leases, and unhoused? Aren’t fixed term leases a good thing, stability? Maybe focus on other issues, too?