New Westminster mayor happy city bylaw protecting renters upheld by B.C. Supreme Court
Posted February 11, 2020 7:20 pm.
Last Updated February 11, 2020 7:22 pm.
NEW WESTMINISTER (NEWS 1130) — The B.C. Supreme Court has upheld a bylaw aimed at protecting renters in the province from renovictions.
New Westminster Jonathan Cote is celebrating and says the ruling is precedent-setting.
“The bylaw we put in place was first in its kind, and ultimately it being challenged in court really does determine whether cities in British Columbia able to take this kind of action,” Cote says.
The city's mayor is celebrating and says there's potential for some precedent-setting moves when it comes to so-called renovictions. B.C.'s top court is upholding a #newwest bylaw that'll discourage renovictions. We've got the details starting at 7p on @NEWS1130
— Ria Renouf ???? (@riarenouf) February 12, 2020
The bylaw regulates how landlords and rental building owners can undertake renovations and evictions.
According to Cote, the bylaw is simple. It protects renters in New Westminster.
The mayor says since the bylaw was adopted early last year, renovictions in the city have gone down, and this is the ruling many in the community had been hoping for.
“Almost half of our city are renters, so that’s a big part of our community,” he says.
“This has been an issue that we have been challenged within our community, and this Bylaw has been very effective to help us protest renter’s rights. So we are very pleased that the Supreme Court has upheld our bylaw.”
Cote adds the bylaw is in response to seeing an increasing trend of people being evicted from their units, even though the buildings weren’t being substantially improved.
He says this ruling could have implications for the entire province.
A petition was filed with the court last July, aiming to see the bylaw scrapped.
