No Plans in the Works to Increase Pet-Friendly Housing

When it comes to the issue of pets and rental housing, LandlordBC and the BC SPCA seem to have very different goals.

While the SPCA hopes that legislation in British Columbia will change so that people can take in and retain their animal companions, LandlordBC, an industry association representing about 3,300 rental owners and managers across the province, is concerned about the amount of damage that animals can do.

“What we would really like to encourage is more property owners to consider enabling people to have pets at their facilities,” said Suzanne Pugh, Branch Manager of the BC SPCA’s Kelowna location.

Pugh understands that there are challenges associated with allowing pets into rental units, but she applauds property owners and developers who do it anyway.

Property owners are entitled to charge an extra half-month’s rent for pet damage. This is legislated under the Provincial Tenancy Act. However, David Hutniak, CEO of LandlordBC, says that a lot of times that isn’t enough.

“The reality is that for the most part, that’s inadequate,” said Hutniak. “When a tenant relationship ends with those that have pets, the carpet basically needs to be torn out in the vast majority of situations; etcetera.”

While Hutniak didn’t have hard statistics available on the subject, he said, “I can assure you that the damage deposit in the typical rental suite for pets is woefully inadequate.”

Hutniak also iterated that landlords can encounter difficulty associated with bylaw violations if their tenants’ animals are causing disturbances in their neighbourhoods.

“If they rent out a house and the tenant has a backyard full of pit bulls who are barking constantly, absolutely, they ultimately own the property and they have exposure,” said Hutniak. “From that perspective, they have an obligation to ensure that their property is adhering to municipal bylaws.”

According to the BC SPCA, approximately 20 per cent of the surrendered pets brought in to them are given up because the owners can no longer keep their animals at their rental properties.

British Columbia does not currently provide for persons who do not own their own property to keep their animals if they must move or if the rules regarding pets change for their rental home.

In Ontario, however, no-pet clauses are null and void, and landlords can only evict or refuse to rent to a tenant because of their pet if it can be demonstrated that the presence of the pet would cause somebody concerned to have a severe allergic reaction.

The BC SPCA would like to see similar legislation adopted in British Columbia, particularly as it could make a significant impact on the current crisis associated with the overpopulation of cats.