EDMONTON EYES LANDLORD REGISTRY, COULD REVOKE BUSINESS LICENSES FOR RULE-BREAKERS

Ward Nakota Isga Coun. Andrew Knack, who requested this direction at committee on behalf of Coun. Michael Janz, told Postmedia Tuesday this is something the city should look into because there are areas renters don’t have as many rights as those who own property.

“I think the vast majority of people renting out will have good track records and have nothing to worry about. But where that is not the case, and folks have not been doing their part to have a safe and clean residence for folks, potential tenants should be aware of that,” he told Postmedia Tuesday.

“It’s just making sure that folks who rent have greater protection and control about where they might call home.”

Knack thinks this can be done without being too onerous and believes the information may already be available, although it’s not easily accessible.

“The threshold that a municipality has to prove is so incredibly high,” he said. “If there’s anything we need to do on our end (with the bylaws) to be tightened up, we can do that.”

Some Landlords in Edmonton have been keeping underground and potentially illegal blacklists for hundreds of so-called problem tenants with, at times, little to no evidence required. Landlords in Alberta can already legally perform credit and reference checks of potential renters and search court records.

Other Canadian cities have launched or are also contemplating landlord registries, such as Toronto. Halifax city council voted to create a rental registry on Tuesday, and Montreal launched one last year.