Photo by Vince Fedoroff
STRENGTHENING RESIDENTS’ RIGHTS – Several people took part in Wednesday afternoon’s NDP news conference on greater protections for mobile home dwellers, held at the Takhini Trailer Court. From left to right: André Bourcier; the party’s candidate in Copper Belt North; Kate White, the NDP incumbent and candidate for Takhini-Kopper King; Francis Van Kessel, the party’s candidate in Porter Creek North; and park resident Tim Cameron.
The NDP wants to cap rent increases on mobile home pads and disallow evictions without cause.
The NDP wants to cap rent increases on mobile home pads and disallow evictions without cause.
That’s part of the Nov. 7 election platform announced Wednesday by Kate White, the NDP incumbent and candidate for Takhini-Kopper King.
Standing in front of a home at the Takhini Trailer Court, White was flanked by fellow candidates Andre Bourcier (Copperbelt North) and Francis van Kessel (Porter Creek North).
“The NDP has been talking about the rights of mobile home owners for the last four years,” White told reporters.
“And, for the first three years, it was into a void, and I asked questions, and I asked for solutions, and I got told that nobody cared but me.
“When that happened, I took a petition to every single door at every single mobile home park and I asked owners what they thought.”
What the NDP learned, White said, was that a number of mobile home owners had seen pad rental increases of $80 a month over four years.
And when one park boosts the charges, White said, the others follow.
With no cap, landlords could, theoretically, institute an increase of $200 a month.
“That’s just an easy way to tell someone you want them to move,” White said.
As well, the Yukon Landlord and Tenant Act considers mobile home owners to be renters, who can be evicted without cause.
When the Casa Loma Trailer Park’s tenants were evicted last July, White said, it was difficult to find space for the Porter Creek park’s 12 residents.
If the same happened at Takhini, it would leave 180 mobile homes with no place to go.
The Baranov neighbourhood has 85 trailers, and Lobird has 125.
“The broader conversation that has to happen from a government perspective is: how do we protect them?” White said.
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Comments (18)
Up 16 Down 10
canon2000 on Nov 1, 2016 at 9:05 am
here we go again the NDP telling us what's good for us and how to run our business. VOTE RED OR BLUE
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here it goes again on Oct 30, 2016 at 11:41 pm
I just read my original post again and have to say that I actually see glaring arguments FOR giving cause in notice to mobile home owners. They do have a huge investment in their home, they do have ownership, they do expect to be there in the long term.
This really does have to be addressed. I was only addressing the statement that 'cause' is not required currently under the LTA for evictions (which is false). And re-reading the article, it's not even saying that Kate thinks cause should be required for giving notice.
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here it goes again on Oct 30, 2016 at 11:35 pm
June Jackson: But I do agree with you that I jumped the gun fixating on the ' as renters they can be evicted without cause' line, rather than brushing it off. I am irritated to see this line still being used.
There are different rules for pad rent than there are for other rentals, including the rules surrounding notice. Notice is much, much longer than it is for renters. I should read up on the details for mobile home parks.
I just did a quick google and the Yukon government did a survey this past spring. Here is some background info found there, "The Residential Landlord and Tenant Act currently governs the relationship between a mobile home owner and mobile-home park owner in a manner similar to other tenancies, with the exception of certain extended notice periods. "
(They correctly call giving notice, "giving notice".)
Next line, "The consultation seeks input on two general issues: the ability of a park owner to evict mobile home owners without cause; and whether there should be controls on how the mobile-home park owner can raise pad rents."
It seems that even the bureaucrats have picked up on the lingo, "evict without cause". It went from notice to evict, from one paragraph to the next, with no recognition that an eviction requires a court order.
These should not be interchangeable terms. I wonder what term they give for an actual (court ordered) eviction? I can tell you a landlord certainly does need 'cause' for one of those.
I think it is disingenuous and misleading to use the word 'eviction' when you mean legal notice.
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here it goes again on Oct 30, 2016 at 11:21 pm
June Jackson: Put on your reading glasses and follow along,
"As well, the Yukon Landlord and Tenant Act considers mobile home owners to be renters, who can be evicted without cause. "
No, they cannot be 'evicted without cause'. Get it now?
Up 29 Down 9
lynx on Oct 29, 2016 at 11:31 pm
Why does Kate White need to drive a half ton truck for her job at the legislature? I thought she and the NDP were concerned about the environment and doing the right thing? Yet they love to tell us what WE should use for transportation!
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Just Say'in on Oct 29, 2016 at 3:51 pm
@June Jackson.
If you are truly in favour of low cost options then you should not be against Trailer Parks. They are one of the very few offering affordable options for first time buyers and low income people.
Are trailer parks for everyone? No. Would I want to live there? No. Have I? Yes. It is an excellent place to get a start, and I did, and then moved onward.
The way you seem to see it is as Social housing which it is not. The owners of this land should be allowed to get fair market value for it if not they will shut it down and these people will have to move. Most of these trailers will have to go to the dump and with it their investment. Keep fighting for them and they will be real unhappy with you eventually.
This goes for you too Kate White.
Up 35 Down 3
Groucho d'North on Oct 29, 2016 at 12:39 pm
If the NDP is going to venture into telling the private sector how much money they can make, perhaps begin with Northwestel or other monopoly providers who charge all the traffic will bear. This would benefit more Yukoners too.
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June Jackson on Oct 28, 2016 at 4:22 pm
To "here it goes again" You DO realize that the discussion is about trailers? The owner of the trailer park does not own the trailer, so it's highly unlikely that the landlord is going to move in with anyone, or be interested in their personal life. Though all of your comments are valid for non mobile rentals.
The landlord is responsible for taxes, water, sewer and for 3 of the 4 parks an excess of 1 million dollars a year income should be sufficient to pay for those.
No one, (so far) that I have read is objecting to reasonable increase. There in lies the complaint. $20. a month or $240. a year increase every single year, isn't reasonable. When is enough enough?
As I said in an earlier post, I was at a meeting where the landlords threatened to evict everyone in their apartments and build condo's if the government brought in rent controls. The government backed down..and the landlords did it anyway. So if park owners are going to evict, they are going to evict regardless of what anyone or any government says or does. If they are not going to evict, they will find a way to compromise with government, tenants etc.
Up 21 Down 7
here it goes again with the NDP on Oct 28, 2016 at 3:08 pm
Not the old 'eviction without cause' garbage again.
Fact: In order to get an eviction notice you have to go to court and tell the judge what the 'cause' is. Ie, the reason. The person has not paid rent is probably the most common 'cause' of being evicted.
Aside from eviction there is a mechanism called Notice. A landlord can give legal notice to vacate, to a renter, as per the rental contract. The rental contract must abide by minimum standards as laid out in the Landlord and Tenant Act governing the Yukon. Currently the minimum notice is two calendar months. The landlord does not have to say why they would like the rental unit vacated, but as someone else stated, there is in fact always a reason. They just do not have to share their life story with the renter.
The renter can also give notice 'without cause', and their legal obligation to the landlord is one month's notice. They do not have to give a reason why either. Just here's my notice, as per our contract and laws governing rentals in the Yukon.
I am so completely DONE with explaining this to Kate and the NDP. They already know that there is no 'eviction without cause', but the sound bite, 'No more eviction without cause!', is too tempting for them so they keep using it. What they mean is that landlords will be required to pick a reason from a short list constructed by the NDP (non-payment of rent, destruction of property, violence, owner moving into the unit, extensive renovations, sale of unit - these are typically what they have decided are the only acceptable reasons for someone to ever be asked to leave a rental home.)
The problem with having to tell someone why you would like them to leave:
1. Fights and arguments about whether or not it is true that they are destructive or violent.
2. The landlord might actually be afraid of the renter and might not want to tell them that they do not like the drug dealing or whatever else they have observed going on.
3. The landlord might not want to share the information that she is moving into the unit, opening up her personal life to the renter.
4. What if plans change? Ie, let's say that she patches up her relationship with her husband and doesn't move in. Can the renter sue for 'false cause'? Will she have to go to court and tell the world her personal business?
Bottom line, it's a rental home. The word rent means temporary. The owner should have more control over the home than the renter - they have far more investment in it. The benefit of renting is the lack of commitment to the location, and on the other side of the bargain the landlord also has some flexibility and ability to protect their investment. There are laws in place to provide renters with a chance to find a new place. They are not entitled to stay forever in a rental unit.
Interestingly, renters in the eyes of the NDP do not have to 'give cause' for leaving. They just give notice as it should be! It's none of the landlord's business why they are leaving. It's a rental unit, and there was never any expectation that the landlord should be able to demand they stay forever unless they've got an NDP approved reason for leaving.
Up 19 Down 7
Jason on Oct 28, 2016 at 1:40 pm
Hello,
Mobile home rentals remain the absolute best value and most affordable housing in Whitehorse. Why is Kate White attacking affordable housing?
Of course, no one likes paying rent, but if you look at the parks you will see that they are all full. If you live in a park, this should be welcome news because if you decide to sell one day you will find it easy to get a buyer.
"How do we protect them?” White said. I guarantee if rents are below a margin of profit for park owners, they will be forced to shut down parks. Then where will all of those families go?
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Just Sayin' on Oct 28, 2016 at 11:27 am
What the cost of living is going up and the NDP are going to cap it? These are things to consider when buying a place and if you don't consider them, it is NOT the rest of the Yukoner's problem. Maybe the NDP should focus on the ongoing fracking in the Yukon:P
Up 29 Down 9
Kate Black on Oct 28, 2016 at 10:07 am
Not a bad ploy by pronoun White. Really she represents most mobile home park pad renters. I don't see her out telling condo corps to cap their fees, or the COW to cap their garbage and sewer, this is just a sole focused bucket of nonsense that the renters swallowed last time around. As for evicting without cause, there is always a cause. White feels mobile home parks are subsidized housing, it is not, it is a business like many others. I'm sure the Hougen centre has capped their rent as well. When you still crunch the numbers these homes are still affordable.
Up 35 Down 7
Just Say'in on Oct 27, 2016 at 8:58 pm
Socialism at its best. How about the owners of the property, the ones paying the Taxes and investing the money making that discussion.
Up 27 Down 6
Nile on Oct 27, 2016 at 7:42 pm
Keep in mind. This sounds good on the surface. Protecting the trailer park residents. The unfortunate truth is that they don't own the land they live on. If the trailer park owners decide that it would be more profitable to kick everyone out and build condos there really isn't anything that could be done about it. Just a warning. Be careful what you wish for.
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Bonhues on Oct 27, 2016 at 5:34 pm
Thank you Kate for your advocacy work as I know you have addressed this matter in the past. People need to get behind you and the NDP on this matter. Your the right choice to Lead the Yukon, Lead in the Yukon and its people by giving them a voice. Thank you for all your hard work.
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June Jackson on Oct 27, 2016 at 5:14 pm
Almost all the provinces have a Provincial Mobile Home Parks and Sites Regulation of some sort. Why? Because its easy money for landlords and they can just keep jacking those pad rents. One 70 x 60 or so plot of land nets a landlord approximately $4800. a year at $400. a month, with little or no cost to the landlord. Not one trailer park in Whitehorse has say.. a corner store.. pavement, sidewalks, They all have a park or two for little kids.. in my trailer court the parks are covered with dog crap. Most have a trail somewhere close, also heavy on the dog crap. So, a trailer park generates a lot of money with very little outlay or maintenance. If you have 200 trailers at $400. a month. That's over a million dollars a year out of which would come taxes, water, sewer..maybe a wage or two. The park I live in jacked those pad rents without fail at every single legal opportunity. Rent increases rapidly outpaced pensions and incomes...
That being said.. I don't know that capping the rents is the way to go. There was a meeting at the Westmark some years ago about rent control, and landlords were furious, livid at the mention that rent controls might come in. One landlord stood up and threatened the government! He said if rent controls came in, he'd tear down his units and build townhouses. Know what? The topic of rent control died a Fenti government death, and.. landlords did it anyway!
The NDP make a very good point though, if Takhini..or Northland..or LoBird..any of them really, decide to evict everyone like they did in Casa Loma, where are all those families, widows, etc. going to go? Does the government have a plan for the backlash that is sure to happen from landlords?
I think this is ambitious and I hope that all the landlords involved and tenants will both be consulted to come up with solutions that are fair to everyone.
I also have to hand it to Kate..for doing what she said she was going to do dispute any fallout.
Up 18 Down 3
D.Hardly on Oct 27, 2016 at 5:08 pm
People renting pads should have at least the same as house or apartment renters. Probably more since if evicted they have to move their "house" instead of just their bed and toothbrush.
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jc on Oct 27, 2016 at 4:19 pm
Wow! Lets all get on board with this one. This should solve all the Yukon's problems.