Dalhousie Legal Aid is hoping a new survey could change rental laws.
The non-profit legal group wants to collect information from tenants.
Hannah Main, legal worker and Program Analyst, said the province only collects data through Service Nova Scotia. But this survey would collect data from people who did not file any official claims through the Residential Tenancies Program, which handles disputes between landlords and tenants.
“We think that there may be more tenants who have sort of issues and problems with their landlords or with their units than is reported,” said Main.
She said they talk about wanting evidence-based policies, but sometimes they lack the evidence to support those policies. She hopes numbers will back up their recommendations to the government.
That includes information on things like, how many people are on fixed-term leases, or how many people had their rent raised illegally, and more.
Main said they hope the data will show the province needs a rental enforcement unit.
“So we really would love lots of tenants in Nova Scotia to do it, so we can get a sort of a representative sample.”
Hoping for better information from province
Between 5000 and 6000 people applied to the Residential Tenancies Program each year, said Main, and they have sent some freedom of information requests to the province, hoping to get a better understanding of how the program is serving renters.
They do know that the majority of applications are made by landlords and are usually related to evicting tenants, she said.
They have gotten some information from the province, and a summer student is working with the group to format it in an understandable way to present a residential tenancies report later on. Main said it could be ready by the end of the year.
“We’re really excited to be collecting this data. We really are trying to fill the gap in tenants lived experiences in Nova Scotia, and understanding what those are.”
To fill out the survey, head to the Dalhousie Legal Aid tenants’ rights guide.
