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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCLD-001-08 CJiJIJlJgron REPORT CLERK'S DEPARTMENT Meeting: GENERAL PURPOSE AND ADMINISTRATION COMMITTEE Date: January 21, 2008 Report #: CLD-001-08 File#: By-law #: Subject: REQUEST FOR AMENDMENTS TO THE PROPERTY STANDARDS BY-LAW RECOMMENDATIONS: It is respectfully recommended that the General Purpose and Administration Committee recommend to Council the following: 1. THAT Report CLD-001-08 be received; 2. THAT the complaint process within the Property Standards By-law remain unchanged; and 3. THAT Mr. John Mutton and Mr. John Rice be advised of Council's decision. Submitted by. ~~ ~)~ tlv7c Reviewed by: Franklin Wu, Chief Administrative Officer PLB*LC CORPORATION OF THE MUNICIPALITY OF CLARINGTON 40 TEMPERANCE STREET, BOWMANVILLE, ONTARIO L 1 C 3A6 T 905-623-3379 F 905-623-6506 REPORT NO.:CLD-001-08 Page 2 BACKGROUND At the regular Council meeting on July 30th 2007 Council considered a letter from Mr. John Mutton, President of Municipal Solutions on behalf of his client Mr. John Rice. Mr. Mutton had requested that Clarington's Property Standards By-law's complaint process be amended as follows: 1. Require that only current tenants can file a complaint. 2. Require the tenant to inform the landlord prior to involving Municipal Law Enforcement staff. 3. Require that the complainant in a matter provide, in writing, their relationship to the issue that the complaint is regarding. Mr. Mutton stated in his letter, "as you can see from the letter the by-law department was used as a weapon against my client in a manner that is harassing and malicious." Mr. Mutton was referring to an investigation which had been undertaken against one of Mr. Rice's properties and involved a series of illegal apartments. In support of his argument Mr. Mutton provided four examples of agencies which he claimed fit his model. In his letter to the Mayor dated July 11th, 2007 Mr. Rice makes more specific complaints about the process. He believes that the landlord must be provided a copy of the complaint and consulted prior to any enforcement action. COMMENT The first example Mr. Mutton cites is the Investigations and Enforcement Unit (lEU) of the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing. The lEU is a branch of the Ministry and works directly on landlord tenant complaints, primarily in municipalities which do not have a Property Standards By-law and also with issues relating to rent. Investigations carried out as a result of complaints received by the Unit can have an impact in the areas of rent and occupancy. The officers who do the investigations are part time employees of the Ministry. Occupancy is REPORT NO.:CLD-001-08 PAGE 3 necessary for the inspectors so that they can gain access to the building and rental records. The issue of occupancy can have a direct bearing on their orders and remedies. The second and third examples quoted by Mr. Mutton are from the cities of Vernon and Victoria, British Columbia. As a matter of policy that applies to all their investigations, both municipalities ask for the relationship between the complainant and the subject. The last example quoted is from the City of Windsor. Before accepting a Property Standards complaint, the City asks that the complainant contact their landlord and attempt to work with him/her to resolve the problems. In all three cases cited from municipalities there is no indication that the individual municipality would refuse to deal with the complaint if the tenant failed to contact the landlord. With the exception of the lEU, the examples listed above are all guidelines not legislated requirements. While the complainanUlandlord information is requested, the policies do not preclude a non-resident from filing a complaint. Within the Province of Ontario all municipal law enforcement complaints are treated as confidential matters. As such, staff will never release any complainant information to the subject of the investigation. Mr. Rice and Mr. Mutton both infer that staff wrongly harassed Mr. Rice because of a personal grudge against him from a former tenant. This is strictly hypothetical. The identity of the original complainant in this matter has never been revealed to either gentleman by the Municipality. Restricting complaints to current tenants only would mean that a landlord would be free from investigation and restriction if he could force the complaining tenant to leave. This restriction would also prevent any person acting on behalf of anyone who lives in the apartment. Such a restriction would also prevent neighbours from filing complaints about various maintenance issues on the property. REPORT NO.:CLD-001-08 PAGE 4 Ideally, the tenant is encouraged to contact their landlord prior to filing a complaint. This however cannot always be done. The landlord may be an absentee or the tenant may be intimidated by the landlord. In either case the tenant has a right to a safe residence. A requirement to divulge the Complainant's information would also fly in the face of the Division's policy to take and treat all complaints as confidential. The relationship of the complainant to the landlord or the property is irrelevant since any enforcement action is based on the investigation and observation of the officer. Whether or not the complainant is a tenant in a building does not alter the fact that the building may not comply with the requirements of the Property Standards By-law. CONCLUSION Staff have reviewed and considered Mr. Mutton's and Mr. Rice's requests. Staff do not believe that any of the requested changes are necessary and recommend that the request for amendment of the by-law be denied. MUNICIPAL SOLUTIONS pOI.G~( '07JUL23 Atl 9:12:45 905.260.1907 j m utton@rogers.blackberry.net July 23, 2007 Mayor and Members of Council, On behalf of my client, Rice and Company, we would like to make the following submission with respect to the bylaw complaint process as it relates to tenanted properties. I would like to draw your attention to a letter dated July 11, 2007 to the Mayor with respect to this particular case. As you can see from the letter, the bylaw department was used as a weapon against my client in a manner that is harassing and malicious. We have researched several municipalities' bylaws and they have found a way to deal with this issue by: · Requiring that only current tenants can file a complaint · Requiring the tenant inform the landlord prior to involving municipal bylaw departments · Requiring the complainant provide in writing their relationship to the issue that the complaint is regarding The current process for filing a complaint in Clarington: COMPLAINTS 5 01 This By law shall apply to all property within the limits of the municipality and shall be enforced on a written complaint basis only. The written complaint shall include the name address and telephone number or other contact information of the complainant. Failure to provide the required complainant information shall render the complaint incomplete and it will not be investigated. 5 02 Anonymous complaints or third party complaints which attempt to obscure the identity ofthe complainant will not be investigated. 5 03 Where an officer has determined that a complaint has been filed for a malicious or vexatious reason or as part of an ongoing pattern of harassment and does no involve a matter of serious health or safety the officer may after conferring and confirming with the Manager of Municipal law Enforcement cease ^~1~ f/'01<"- \} '~.0 the investigation and close the file with no further action taken The officer shall then advise the complainant of this in writing. The current process for filing a complaint with the Ontario Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing 1. Filing a Maintenance Complaint Who can apply? Only a current tenant can send in a written complaint about maintenance to the Investigation and Enforcement Unit (lEU). The required form is the Tenant Complaint About Maintenance form. The current process for filing a complaint in the City of Vernon, BC: Enforcement: While there are certain areas of enforcement that are safety related and require proactive enforcement, the majority of these bylaws are enforced on a complaint only basis. This ensures that the bylaw division is serving the needs of the community and that the complaints received are of high importance. To make a complaint regarding a violation of regulations contained in one of these bylaws, the City requires the complainant provide their name, address, and phone number, as well as their relationship to the issue that the complaint is regarding. Should the complainant refuse to provide this information, under Council policy, no action may be taken by the Bylaw Division The current process for filing a complaint in the City of Victoria, BC: How to make a written complaint: Complaints need to be submitted in writing. To make a written complaint regarding a violation of regulations contained in one of these bylaws, the City requires the complainant provide their name, address, and phone number, as well as their relationship to the issue that the complaint is regarding. Should the complainant refuse to provide this information, no action may be taken by the Bylaw Division The current process for filing a complaint in the City of Windsor, ON: Tenants The Property Standards by-law relates to all buildings, regardless of use. If a tenant feels the unit they are occupying is unsafe, a qualified Building Inspector/Property Standards Officer may determine compliance with the by-law and can perform an inspection of the building. Complaints are commonly made about problems such as broken windows, plumbing, inadequate heat, and electrical or structural defects. Before contacting the City about a possible breach of the Property Standards By- Law, notify your landlord about possible deficiencies within your rental unit. Give a reasonable time frame that you would expect the deficiencies to be corrected. If a property standards order is issued, the time frame for compliance almost always varies depending on its nature and severity. In conclusion, we formally request that council refer this request to staff to investigate and report back changes to the current bylaw complaint process that will incorporate current best practices as outlined in our research and as practiced by the Ontario Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing. g;;;JJ2: John Mutton President Municipal Solutions Attach. cc John Rice, Rice and Company --BJCE & co. -PERGO @hl$1h...IQ II 07 2007 JOHN P. RICE 4 SI. George SI South Bowmanville, Onlario 11 C 21(6 Phone: 905-623-1622 House: 905-623-2601 Fax: 905-623-8297 janel. rice@sympaticoca Re: Municipality ofClarington Zoning By-Law 84-63 194 Church Street Bowmanville File V06-11515 Rtu:L....r I;; Attention: Mayor Jim Abernethy The current by-law as now written does not properly protect the property ownerllandlord.. There is no opportunity for rebuttal because the property ov.ner is not provided with a copy of any complaint filed with the town against the landlord . In this particular incidence, the complaint against the landlord was moo by a person who was not (is not) living at the address against which the complaint was filed. As now written, the by-law gives wide powers to any person (with no association to the property) who chooses to file a complaint against any property owner. In this case, the town acted upon the complaint, by involving the fb~ department and the building department, who are now requesting very extensive changE:s be made to the property, all at the landlord's expense. The person, Duane Williarr.s, who is a professional liar, is not employed and is not a taxpayer. Instead, hE' is a serious trouble maker with a track record in Orono, Newcastle and Bowmanville. This is the person who has such wide-ranging powers with the by-law department, and leaves the landlord to strl1ggle with the consequences of Duane's malicious actions. It is our opinion that the staff in the by-law department did not use goodjudgment in processing Duane Williams' complaint. Any consultation with the landowner - tax payer would have brought to light the c~d,ibility of the complaintant, Du:ule Williams. It is the opinion of several councillors and municipal consultants that, should Duane Williams choose to file complaints against other commercial and n'sidential buildings in the core of this town, then 75% of the buildings would not comply, Hnd would be shut down. We feel that this particular house should be grandfathered, as it is part of a larger development now in the planning stages. We request an exanIination of the contents of the by-law, giving equal powers to the landlord/taxpayer. Thank you for your attention to this serious matter. John P Rice, landowner/taxpayer. ~-f! r'~ ~ -'-Ie }/~. I /f /"-"''../ v