A CBC investigation has brought to light a housing crisis in Newfoundland and Labrador, where tenants have faced unjust evictions and a lack of enforcement of tenant protection laws. One such tenant, Caio De Naday Hornhardt, was wrongfully evicted earlier this year and sought answers from residential tenancies officials. However, his questions about the applicable fines under Section 51 of the Residential Tenancies Act seemed to puzzle them. De Naday Hornhardt embarked on a weeks-long journey, seeking guidance from lawyers, residential tenancies officials, and various levels of court. He learned that he could pursue a private prosecution, a rare occurrence. However, he paused his plans upon receiving a message from the minister in charge and seeing a CBC News headline about provincial plans to address the apparent gap in enforcement. The government announced its intention to hire a dedicated staffer to help bring cases to court. In 2018, the maximum financial penalties for rule violations were increased as a deterrent. However, a CBC Investigates story revealed that there was no evidence of fines being imposed due to the absence of anyone responsible for moving cases forward to the justice system. Instead, the burden fell on private citizens to initiate court proceedings. In January, the department confirmed its plans to address this gap after years of advocacy by local housing groups. Last week, Minister Sarah Stoodley provided further details on the progress of this work. Sherwin Flight, who oversees the Newfoundland Tenant and Landlord Support Group on Facebook with tens of thousands of members, has been urging the province to strengthen enforcement for years. He believes it is the government’s responsibility and welcomes the recent announcement as a positive step. However, he emphasizes that the existing fines regime is ineffective and that average citizens should not be responsible for enforcing the law. The province has yet to provide specific timelines for implementing the changes, leaving housing advocates like Flight cautiously optimistic. The government’s acknowledgment of the issue and its commitment to revisit enforcement are seen as a step in the right direction towards addressing the housing crisis in Newfoundland and Labrador.
Rule-Breaking Landlords and Tenants Could Face Fines as Newfoundland and Labrador Government Revisits Enforcement
