Taking the fight for property rights to the Supreme Court
HALIFAX – The Investment Property Owners Association (IPOANS) is supporting an appeal of a recent Small Claims Court decision that rolls back property rights.
The May decision by the Small Claims Court prevented small rental housing provider Carlo Simmons from allowing his daughter to live in the unit he owns. Despite following all the rules under the Residential Tenancies Act to turn over the unit from the previous tenant to a family member.
“The Small Claims Court decision means that no matter what the provincial law says, no matter whether existing laws or rules are followed, all that can be thrown out the window based on the personal views of an unelected adjudicator,” said Kevin Russell, Executive Director of IPOANS. “We cannot solve the housing crisis without working with the private sector, instead of attacking the rights of people like Carlo Simmons who worked hard to buy property for the long-term use of his family.”
Simmons filed an appeal with the Nova Scotia Supreme Court in mid-June.
“It’s hard as small operator to know what to do when you do everything right, treat a tenant well, only to have the Small Claims Court take away your rights to use your own property,” said Simmons. “I am grateful for the help IPOANS is providing.
Because the federal government is expected to allocate $450,000 to Nova Scotia activist groups through the Tenant Protection Fund announced by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Housing, Communities and Infrastructure Minister Sean Fraser, IPOANS will need to do more to face taxpayer-funded attacks from interest groups like Dalhousie Legal Aid and ACORN.
“Our government is using our own tax dollars to attack rental housing providers,” added Russell. “That’s why we need to do everything possible, including going to the courts, to protect the rights of law-abiding rental housing providers.”
Questions?
Kevin Russell | Executive Director
O: 902.425.3572 | C: 902.789.0946 | E: kevin@rhpns.ca
211 Horseshoe Lake Drive, Suite 112, Halifax, NS, B3S 0B9
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