Students fight for better tenant protection under Residential Tenancies Act

Students, sick of feeling stressed and powerless against their landlords, are lobbying the provincial government to make changes to the Residential Tenancies Act.

They want pre-occupancy protections included in the act, which currently only protects tenants once they move into a rental unit.

"It's a complete grey area," said Sarah Wiley, vice president Education for the Federation of Students at the University of Waterloo.

"There's no protection or laws regarding what happens when a building isn't ready on time, or what happens if you can't move into a building on your contractuallyagreed upon date."

The problem surfaced most notably in 2014, when the construction of 1 Columbia in Waterloo was delayed by weeks.

• Unfinished Waterloo building forces students to make new plans
• Waterloo students demand deposits back from Schembri
• Schembri ordered to pay back Waterloo tenant for 1 Columbia deposit

More than 300 students were left without a place to live, though the landlord,SchembriProperty Management, said it did offer to put the students in hotels in the interim.

But the problem persists.

"This has happened basically every year for the last fouror fiveyears," Wile said.

And it extends beyond the Region of Waterloo, cropping up in any city with a sizeable student population, she said.

City of Waterloo backs students

On Monday, the City of Waterloo threw its support behind her cause, agreeing to send a letter to Ontario Minister of Housing Chris Ballard, askinghim to review the Residential Tenancies Actand make amendments to protect vulnerable student renters.

"For students, a delay of a month or two months is a good chunk of the term," councillor Jeff Henry said.

"And that can cause huge academic stress as well as mental health challenges and financial challenges as they are particularly vulnerable tenants."

Wiley is also asking the ministry to provide more resources and funding to the Landlord and Tenant Board, so that it has the power to enforce the actin a timely manner.