A mother in a family of six has put together a case where she claims their human rights were infringed after a landlord told her she couldn’t rent a property because she had too many children.
The B.C. Human Rights Tribunal will hear Robbin Abernathy’s case about how John Stevenson infringed her right to rent a three-bedroom, two-bathroom property for the family.
Abernathy’s children are between the ages of one and eight, and she said her kids are small enough for two to share a bedroom comfortably.
According to the Reasons for Decision Application to Dismiss a Complaint, Abernathy knew fitting into the home would be a “squish”, but tribunal member Devyn Cousineau noted, “there’s nothing in the material to suggest the house could not service Abernathy’s family.”
The Residential Tenancy Branch (RTB) has a guide that states, “A landlord usually cannot refuse to rent to people because they have children, but can limit the number of people living in a rental unit.”
The BC Human Rights Clinic said the RTB needs to look at this decision.
“The guides and policies and other documents that it’s putting out to the public to make sure that they accurately reflect the human rights obligations that landlords have,” said clinic lawyer Laura Track.
Abernathy has found another place to call home, but has to pay $500 more in monthly rent compared to Stevenson’s property.
The RTB has not returned our request for comment.
It isn’t clear when the case will be heard by the tribunal.