Potential renters should be informed if bed bugs have been detected in the building during the past three years, the provincial NDP Opposition says.
NDP MLA Cam Broten introduced the Bed Bugs — Right to Know Act, which, if passed, would amend the province’s residential tenancies law.
“If I was moving into an apartment complex that had bed bugs, I would like to know,” Broten told reporters at the legislature.
“This change to the legislation would require landlords to disclose information about whether or not bed bugs have been in a unit, and then they would naturally indicate what steps they have taken to deal with the bed bugs. So it encourages landlords to be proactive in dealing with a bed bug situation and provides renters with the knowledge they need to make an informed decision.”
Justice Minister Don Morgan said the Saskatchewan Party government needs time to review the amendment, but added it may not get at the root of the problem.
“I think I’d like to focus on dealing with the bed bug problem rather than just telling people about it,” Morgan said.
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The residential tenancies office indicates a growing number of people are reporting bed bug problems, Morgan said, noting bed begs are an issue across the globe.
David McIlveen, director of community development with Boardwalk Rental Communities, a company with several Saskatchewan properties, said it’s a “superficial view” to suggest the proposed legislative change would deal with the issue. He added getting a tenant to quickly speak up if there is a bed bug problem can be a challenge.
“One thing we do agree with is we need to have heightened community awareness of the bed bug problem and accountability from landlords, hoteliers, tenants — everybody has to recognize this is a societal problem,” McIlveen said.
“There’s a way to get rid of them, but they have to be reported and the people who are living in a suite . . . have to follow the prescription as well in terms of dealing with their own stuff that has the bed bugs; otherwise they just come back.”
He added once the bed bug problem is properly handled, it’s dealt with.
“What would be the point of tarring that tenant or that particular suite with a particular colour brush?”
But University of Saskatchewan law student Ammy Murray, who works on tenancy cases with Community Legal Assistance Services for Saskatoon Inner-City (CLASSIC), said such a disclosure law could help people avoid units with bed bug infestations. With such tight vacancy rates, people are moving into apartments without asking lots of questions in order to avoid being seen as a problem tenant, she said.
“What we’re hearing from people is that they assume that if there was some kind of problem with the unit that the landlord would have to tell them,” Murray said.
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