As of April 1, 2010, roomers, boarders and their landlords are protected under the Residential Tenancies Act. To better protect New Brunswickers, Bill 35 includes changes and additions to the rights and responsibilities of all tenants and landlords. They include the following:

• A new and improved residential tenancies lease covering all residential tenancies including mobile home sites.

• A landlord must provide a clean, safe accommodation that is in good repair.

• All notices must be served in writing.

• If a tenant requests repairs, a landlord may enter the premises without notice within two working days of the request. If the repairs cannot be made within two days, then 24 hours notice must be given.

• Tenants have 15 days to move out after the day on which they have been served a notice to vacate, where a tenant fails to pay rent.

• Landlords have 15 days to submit security deposits that have been paid to them to the Office of the Rentalsman.

• If tenants don't pay their rent on time, the landlord can ask them to pay a late fee equivalent to the amount of the NSF (not sufficient funds) charges that were charged by a financial institution to the Landlord only if provided for under clause 4(B)(2) of the Residential Lease.

• Landlords can submit claims against tenants' security deposits if tenants don't pay their rent, utilities or late payment fees.

The GMHSC organized an information session for landlords in the spring, and we'll be organizing information sessions for both tenants and landlords in the fall. Contact us for more information or visit the website of Service NB.

The plight of women, especially those with children, who are homeless or at risk of homelessness did not improve during 2009, according to the 3rd Report Card on Homelessness in Greater Moncton, which was launched in the tri-community area in March. In a metro area with a population of 126,000, there are only six emergency beds for women (not including beds for women fleeing domestic violence). In contrast, both Fredericton and Saint John have stand-alone shelters with approximately a dozen beds each.

As with the 2nd Report Card on Homelessness, released last year, findings in the 3rd Report Card are mixed. The number of people staying at the House of Nazareth emergency shelter decreased slightly. The Moncton Mental Health Commission project had accepted 31 people into its project on chronic homelessness and mental health, and of these, 16 had been placed in an apartment.

Tannery Court II Co-operative constructed a new apartment building, with 50 subsidized units for non-elderly singles. The building opened in February of 2010. On the down side, more people were living on social assistance during 2009, an indicator of poverty, and nothing was done to improve the availability of emergency, transitional and supportive housing for women who are homeless or at risk. Read the full Report Card (pdf).

The Greater Moncton Homelessness Steering Committee's Affordable Housing Day on November 20th was a great success. More than 80 people attended the luncheon, which focused on the need for emergency, transitional and supportive housing for women in Greater Moncton. From right, Kit Hickey (right), Housing Alternatives Inc. and Sharon Amirault (Executive Director, First Steps Housing Project Inc.), both from Saint John, were keynote speakers. Francine DiMambro, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), the sponsor of the event; and far left, Laura Selig (New Life Mission and member of the GMHSC) who emceed the event. The event highlighted the desperate need for emergency and supportive housing for women in Greater Moncton.

The year 2008 was a ’good news, bad news’ year for homelessness in Greater Moncton, according to the Second Report Card on Homelesssness in the tri-city area recently released by the Greater Moncton Homelessness Steering Committee (GMHSC).

Some progress was made. The Mental Health Commission of Canada chose Moncton as one of five communities in Canada that will participate in a research demonstration project on chronic homelessness and mental health. The province launched a Poverty Reduction Strategy, and a Mobile Mental Health Crisis Team was established to improve service to those in crisis.

But some homelessness “indicators” were worse. The number of people staying in homeless shelters increased. There is a desperate shortage of emergency, transitional and supportive housing for women, although nothing was done to improve the situation in 2008. And the number of people on the waiting list for New Brunswick housing increased by almost 12% in 2008. READ the 2nd Report Card on Homelessness in Greater Moncton (pdf)

At the community breakfast in downtown Moncton, Moncton mayor George LeBlanc (second from right) with several members of the GMHSC: from right, Laura Selig (New Life Mission), Sue Calhoun (Community Development Officer), Sean Tobin (Mobile One) and Cynthia Black (BUILT Network)

For more photos click Moncton Homelessness on picassaweb.

The New Brunswick government is looking at possible changes to its controversial Household Income Policy (commonly called the “economic unit” rule), which can see social assistance recipients lose part or all of their monthly cheques if they live together or with other people. Read Ben's article in the September newsletter (pdf) or his full report (pdf).

Rooming house tenants and landlords had a chance to share their issues at a recent meeting held in Moncton. Organized by the Greater Moncton Homelessness Steering Committee, the meeting brought together people who live or have lived in rooming houses, business people who own them, and government officials.

In the photo: Laura Cormier and Peter Borden share their experiences living in rooming houses.

For more photos on this topic check out Moncton Homelessness on picassaweb.com

The objective was to address issues of concern, as the provincial government is now examining ways to include roomers and boarders under the Residential Tenancies Act. New Brunswick is currently the only province to explicitly exclude roomers and boarders from laws governing residential tenancies. In 2006, the Residential Tenancies Act was amended to include roomers and boarders but the legislation has never been proclaimed. The Rentalsman's Office has since been moved from the Department of Justice to Service New Brunswick, and the Chief Rentalsman has now been asked to make recommendations to government on how this should happen. Chief Rentalsman René Landry was also a speaker. He said that his office “wants to be in a position to give the same level of service to roomers and boards” as people in apartments already have, although he cannot second guess the politicians regarding whether and how they will move ahead with this issue. FULL report in GMHSC Newsletter.

The Greater Moncton Homelessness Steering Committee held a community breakfast on Friday, November 21st, 2008 at the Marché Moncton Market. The purpose was to launch the First Report Card on Homelessness in Greater Moncton. The report card is based on a template developed by the Ottawa Alliance to End Homelessness. Homelessness groups in New Brunswick and other parts of the Canada are producing similar profiles of their own communities. It shows, for example, that more than 700 people used emergency shelters in Greater Moncton in 2007, and 6% of the population was fed during HungerCount 2007. The objective of doing a Report Card is to identify indicators that can be used to measure future progress or lack of progress in Greater Moncton in terms of homelessness and people at risk . Read the full report Experiencing homelessness: The First Report Card on Homelessness in Greater Moncton (pdf)

Get involved in the homelessness issue in Greater Moncton!
To volunteer or make a donation, please contact one of the member organizations.