CBRM takes steps to regulate rooming houses after student dies in duplex fire

Cape Breton Regional Municipality is taking steps to begin licensing and regulating rooming houses after one of eight tenants died in a house fire in Sydney, N.S., in 2022.

Some in the property business in CBRM say a proposed bylaw that passed first reading this week is a good start, but they say more work needs to be done to protect landlords, tenants and neighbours.

Priscilla Lotherington, president of the Investment Property Owners Association of Cape Breton, said landlords will likely welcome regulations that keep people safe, but a proposed $200 licensing fee might keep some from registering their dwellings with the municipality.

“I think the money is just another tax grab,” she said. “I think there’s more effective and more important ways of getting the end result. I think people aren’t willingly going to jump up and start making payment.”

Lotherington said the rental market is facing high demand and that is creating an opportunity for a lot of professional and non-professional property owners.

She said regulations are needed, but inflation is driving up costs and a licensing fee might be a deterrent.

“I do believe that should be done, should have always been done … I think the financial aspect of it is going to make it even more difficult,” she said.

CBRM fire and building officials have said rooming houses have long been a concern, but the death of Rajesh Gollapudi of India in 2022 made regulation more urgent. Gollapudi was a student at Cape Breton University at the time of his death.

Staff also say the public raised concerns about overcrowding, inadequate living conditions and safety leading up to the creation of a new planning strategy and land-use bylaw last year that allowed rooming houses to be permitted in most residential zones.

Under the proposed new bylaw, property owners who rent rooms would register and pay $200 for a licence. Those with more than four rooms would pay an additional $50 per room.

The renewal fee after the first year is $100 and an additional $25 per room for those with more than four rooms.

Building inspectors would check to ensure compliance with building codes and municipal standards. Violations could lead to fines or suspension or revocation of a licence.

The bylaw passed first reading Tuesday and staff will schedule a hearing at a future council meeting to get public input before final passage of the bylaw.

‘Licensing looks good on paper’

Les MacLean, a Sydney real estate agent, said enforcement will be important. He said an excessive number of landlords in the city are overcrowding their rentals, leading to dwellings that are “not safe, dirty” and “creating problems for neighbours.”

“Those landlords will not volunteer to pay the licensing fee because they don’t want to be detected by the inspector for running terrible rooming houses,” said MacLean.

“Licensing looks good on paper. It’s an integral part of the bylaw, but it has to be enforced, and that’s my biggest concern. The city has to have enough employees to enforce this.”

Some councillors questioned enforcement on Tuesday, but acting planning director Karen Neville said staff will be watching and will review the bylaw 12 months after regulations start.

“We’re anticipating there might be some challenges after the first year, but once we have an idea of the number, it’s something we’ll be able to bring back to council to say if we need additional resources,” she said.

Lotherington said she hopes regulations prevent future deaths like that of Gollapudi.

“For him to have lost his life due to no fault of his own was really sad,” she said.

Gollapudi’s father is suing the landlord and two of his son’s roommates.

According to provincial court documents, two companies are jointly facing seven charges under Nova Scotia’s Fire Safety Act as a result of the incident.

The charges include failing to have proper fire extinguishers in a kitchen and on all floors, along with not having the proper number of exits on the building’s second and third floors.

The companies also allegedly failed to provide exit signs, failed to protect the exits from fire, and failed to install a handrail on a stairway.

None of the claims has been tested in court.

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