Tenants of Halifax mobile home park set water meter precedent across Nova Scotia
Residents living in mobile home parks across Nova Scotia may soon be eligible for significant retroactive water bill payments after a recent court ruling in favor of tenants in the Halifax area. The Supreme Court of Nova Scotia upheld a small claims court decision that deemed billing tenants for water through water meters as unreasonable, awarding retroactive compensation to two residents who had been billed for years.
Eloise Graves and Nicole Herd, residents of Woodbine Park in Beaver Bank, N.S., described the legal battle against their landlord as a challenging “David and Goliath power dynamic.” However, with the support of fellow tenants, they were able to persevere and secure a victory that could set a precedent across the province.
Graves, who is set to receive approximately $1,700 for the meter fee and retroactive bills dating back to 2021, emphasized that the case was about fairness rather than money. Herd, who will be receiving around $2,511 for bills dating back to 2019, expressed a mix of disbelief and pride in the outcome.
The landlords of Woodbine Park have since ceased billing residents with water meters and have committed to working with tenants to address any outstanding claims for retroactive bills. This decision comes after years of charging residents for water through a tiered system based on whether or not homes were equipped with meters.
In 2023, the provincial Residential Tenancies Program directed landlords to halt the installation of water meters on homes in mobile home parks. However, the policy did not extend to tenants who already had meters in place. Graves and Herd were among the hundreds of homeowners in Woodbine Park who continued to receive water bills despite the new directive.
Following a successful small claims court case in September 2024, the landlords appealed the decision, leading to a hearing before the Nova Scotia Supreme Court. Justice Mona Lynch ultimately sided with the tenants, ruling that water metering was an unreasonable practice that should not continue to apply to residents who already had meters installed.
Nora MacIntosh, a lawyer with Nova Scotia Legal Aid who represented Graves and Herd, hailed the ruling as a significant victory for tenants in land-lease communities. While the exact number of residents who could benefit from the decision remains unknown, it is estimated to be in the hundreds, if not thousands, across the province.
Service Nova Scotia has revised its water meter policy to include tenants with existing meters on their homes, allowing eligible residents to file for individual compensation through the Residential Tenancies Program. This process may result in substantial retroactive payments for residents like Erin McInnis, who has had a water meter since 2017 and could be entitled to around $5,000 in water bills.
In response to the court ruling, some landlords, including Westphal Court Ltd., have chosen to proactively stop charging residents for water services and have offered to work directly with tenants to resolve any outstanding claims. This approach is seen as a more efficient and amicable alternative to adjudication through the residential tenancy process.
As tenants in mobile home parks continue to advocate for fair treatment and improved living conditions, the formation of organizations like the Land Lease Residents of Nova Scotia Non-Profit Society signals a united front in addressing larger issues affecting residents across the province. By coming together and taking collective action, residents hope to bring about positive change and ensure that their rights are respected in the future.
