A charity that rents close to 100 tiny homes to people who struggle with chronic homelessness in Fredericton is arguing it shouldn’t be subject to the typical rules governing landlords when it comes to issues such as evicting tenants.12 Neighbours Community Inc. has applied for judicial review of the province’s decision to put it under the jurisdiction of the Tenant and Landlord Relations Office.That office – a branch of Housing New Brunswick – is responsible for enforcing the Residential Tenancies Act. However, 12 Neighbours argues it is not subject to the rules laid out in that legislation due to a clause that exempts projects backed or administered by the government.In its application filed July 4 in the Fredericton Court of King’s Bench, 12 Neighbours argued that since its 96 units were developed and financed under the National Housing Act and because the organization administers the housing on behalf of the province, it wouldn’t fall under the jurisdiction of the Tenant and Landlord Relations Office.But Housing New Brunswick argues 12 Neighbours is subject to the Residential Tenancies Act, as are other non-profit housing providers with similar relationships to government.”Although the 12 Neighbours community is set up differently than other low income housing locations, the agreements with [Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation] and the New Brunswick Housing Corporation are the same type of agreements that are commonly found from landlords who offer low income housing, and over which our office has consistently found the [Residential Tenancies] Act applies to,” said Paul Steeves, deputy chief residential tenancies officer, in an affidavit filed Nov. 7.WATCH | Non-profit butts heads with office that mediates landlord and tenant disputes:Tiny homes developer wants exemption from rules governing most landlords12 Neighbours Community Inc., a non-profit developer that provides tiny homes to people struggling with chronic homelessness, has applied for a judicial review arguing it shouldn’t be subject to rules laid out in the Residential Tenancies Act.A hearing on the application had been scheduled for Tuesday, but it was adjourned for reasons unknown to staff at the Burton courthouse.CBC News emailed and called 12 Neighbours founder Marcel Lebrun, as well as lawyers for the organization, for comment about why the judicial review was being sought, but did not receive a response.In an email, Housing New Brunswick spokesperson Adam Bowie said no one from the Crown corporation would comment as it is an ongoing legal matter.12 Neighbours was established in 2022, starting out with a handful of tiny homes in what was a wooded lot off of Two Nations Crossing on Fredericton’s north side.The non-profit offers supportive long-term housing for individuals who struggle with chronic homelessness and substance use disorder.Province reversed earlier decisionIn an affidavit, Lebrun said he contacted the Tenant and Landlord Relations Office seeking clarity on whether the office had jurisdiction over 12 Neighbours, as well as the kind of documentation needed to properly evict a tenant.”For example, we have a current case where we applied for eviction, where we have an individual who has been charged with battery on another community member,” Lebrun wrote in an email to Tenant and Landlord Relations Office staff in September 2023.”This individual is not allowed back in the community under judge order, but the process with the tribunal seems confusing to us.”Later that month, 12 Neighbours community director Steve Patterson urged the office to offer some guidance.”We have had several circumstances in the past several months where the neighbourhood has been in danger because tenants lost control of their homes, and the criminal elements that took over their homes,” he said.12 Neighbours started out as a handful of tiny homes off Two Nations Crossing in Fredericton in 2022, and has since expanded to 96 homes. (CBC News)In a Sep. 19, 2023 email, Stéphanie Basque, an employee at the office, replied confirming their office doesn’t have jurisdiction over the organization, and “if the problem tenant returns to the premises they have to call the authorities to remove him.”However, about a year later, the Tenant and Landlord Relations Office started taking a second look at that decision.In his affidavit, Steeves said he requested a meeting in 2024 with 12 Neighbours leadership following information his office received about how the organization managed its tenants.During a meeting with 12 Neighbours staff in May, Steeves said he learned more about how the organization operated, and advised Lebrun they believed 12 Neighbours should be following the Residential Tenancies Act.That same month, Lebrun expressed his disagreement with that reversal in a lengthy email to Steeves.Lebrun said 12 Neighbours was developed and financed under a fund administered by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, making it exempt from the Residential Tenancies Act.He also said the act doesn’t apply to 12 Neighbours because its residents are selected by the provincial government, which also determines the rent they can charge.”That said, it was not our desire or goal to not be under the [Residential] Tenancies Act,” Lebrun said.”We started operating under the act until we were notified otherwise, and subsequently changed our process. … Changing back would need to be done carefully and thoughtfully, to ensure we are able to maintain community safety.”On May 26, Steeves replied in an email affirming his position that the Tenant and Landlord Relations Office has jurisdiction over 12 Neighbours’s operations and that any appeal of that decision would need to go through the Court of King’s Bench.Office rules against 12 NeighboursThe Tenant and Landlord Relations Office has already flexed its authority over 12 Neighbours.According to documents filed as part of the judicial review application, the office found 12 Neighbours violated the Residential Tenancies Act on at least one occasion.In a letter to a resident, 12 Neighbours management notified them that their month-to-month tenancy would be terminated as of June 30, and that in accordance with the Residential Tenancies Act, no reasoning needed to be provided.The organization subsequently issued a trespass notice against that resident, forbidding them from returning to the property as of their eviction date.The tenant appealed that notice to the Tenant and Landlord Relations Office, and on July 4, the office ruled in their favour, saying in a letter to the tenant that it was communicated to the landlord that the termination notice did not comply with the Residential Tenancies Act.Krista Howland, an officer with the Tenant and Landlord Relations Office, noted that, in response, 12 Neighbours argued it wasn’t subject to the Residential Tenancies Act, but she disagreed with that position.A copy of the termination notice shows 12 Neighbours staff wrote “non-renewal of lease” next to a list of four reasons for termination, which a landlord must give one of when terminating a lease.”The notice served onto you by the landlord … does not select one of the four reasons printed on the notice,” Howland said.”As a result, the notice is considered invalid and is set aside,” Howland said.Exemption would be ‘problematic,’ says housing researcherA ruling in favour of 12 Neighbours could have repercussions for its residents and set a precedent for other non-profit housing providers, said Tobin LeBlanc Haley, an associate professor and housing researcher at the University of New Brunswick.She said the Residential Tenancies Act affords protections to tenants, with the Tenant and Landlord Relations Office responsible for stepping in when enforcement is required.Exempting 12 Neighbours from rules in the Residential Tenancies Act would remove protections from its residents that are enjoyed by tenants who live in other rental housing, said Tobin LeBlanc Haley, a housing researcher at UNB. (Jacques Poitras/CBC)Those protections should be enjoyed by everyone who rents their accommodations, regardless of who the landlord is, she said.”Treating folks who have experienced or are experiencing poverty and housing precarity as tenants that don’t have access to the same protections that the rest of us do is really problematic,” she said.LeBlanc Haley said New Brunswick Public Housing is exempt from the Residential Tenancies Act, meaning its tenants can’t seek recourse with the Tenant and Landlord Relations Office.She said expanding that to include non-profit organizations would only increase the number of tenants who lack protection.”If a judge found that 12 Neighbors or models similar to 12 Neighbors are exempt from the act, it actually then widens the group of tenants who do not have those protections,” she said.
Tiny homes developer asks court for exemption from rules governing most N.B. landlords
