Dwelling unit safety bylaw has teeth

Steinbach’s dwelling unit safety bylaw, passed in 2021 has grown teeth. While provisions in the bylaw have always allowed for fines and outstanding work orders to be placed, until now the city hasn’t taken a bite out of those not in compliance.

City manager Troy Warkentin told council at an Aug. 20 meeting that the original plan was to get those with secondary suites to comply with the bylaw which holds them accountable to safety measures such as having smoke and carbon monoxide detectors and safe egress.

“Administration has now determined that voluntary measures have been insufficient to bring all of those suites into compliance,” he said.

Of the estimated several hundred secondary suites in Steinbach, only several dozen have taken voluntary measures to contact the city to ensure they comply.

Warkentin filled council in on the history of the bylaw, saying it was passed as an alternative to enforcing the national building code which would result in a “significant degree of decommissioning of existing rental suites”.

A public awareness campaign urged both tenants and landlords to have the city inspect their suites to ensure safety guidelines were met.

“The intention was to educate and inform the public, make homeowners aware, make rental suite owners aware, and more importantly make tenants aware that the bylaw was being enacted,” he said.

Warkentin told council that recent house fires have revealed suites that were not in compliance.

“Thankfully there have not been any significant injuries to residents or to firefighters but it is recognized that a more proactive approach to this matter is needed,” he said.

That approach will include reaching out to property owners who are known to have secondary suites.

Those owners will be informed if they are not in compliance and will be given an opportunity to update their property.

Outstanding work orders would be placed against the property and if non-compliance continued fines could be levied with the bylaw allowing for a maximum of $1,000 per day that the suite remains non-compliant.

“In a worst-case scenario, depending on the particular property, if a property is unable to be corrected there is the possibility that complete decommissioning of the suite would be required,” he said.

The city continues to urge both tenants and landlords to reach out.

“Even though we still believe that the best method of compliance is voluntary, the city will be moving forward with those more proactive issues immediately,” he told council.

Mayor Earl Funk joined all councillors present in voicing support for the decision.

“I do believe this is a good way to start to address the situation in our city,” he said, adding though the fines can be significant, the value of human life is much more significant.

Coun. Jake Hiebert agreed, saying during the 2018 election campaign he saw the problem himself.

“I was quite disgusted by the number of homes I saw where there were delinquent secondary suites,” he said. “I’m 100 percent in favour of this.”

Coun. Michael Zwaagstra also voiced his support for the new approach.

“In the cases where we do not have voluntary compliance it is important that we protect life and safety,” he said. “That is absolutely fundamental.”

Coun. Susan Penner also agreed, describing the fact that only a few dozen landlords came forward as “disappointing”.

There was one concern expressed by Coun. Jac Siemens.

“I think one of the reasons council held off to put compliance and enforcement in play is potentially there will be a loss of many low-end rental units in Steinbach when there are a lot of homeless people already,” he said, before adding that he agreed it is time to put enforcement in place.

That was a concern Funk downplayed, though he agreed he also shared that fear.

“I fear losing some of the lower cost rentals but what does it cost to put in egress? What does it cost to put in a fire alarm, a fire extinguisher?” he asked. “Those are small, small costs which should not affect the cost of the rental that much.”

Coun. Brad Hiebert agreed saying he thought all homes with bedrooms in basements should also ensure they have appropriate egress.