Irked over rental dispute changes
Enterprise man objects to having to file claims in Yellowknife instead of Hay River
Paul Bickford
Northern News Services
Monday, January 16, 2017
ENTERPRISE
An Enterprise man is objecting to the fact he now has to file claims concerning rental disputes with the NWT Supreme Court in Yellowknife, instead of the Territorial Court in Hay River.
John Leskiw is unhappy that claims concerning rental disputes now have to be filed with the NWT Supreme Court in Yellowknife, not with the Territorial Court in Hay River - Paul Bickford/NNSL photo |
"Just about a year ago is when it first became an issue for me because I went to file a claim and they told me I couldn't file it in Hay River anymore," said John Leskiw, who manages two rental properties owned by his mother. "I've got to go to Yellowknife."
Leskiw has not actually travelled to Yellowknife yet to file a claim but he can't have someone else personally deliver the claim to the Supreme Court.
"We don't have contacts in Yellowknife that could do this for us," he said.
Leskiw has e-mailed Premier Bob McLeod, Justice Minister Louis Sebert and the Supreme Court to object to the change.
Mark Aitken, assistant deputy minister and attorney general with the Department of Justice, responded to Leskiw and also offered a written statement to the media.
Aitken explained that, before the 2015 amendments to the Residential Tenancies Act, orders of a rental officer could be filed with the clerk of the Territorial Court.
That court could order things like garnishment of wages but lacked the power to enforce certain rental officer orders, he said.
"Occasionally, a rental officer order may direct a party to perform a specific task. For instance, a tenant could be ordered to remove their abandoned vehicle from the parking lot, or a fridge they left in the hallway, or a landlord could be ordered to improve the lighting in a corridor, or to build a temporary walkway to improve access to the building.
A Territorial Court order could not be used to require that these activities be undertaken, because, unlike the Supreme Court, the Territorial Court does not have recourse to a legal mechanism called 'specific performance.'
As a bottom line, the Supreme Court can force a landlord - or a tenant - to undertake a specific task, but the Territorial Court cannot."
Aitken noted that, during public consultations by the Department of Justice in advance of the 2015 amendments, the proposal to allow rental officer orders to be filed with the Supreme Court was well received.
However, Leskiw said he wondered if wouldn't it have been easier, and have less impact on landlords, to give the Territorial Courts the right to order the actions.
Aitken also noted Leskiw is correct that Supreme Court procedures require that he either personally file documents in the Supreme Court Registry in Yellowknife, or have them filed by an agent, who could be a friend, relative or any other person.
"People from across the NWT routinely have friends or colleagues file documents for them," said the assistant deputy minister.
Aitken said that, when the Residential Tenancies Act is next amended, the department will propose that residents be allowed to electronically transmit rental officer orders for filing in the Supreme Court Registry.
"The ultimate solution is to generally provide that documents can be filed in either the Supreme Court or Territorial Court registries electronically, but that step is some years away," he stated.
Leskiw is not pleased with the responses from the department.
"It still does not state what research was done to necessitate the type of change that was made, nor does it state why the Territorial Court cannot handle all documents preceding actions by the Supreme Court," he said.
Plus, Leskiw noted that, while the amendment requiring filing at the Supreme Court doesn't really impact people in Yellowknife, it does affect everyone else in the NWT.
"Were people outside of Yellowknife considered?" he wondered.
