Jon Ferry
Province
BC Housing photos of the terrible state of SRO hotels after they were purchased from private owners. Photograph by: Handout, BC Housing
I never thought I’d say this, but I think what we need to tackle the slum-housing problems in the Downtown Eastside is a government task force.
I don’t mean one of those task forces that loll around, leisurely compiling turgid reports. I’m talking about an action-oriented group of building inspectors and other expert public servants dedicated to a clear goal — cleaning up the city’s squalid SRO buildings.
This SRO (single room occupancy) task force would get tough on landlords who violate city building and health regulations. It would start with the six SRO hotels cited by the Pivot Legal Society, the Carnegie Community Action Project and other housing advocacy groups. Then, it would go after any buildings that raise red flags in a comprehensive report now being compiled by Vancouver City staff.
It could be modelled, in fact, on the eight-person task force set up by the City of Montreal in 2007 to target delinquent landlords who repeatedly refused to repair or clean up their buildings.
And I’m happy to say Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson agrees it’s a great idea. “I think Montreal‘s approach is very compelling for Vancouver, to have an SRO team focused specifically on the worst buildings,” Robertson told me. “And it should be a mix of licensing and legal and health staff, so they can have a comprehensive approach to enforcing the laws and getting these buildings back up to snuff.”
Yes, it’s time for a real enforcement blitz — one that restores a basic level of humanity in a “progressive” city less than a year away from hosting the Olympics. Not that the Olympics should really have anything to do with it; it should have been done years ago.
Now, I know some of you will say that those who live in SROs are not always angels. Many of them are, in fact, incorrigible drug addicts. But it’s also true many are mentally ill, badly abused or are simply down on their luck.
Whatever the reason they’re down there, they deserve a modest room that meets or exceeds our current housing and health standards — one not infested with bedbugs, cockroaches or rodents.
That’s why we also need a public database, as proposed by tenants’ rights advocates, where anybody could look up basic information about the bigger rental buildings, including possible health and safety violations. After all, there’s nothing like shedding light on a problem to get it solved.
Mayor Robertson likes that idea, too: “The more information we have out there and the tougher we get on the offenders and ensure the city upholds the laws that protect us, that’s critical.”
Not all SRO landlords are bad guys. Many are doing their level best to provide a much-needed service in extremely trying circumstances. The best way to support them, however, is to raise the standards for all — and nail those who just don’t seem to give a damn.
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