Most CBRM rooming house landlords ignore bylaw licensing deadline

Cape Breton Regional Municipality is rethinking its plans to promote a new rooming house bylaw inspired by the death of a tenant after landlords mostly ignored a deadline to apply for a licence.

Earlier this year, councillors voted unanimously to approve a bylaw to regulate shared accommodations, also known as rooming houses.

They're defined as a home where bedrooms are rented out, along with shared bathroom and kitchen facilities.

The bylaw was proposed after Rajesh Gollapudi of India died in December 2022 in a rooming house fire in Sydney.

CBRM staff and politicians said the bylaw is needed for safety to ensure landlords are following building codes and bylaws.

According to staff, there are about 30 known rooming houses in CBRM and all were made aware of the deadline to apply for a licence by August.

This week, CBRM spokesperson Christina Lamey did not provide numbers as requested, but said very few had done so and that no licences have been issued yet.

The president of an investment properties association said earlier this year that landlords would likely welcome clear rules, but might balk at the $200 licence fee.

Lamey said CBRM would not do an interview at this time, saying staff are asking the province for approval to issue summary offence tickets for unlicensed properties and are re-evaluating their strategy of asking rooming house landlords to self-identify.

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