Legal Clinics on New Housing Bill

Anita Balakrishnan covered Bill 184 in the Law Times,

Omar Ha-Redeye, executive director of Durham Community Legal Clinic, told legislators on the committee on Wednesday that in his region, rents have risen faster than would be allowed by laws. As it stands at the local LTB, decisions that once took 30 days now take 3 to 4 months and that overwhelmingly, landlords have better access to legal representation than tenants.

Legal clinics, he said, are not solely for fighting landlords; often, they encourage mediation or tell tenants to pay rent before seeking remedy, saving the LTB time.

“The number of tenants engaging in fraud is very, very few,” said Ha-Redeye in the committee.