is looking at establishing programs to incent private managers to take in tenants who need additional supports, be they financial or personal. I recall sitting down with one government minister who did not realize how many hundreds of thousands of dollars and thousands of hours our members had given to initiatives in the community. That one meeting changed his perception significantly. It is up to our industry to get out and tell people of the good work we do. Jeremy Jackson: Here in Nova Scotia, IPOANS is actively involved in addressing the affordable housing and homelessness problems as a founding member of the Housing and Homelessness Partnership (HHP). We are active partners in HHP with the City, the Province, CMHC officials, Department of Health, Mental Health providers, as well as non-profit housing partners, all in an effort to improve housing for all Nova Scotians. Arun Pathak: Hamilton looked at a seniors isolation program that worked well. It helped get the tenants that were at risk, to be more active socially and the housing providers’ staff gained opportunities to get to know them. The annual Spring Hope Food Drive is another program that tenants and housing providers work together to help the community. RHB: Describe your thoughts on the public perception of landlords in the media and among tenants - good and bad. John Dickie: The fundamental problem is that conflict is newsworthy, but peace and satisfaction are not. Nine hundred and ninety-nine landlords and tenants may get on perfectly well and live up to all their obligations, but that is not a news story. The one in which someone behaves badly is news, especially if that person is a landlord. However, recently the media has started to be more balanced, and sometimes reports on the one really bad tenant too.
Avrom Charach: Some people have always had a negative image of landlords. Simply using a term that comes from lord of the land creates that perception, which is why we in Manitoba refer to ourselves as professional property managers. Any time a landlord opts for a repair that is not what the tenant wants, it is a cheap repair in the minds of some tenants. Sometimes we cannot be as open as we would like due to privacy legislation. All of the goodwill we build up can be set back when one landlord does something wrong. On the positive side, we sometimes get the acknowledgement from media and tenants that there are bad tenants, and good landlords, out there. We have recently seen more stories about bad tenants than bad landlords. We have worked hard over the last 15 years to develop a reasonable working relationship so that media allows us to put our perspective out there to balance things. Jeremy Jackson: We continue to work on the negative perceptions and stereotyping of income property owners. Because IPOANS has been so active with the Housing and Homelessness Partnership, I believe many government and non-profit folks see us now more as allies rather than enemies, and in fact, they do defend us from time to time, when “landlord bashing” raises its ugly head. Arun Pathak: Unfortunately, the public perception of landlords in the media is not great. It is easy to blame all housing providers and target them as the cause of all tenants’ issues. It is a hard perception to change, especially among tenants who have had a bad experience or among tenant advocacy groups. As leaders of rental housing industry associations, we do what we can to overcome the negative stereotypes and present the positive things rental providers do. Every landlord can help with that by acting as a responsible business person. Every landlord could do even more by going the extra mile. RHB: Thank you for your input and participation.
22 | July - August 2019