Laurie in Question Period
Rental Properties
Ms Blakeman: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. A recent scheme in rental apartments is for management companies to contract with heat cost allocation services like Stratacon to purportedly measure and bill each tenant for their unit’s heat usage. Now, cost allocation, if accurate and fair, can be a great way to encourage energy efficiency. My questions are to the Minister of Housing and Urban Affairs. Has the province set any standards to protect consumers and verify the accuracy of this system of measuring heat usage or any system of measuring hot water heating in individual rental units, especially when hot water heating is contiguous and runs in loops for the whole building?
Mrs. Fritz: Well, that’s an interesting question, Mr. Speaker, and I can tell you that I’ll take it under advisement and look into it for you.
Ms Blakeman: Okay. Thanks very much. To the same minister. In the absence of regulation what incentives are there for building owners to make buildings more efficient rather than simply passing off to their tenants the cost of inefficient heating systems or leaky windows or poor insulation?
The Speaker: The hon. minister.
Mrs. Fritz: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. That’s an assumption. I didn’t say that there weren’t any regulations. I said that I’d take it under advisement and look into that question for you.
Ms Blakeman: Okay. You can look into both of them, and here’s the third. What is the minister doing to ensure that future changes by rental companies to augment their income do not lead to housing becoming even more inaccessible and unaffordable for individuals?
The Speaker: The hon. minister.
Mrs. Fritz: Well, thank you, Mr. Speaker. That as well I’ll take under advisement. Thank you.
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