BC SPCA argues for government intervention to ensure pet-friendly housing | Canadian

Does government need to take more action on pet-friendly housing?

That’s the question as some British Columbians continue to be forced to choose between keeping their animal and finding a home.

The BC SPCA is lobbying for more official involvement on the issue, but a provincial landlord group opposes any restrictions that would take the ability to say no to pets away from housing providers.

The Kelowna BC SPCA branch says a lack of available pet-friendly housing is one of the main reasons people surrender their pets.

“I, unfortunately, have seen lots of owners come with their pets and say the most heartbreaking goodbyes,” said Chae Berry, the manager of the Kelowna BC SPCA branch.

“I know it is the last thing they want to do but unfortunately it comes down to having a livable house or having your pet. These people have been put in positions that they don’t want to be in and don’t deserve to be in just because of pet-friendly housing.”

Kelowna is not alone. Across the province, the BC SPCA says around 25 per cent of all surrenders they receive are due to housing.

Berry said typical scenarios that lead to surrenders include rental agreements changing after a lease expires to no longer allow pets, and people losing their housing and not being able to find pet-friendly housing in Kelowna.

Berry said the availability of pet-friendly places in Kelowna is “the worst that we’ve seen in quite some time.”

Last month the BC SPCA ran a social media ad campaign raising the issue ahead of civic elections.

The tagline was: “Tell government pet-friendly housing can’t wait.”

“I terms of the civic elections, we are just basically asking people to approach their candidates, to speak about the issue, to raise awareness about it, and hopefully have municipalities ultimately advocate to the provincial government for some sort of policy solution to this,” said Meghann Cant, manager of companion animal welfare science and policy for the BC SPCA.

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While the animal charity would like to see government action, it’s not calling for any specific intervention

“The field is kind of wide open. I know there is an example in Ontario where actually the provincial legislation doesn’t allow for no pets clauses so that is one possibility. But, of course, in terms of incentives for landlords I definitely believe that there is a variety of options that could be pursued,” Cant said.

However, an industry group representing B.C. landlords, Landlord BC, argues housing providers should be able to choose whether pets are allowed to protect the significant investment landlords are making in rental housing.

“The biggest thing that in general needs to happen is the development of more rental housing,” said Hunter Boucher, the director of operations for Landlord BC.

“As we see the development of more rental housing, we are seeing, quite increasingly, that that new rental housing is more likely to be pet friendly.”

The province said due to the low supply of rental housing, it isn’t considering removing pet restrictions.

Instead, the province says it is focused on increasing the supply of affordable housing.

In a statement, the provincial government pointed out that some landlords told a rental housing task force that they would remove homes from the rental market rather than be required to allow pets.

The task force said housing providers and renters raised concerns about the idea of not allowing pet restrictions which included “allergies, damage, and disturbance to other renters.”

The province said the task force did not recommend requiring rental housing to allow pets because it would not necessarily be fair to those “who want or need to live in pet-free buildings.”

For those in Kelowna who find themselves unable to find a pet-friendly place to live, the local branch manager says the BC SPCA is happy to help if it has the space to care for the pet temporarily.

If there is no space at the SPCA, Berry recommends people attempt to privately rehome their animals or contact other rescue groups.

Berry said pet owners are able to use the BC SPCA application forms to help them vet potential candidates for private rehoming.