RENTAL LEGISLATION MUST BE BALANCED TO HELP LANDLORDS

The Editor,

Re: "City may be sued over bill," the Now, Aug. 16.

Being a landlord and a activist against drug use, I can see both sides of
this issue. We had a house that was being abused by our tenants as a drug
house. We found that the provincial residential tenancy office was totally
useless in helping us to get inside. They came across as being more
concerned about the tenants' rights than ours.

The RCMP was even worse. Our repeated calls for help were put aside as a
landlord/tenant dispute to be addressed in court. Getting these tenants out
took some hard stands by us, and frankly bordered on vigilanteeism.

I welcome the city's stand on landlords who do nothing, but we need some
protection for the unwitting landlord who thinks everything is OK and it
isn't. Landlord/tenant legislation needs to be changed to reflect the needs
of both. Unfortunately as it stands, the legislation gives the tenant more
rights than the landlord, and the Surrey bylaw, which I feel we need,
should reflect some thought for the landlord who has tried unsuccessfully
to resolve the issue.

Christine Eden

Surrey