Re: 鈥淧roposed rules would hurt small stratas,鈥� letter, Jan. 26.
I can see from recent letters to the editor that the backlash I expected from condo owners, strata councils and strata-management companies has begun in earnest.
I am not an NDP supporter, but I聽applaud the government for having the guts to put forward a bill that would prohibit strata associations from passing bylaws to restrict rentals. There should never have been any legislation to permit this discrimination in the first place.
An apartment-style condo building is simply a vertical neighbourhood. All of us who own a standard single-family house in a typical neighbourhood have the right either to live in our own home or rent it out as we see fit. Obviously, if I own a nice, well-kept home with lovely neighbours, I have a huge self-interest to ensure I choose a tenant with care.
When my mother died, I had to sell her condo in Fairfield because rentals were not permitted (14-unit complex). I would have loved to find a nice, responsible tenant and keep this condo for a time when it might have suited me or our son or daughter.
It鈥檚 time for sa国际传媒 to throw out this ill-considered restriction. There are many excellent tenants to be had.
The crazy thing is that many of the condo owners who think their suite value will fall as a result of this proposed legislation will actually experience the opposite. The market will pay more for a condo that can be rented.
Paul Osborne
Victoria
