Active Manufactured Home Owners Society

ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

was November 18, 2023, via Zoom at 10:30 a.m. PST
Info at the bottom of this page.
The AGM was rather positive with a decent participation. At least a couple members registered to the meeting apparently did not receive the zoom link or it was filtered as spam in their email box. We'll solve these issues before next year AGM. If you missed the AGM, we'll have the minutes posted and you can always email us or use the contact form to bring your issues forward. We want to solve the problems. It was voted to increase the number of Directors in the board to seven. I.e. two more director positions not currently filled. If you feel like you can contribute your time to your association, contact us.

2023-09-11: B.C. Provincial announcement:

2024 rent increase limit is 3.5% ↗
Please be aware that the landlords do have the right to issue a Proportional Rent Increase ↗ due to increased services in addition to the 3.5% allowable rent increase. See link for details.

2023-09-13: CLAS Survey for Manufactured Home Owners

On Sept 2nd, the Active Manufactured Home Owners Society (BCMHO) shared with its members the Community Legal Assistance Society (CLAS) update survey on administrative fairness in the RTB. By the September 8th deadline, nine members had responded. The response rate was low, some people did not respond to all questions, and the survey was framed around open questions, so answers vary widely, but ideas expressed were consistent; eight of the responses pointed out areas for improvement, while only one registered complete support for all RTB practices.

We heard from individuals across the province that:

Neither Information Officers nor Arbitrators understand Manufactured Home Park issues and have limited knowledge or experience with the MHPTA and Regulations. The RTB needs to improve its training for staff on these issues, or create a few “manufactured home specialist” positions
Long wait times persist throughout the RTB system.
There is systemic bias and the manufactured home owner’s dual role of owner and renter is not well understood.
While the website is accessible for “the average person”, it assumes technical competency that not all users may have.
RTB needs to find a way to correct power imbalance in the hearing process resulting from the fact that landlords typically have lawyers to manage their cases and tenants, including manufactured home owners, typically do not. This puts manufactured home owners at a disadvantage.
More RTB offices in communities throughout BC would be useful. Most responses acknowledged likely barriers to this.
The RTB application process needs to be more user friendly, with clearer instructions and needs to allow the upload of photos, videos and other evidence document.

Detailed responses to the survey questions could be found in another page.

CLAS survey responses compiled by Susan Belford, BCMHO

BC Ministry of Housing update

With the installation of BC's new Premier, the Honourable David Eby, and his public commitment to take on the housing crisis in this province, a number of changes in how the government manages housing have been made.

What was formerly the Ministry of Housing and Construction Standards has now become the Ministry of Housing. The Residential Tenancy Branch (RTB) of the Ministry of Housing who manage tenant and landlord disputes and information services for both renters and manufactured home owners, will receive $15.6 million in funding from the province over the next three years. The funds will be used to increase staff and revitalize RTB processes to improve wait times for landlord/tenant disputes, strengthen compliance and enforcement efforts and improve their online information.

The new Minister of Housing Ravi Kahlon recently noted that dispute "...applications have increased by 21% since 2018 with the influx of people moving to BC…Renters and landlords have been clear that the current residential tenancy dispute resolution process isn't working fast enough to address their needs. We hear you and we are taking action to speed up service and strengthen enforcement to address things like repeat or serious offences like illegal evictions, so renters and landlords can get the fair treatment and timely support they deserve."

So, what does this mean for manufactured home owners? Don't be confused, the RTB is responsible for the Manufactured Home Park Tenancy Act (MHPTA), as well as the Residential Tenancy Act (RTA), since manufactured home owners in parks 'rent' the land their home sits on. The RTB is the organization manufactured home owners should contact when you have concerns about your tenancy or if you are in a situation that contravenes the MHPTA.

Residential Tenancy Branch Operational Stakeholders Group Update

The Residential Tenancy Branch (RTB) Operational Stakeholders Group meets quarterly throughout the year and is comprised of Ministry of Housing staff and representatives from residential landlord organizations, tenants, manufactured home owners and manufactured home park owners.

Our last stakeholder's group meeting was on May 4, 2023. We continue to ask for updates regarding the frequency of changes to Park Rules and issues around Assignment of Manufactured Home Site Tenancy Agreements. We have reported the answers we received from the RTB to our members in the BCMHO.ca Spring 2022, Winter 2023 and Spring 2023 Newsletters.

Due to RTB staff changes no updates to these 2 issues has been provided to date. RTB staff has indicated that these issues are not a priority for the next 2 to 3 months.

Our next Stakeholder's group meeting will take place in September 2023 and following that meeting we will provide an update for BCMHO.ca members in our Fall 2023 Newsletter.

Manufactured Home Park Owners Alliance Meetings

Our Directors continue to meet with the Manufactured Home Park Owners Alliance of BC (MHPOA) in an effort to find common ground between home owners and park owners.
Our discussions have been very positive and we will continue to meet and participate in sub-committee meetings with government and the MHPOA of BC, to focus on issues for manufactured home park communities throughout BC.
The Directors at BCMHO.ca will update our members on the results of those discussions after any decisions made are vetted through each organization's Board of Directors. Watch for more information in the BCMHO.ca Summer 2023 Newsletter.

Fire Hydrant Maintenance

Provincial legislation requires property owners to maintain the fire hydrants that are located on their property. (Note: Fire hydrants that are located on public property, e.g. boulevards, are the responsibility of the local municipality). To make sure the owner of a manufactured home park is properly maintaining the fire hydrants in the park, you can contact your Municipality or local Fire Detachment. Check with your municipality regarding the fire prevention and protection bylaws and policies.

BCMHO.ca mailing address: 133 - 6325 Metral Dr, Nanaimo, BC, V9T 6P9

Disclaimer

Manufactured Home Parks are a source of affordable housing in BC. On this website we provide timely and accurate information for our members in order to educate them about their rights and responsibilities. The material on this website does not constitute legal or professional advice and is presented as information only. Neither the Active Manufactured Home Owners Society (BCMHO.ca) or its directors, assume liability for loss or damage as a result of reliance on this material. Appropriate legal advice or expert assistance should be sought from a competent professional.