Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, these questions are regarding eviction process for public housing tenants. What is the eviction process for public housing tenants? Thank you.
Member from Monfwi. Minister of Housing NWT.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and thank you to the Member for the question. I think this is an educational process because we deal with evictions, but it's few and far between with public housing. So public rental evictions are dealt with under the Residential Tenancies Act. So the local housing association makes a tenant aware of their violation, seeks the agreement with the tenant to resolve the issue. When all reasonable efforts are exhausted, the LHO issues a termination of tenancy notice and submits an application to the rental office. The rental office may try to remediate and may set a hearing process involving both the tenant and the landlord. The rental office makes a decision and may issue orders. The tenant is given an opportunity to appeal the decision. Orders, for example, an eviction order, are filed with the NWT Supreme Court. Housing NWT continues to try to work with tenants to address the issue of concern. If the tenant does not engage or if the concerns are addressed, then Housing NWT may make the decision to implement the eviction order. Housing NWT obtains support from the sheriff's office to serve the order and carry out the eviction. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I think I got one of my answers from my previous questions in there, so thank you. Thank you for that. Are evictions handled differently by Housing NWT compared to a private landlord? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Housing NWT recognizes that it is a social agency and not just a landlord. So in many of the communities, public housing is one of the only options available to house people with lower incomes. This means that Housing NWT will, except in extraordinary cases, work much harder than a private landlord to maintain a tenancy rather than moving towards an eviction. These efforts include extra steps to communicate with the tenant and change the behaviours that can result in eviction. Except in the more severe cases, LHOs complete a tenant success plan checklist to ensure that all efforts are being made to maintain tenancy without moving to an eviction. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
What support does Housing NWT provide public housing tenants facing evictions? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So the supports that Housing NWT provides is they offer tenants opportunities to enter into payment plans if their issue is related to arrears. Housing NWT also reviews the rent calculations if there's a concern, if they have income changes. Say, they lost a job or they're starting another job with a different income level. So Housing NWT may refer tenants to other social services or health resources if the client is facing complaints from neighbours or is also to seek out additional assistance to avoid losing their home. And then Housing NWT also seeks out alternative housing options if available to support the tenant's needs. That's only if it's available. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister of Housing NWT. Final supplementary. Member from Monfwi.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. What can a public housing tenant do to avoid an eviction?
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So for a tenant to avoid eviction, they can do the following things: The best thing a tenant can do is to maintain communication with the local housing association and then show that they're serious about complying with their tenancy agreement. That can be including adjusting their behaviours to reduce complaints about noise and disturbances, after 11 o'clock especially, and reducing or setting up a payment plan to pay down their debts to housing. If a rental officer hearing is set, it is important to attend and tell your story. So it's really important they attend the rental officer hearing. The rental officer provides an opportunity to say what they're willing to do to avoid the consequences. The rental office also considers that in writing with writing orders.
If a rental office order is issued, it's not too late. The LHO, so the local housing association, and Housing NWT is still willing to work with tenants to resolve the concerns. Only if a tenant continues to cause problems or not comply with their tenancy agreement does housing proceed with implementing the eviction order. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Minister of Housing. Oral questions. Member from the Deh Cho.
