Clinton News Record, 2016-07-13, Page 3Local landlords approach council regarding tenants' unpaid water bills
Justine Alkema
Clinton News Record
At least ten local landlords
gathered at the Central Huron
council meeting on July 4. This
group, rallied together by resi-
dent and property owner Den-
nis Valenta, came regarding the
fact that landlords are cur-
rently required to pay for delin-
quent water bills for their
tenants.
According to Valenta and
many other local landlords, this
requirement is unfair and it
doesn't make sense. Valenta has
owned property in Clinton for
around nine years. He always felt
this rule was unfair, but he never
pursued the issue until he joined
the London Property Manage-
ment Association.
"Over the course of my time
being a member [at the associ-
ation], I have recently learned
that what is happening in Cen-
tral Huron is not the case in
London," said Valenta. "The
City of London was going to
[create] a policy that Central
Huron already has and a lot of
landlords said, 'wait a minute,
this is unreasonable. Simply
because we own the building
doesn't mean we should be lia-
ble for other peoples' debt."
The current system in Central
Huron is if a tenant doesn't pay
their water bill, the municipality
will put that money on the land-
lord's taxes.
Valenta said that this is an
unfair advantage that the public
system has over the private sys-
tem. The private system doesn't
have the option of taking money
via taxes, while for the public
system it is easy and cost effec-
tive for them to do so. He noted
that if people don't pay their
hydro bill, the hydro gets turned
off, but it is not the same with
water.
What Valenta is asking of the
municipality is to do several
things. First, to take a deposit
from the tenants. Then, when a
bill hasn't been paid, money will
be taken from that deposit to pay
it. When the money is gone,
Valenta said the water should be
shut off. He insisted that the cur-
rent bi-law gives council the
authority to do both of these
things, while landlords are not
permitted to do these things.
Council had a few responses for
the group.
Mayor Ginn said that he is
aware that the landlords present
at the meeting had other issues to
address as well, and council wants
to address them all at the same
time. So he said that he will have
their staff take a look at all of their
complaints and bring back a
report on the issue.
Councillor Westerhout
Town hall in Clinton.
said comparing Central Huron to
London may not be a fair compari-
son. He said he is interested in what
other rural municipalities are doing,
and Ginn said that's one of the main
things they would look into in the
report - what other municipalities
similar to Central Huron have been
doing and what is working for them.
If other municipalities are
operating the same way Central
Huron is, Mayor Ginn said "there
must be reasons for that, and
Justine Alkema Clinton News Record
we'd like to find out what those
reasons are."
Councillor Westerhout also
asked why they don't just charge
their rent with utilities included.
A clear answer for this was not
given at the meeting, though
Valenta later commented that
this does not necessarily fix the
problem, because if people don't
pay their rent you miss out on
both rent and money from the
water bill.
As for shutting the water off,
Valenta admitted that some build-
ings only have one metre, so that
can't be done in that case. How-
ever he owns some buildings
which have a metre for every
apartment, in which case individ-
uals' water can be shut off.
Some councillors were con-
cerned about who would actually
turn the metre off due to liability
issues, though Valenta said there's
ways around that, such as having
the landlord present and having
them turn the water off.
"I just feel that it's unfair,"
Velenta reiterated. "I guess it
would be different if I was asking
for the bi-law to be changed, but
the bi-law gives the municipality
the right to do this."
Valenta currently has around
$700-$800 delinquent bills from
tenants. He said other landlords
present had brought a number of
their delinquent bills as well.
"The laws are really against
landlords," said Valenta. "They
treat landlords like they're
scum." He said he's been to two
landlord and tenant tribunals,
but he can barely sit through it
because the tenants are treated
so well and the landlords are
treated terribly.
"It's hard enough to operate a
business in this county and this
province. [There are] very few
laws which benefit a business
man or a landlord business, and
I ask that we work together on
this."
Bluewater
P.O. Box 250 14 Mill Avenue, Zurich Ontario - NOM 2T0
P h : 519-236-4351 Fax: 519-236-4329
www. mu nicipalityofbluewater.ca
NOTICE
SMOKE TESTING SANITARY SEWER LINES
The Municipality of Bluewater is conducting a smoke test of the sanitary sewer system on Colina,
Howard, Jane, Glass, Christy, Blair, & Eugene Streets in Bayfield
The Municipality of Bluewater will commence smoke testing of the sanitary sewer system on the above
mentioned streets in Bayfield on July 20, 2016. The test will be cancelled and re -scheduled if it is
raining on July 20, 2016. Residents will be notified of the re -scheduled date.
Smoke testing is commonly used to detect stormwater inflow sources such as roof downspouts,
driveway and yard drains, foundation drains and stormwater drainage system cross connections.
Smoke Testing can also detect and identify structural deterioration and leaking joints in sewer pipes
and aging infrastructure.
During the testing you may see smoke coming from roof vents, building foundations, manholes, etc.
The smoke will not enter homes or businesses if the building is properly plumbed vented and water
traps contain water.
If you observe smoke entering your home or business you should contact Ontario Clean Water Agency
(OCWA) at 519-274-9242, or the Manager of Public Works at 519-236-4351 Ext. 221 or the crews who
will be working in the area. You should open windows for ventilation. The smoke will soon dissipate.
The smoke is Non -Toxic, Non -staining, white to grey in colour, creates no fire hazard, may have a slight
odour and is not harmful to pets.
Jennette Walker
Manager of Public Works
519-236-4351 Ext. 221
Rod Dupuis
Ontario Clean Water Agency
519-274-9242
Wednesday, July 13, 2016 • News Record 3
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P
it _'l ti ....
Another
in the
successful track side fundraiser,
Day at the Races Fundraising
program
took place this Sunday afternoon.
In addition
to the 10 race card, race fans
came
out and supported Clinton Minor
Baseball
through the silent auction, 50/50
draw,
raffle and BBQ. The handle on the
days race
card was just over $21,000
The local
group of baseball enthusiasts
was able
to raise approx $5900 to be
used towards
diamond upkeep at both
the Clinton
and Holmesville locations. 185
8-18
year old players are registered in
both the
soft and hardball programs in the
2016 season.
Each
Sunday Clinton Raceway hosts a
different
group, club or organization looking
to raise
money. Remaining fundraisers
include
AAA Huron Perth Lakers, Huron
Heat
Girls Hockey Association, Ontario
Standardbred
Adoption Society, Perth
Stratford
Humane Society, The Sunshine
Foundation
and The Royal Canadian
Legion.
Groups
that are interested in the track side
fundraising
program for the 2017 program
at Clinton
Raceway are invited to contact
Jessica
Carnochan (jessicacarnochan@
gmail.com)
for applications and
information.
Ontario
Sires Stakes make their 2016
season
debut at Clinton Raceway on
Sunday
July 17 as two year old filly pacers
hit the
track. Race fans are invited to bring
a friend
for great offers and incentives as
part of
Standardbred Canada's Bring a
Friend
initiative, and the chance to Be A
Winner
courtesy of the OSS program. Visit
www.clintonraceway.com
for complete
season
schedule of events.
Live
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NORSE
RACING
major atom
& major pewee
HURON
PERTH _.,e
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(LAKE
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at the Waco
SUNDAYJULY17,2016
BBQ 0
RAFFLE 5.50/50 0 BAKE SALE
II[ 14`j
Makri
114END
2 year olf
filly pace !AI
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\
147 Beech St.
CLINTON
519.482.1678
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clintonraceway.com