People with disabilities may be evicted, says NGO

An Edmonton non-profit group has slammed the provincial housing safety standards, arguing that people with disabilities may be evicted – a possible, ironic effect of the dwelling rules set to protect them as renters.
 
“The damage it will do to individual and families’ lives is horrendous,” claims Marie Renaud, executive director of the LoSeCa Foundation, a non-profit group which supports people with disabilities.
 
Under the new requirements set last year, Renaud said the homes, condos and duplexes owned or rented by her agency must install sprinkler systems, firewalls and fire exits.
 
“It’s unbelievable. We’re at a place where we don’t know what to do. So do we sell the house, do we give notice to people … I mean who has 50, 60 thousand dollars to do this?” she asked.
 
 
“So people who can’t afford to do that — they’ll be forced to give people notice. We'll have people with disabilities getting evicted. We'll have landlords that are really not willing to rent to people with disabilities who have service providers.”
 
Renaud added she has contacted the province and the city about her concerns already but to no avail, so far.
 
However, Edmonton said PDD agencies were consulted prior to the enactment of the new standards on Apr. 1, 2015.
 
A spokesperson of the provincial government said, “we don’t compromise on the safety of people with disabilities.”

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