Confusion surrounds the Dec. 6 vote by a South Keys condo board to uphold their requirement for single-family renters.
Carleton Condominium Corporation No. 24, which is responsible for 257 units on Southgate Road, passed a resolution Oct. 20 upholding a rule that only allows single-family renters in the area, said condo board president Lorne Anderson.
Carleton student and tenant Nicholas McLeod petitioned the board to overturn the ruling, which he said would effectively ban students. McLeod collected a number of signatures from the condo’s homeowners, and the board delayed a decision on the issue until the Dec. 6 meeting.
To overturn the ban, at least 25 per cent of homeowners had to attend the meeting, and at least half had to vote in favour.
In the end, the students were unsuccessful, losing the vote 101-82, McLeod said in an email. He called the decision “disappointing.”
However, Anderson said this rule is an old one, and it doesn’t affect students.
“Since 1973, the condo board has only allowed single-family renters . . . The board simply voted to uphold the rule, [not create a new one],” Anderson said, adding students are still allowed to rent in the area as they always have.
A “family” can be considered a group of people who are related, or “two or more unrelated persons, provided it’s clear that their intention is to live together permanently or indefinitely,” according to Section 2.4 of the Condominium Rules.
When asked if “permanently or indefinitely” allowed for a one-year student lease of a unit, Anderson responded: “Yes.”
Section 2.3 characterizes a “single family” as “one family” renting a unit, “provided that no roomers or boarders are allowed.”
Anderson said a provision exists to allow for sublets. Only “rooming houses” would be prohibited, which Anderson described as a house in which people “each rent different rooms for different lengths of time,” rather than a collective lease.
By voting on this rule, Anderson said the board simply wanted to clarify the definition of a renter and renew their commitment to the rules in light of recent “incidents” the board has had with landlords.
McLeod said the idea that the board’s definition of a single family has been around since 1973 is “absolute crap.” Students are being discriminated against, he said.
“The entire meeting [Dec. 6] was bashing students,” McLeod said.
Despite losing the vote, McLeod said student advocates can create other opportunities to discuss the issue.
“The fight is far from over and the vote was very close,” he said. “The rule can and will be brought up during another meeting especially since the rule does not begin affecting people until the end of people’s leases which are generally the next school year.”