Since the initiation of the Property Standards Compliance Team at the start of the summer, four properties have been targeted in Kelowna.
The team is made up of the City of Kelowna Bylaw, building services, planning and development, the Kelowna Fire Department, the RCMP and other agencies to address potentially unsafe or illegal properties.
Ken Hunter, bylaw services supervisor with the city, said problem properties are tricky and challenging to resolve within the complex and sometimes limited legal framework that enforcement agencies operate.
The property owner of a house first targeted by the team in August was issued tickets totalling more than $2,500. The home is now vacant. Several months later, the team attended two additional houses in Rutland, one of which is now vacant as well.
The team works to ensure property owners are aware of – and compliant with – municipal, provincial and federal legislation to address the city’s most detrimental properties.
While bylaw, the RCMP and other agencies have always collaborated on property complaints, this team’s approach puts the onus on the property owner to address the concerns, rather than focusing on the tenants who might be the source of complaints. The fines and orders from the team motivate the property owner to take action.
Residents with concerns about problem properties can make a complaint using the online service request
system to generate a documented, trackable file. Visit kelowna.ca/bylawservices for more information.
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