City council will pick up where it left off last month in deciding what to do with the in-limbo business licence fee for residential rentals.
During Monday night's meeting, the group will look at new options for implementing the fee, which they initially voted to repeal back in April.
Coun. Frank Everitt spearheaded the charge to get rid of the $155 fee for rental units that included secondary suites and duplexes. But when the appropriate bylaw was brought forward May 12 that would have triggered nearly 1,900 refunds for those who had already paid, council postponed the vote to get alternatives from staff.
Those alternatives include staggered rates for property owners, depending on how many units they rent out.
The first option presented by staff would charge those with single-family buildings with two units or less an annual fee of $25 per property, to a maximum of $155.
Rental units provided by registered non-profit organizations would be charged $5 per unit, to a maximum of $155.
Multi-family buildings with three or more units would range anywhere between $155 to $225 per property depending on the amount of units.
The second option offered by staff would set a maximum of $155 for all property owners, regardless of the number of units.
Under both of those scenarios, the rates would be effective Jan. 1 of this year and refunds for those who had already paid would be given to property owners with two units or less and registered non-profits.
The final option for council is to go through with the original proposal to completely repeal the business licence fee for residential rental properties with less than three units and refund all of the $183,895 already collected.
A staff report by planning director Ian Wells indicates that administration is leaning towards an option that would keep a business licence on the books.
"The introduction of a business licence for residential properties would give council the opportunity to take additional action, including the suspension of the operations of the residential rental business," he wrote. "Individual breaches of the other aforementioned regulations [city fire protection, emergency response and property maintenance bylaws, B.C. Building Code] cannot, in isolation, result in suspension of a residential rental."
A letter from a resident to Mayor Shari Green included in Monday night's agenda package also encourages council to keep the fee.
Lee Stewart identifies himself as a landlord in the city and said that there are multiple costs landlords already incur that aren't passed on to their tenants and that there aren't any good arguments against the fee.
"Rental price is governed by supply and demand and the landlords know full well that the price will not increase for the tenants and if they choose to lose tenants over a minor amount each month by passing on this fee that is indeed sad," Stewart wrote.
