The territorial government is seeking input from Yukoners on key issues affecting landlords, tenants and businesses, and more feedback on the Residential Landlord and Tenant Act.

An online survey, developed in partnership with the Yukon Bureau of Statistics, will be open from Thursday to Feb. 29.

Facilitated in-person sessions will be held in Whitehorse, Haines Junction, Dawson City and Watson Lake. Online public information sessions will also be offered.

“The Government of Yukon is committed to supporting a sustainable and affordable housing market across the territory,” it said in a statement last Friday.

In the summer of 2023, the government began a review of the act, set to be tabled in 2025. It brought together 11 community members to discuss key issues affecting landlords, tenants and businesses to help inform the broader review.

The act review, along with rent increase caps and the elimination of no-cause evictions, is part of the Confidence and Supply Agreement the minority government signed with the NDP a year ago today.

“Creating a sustainable and affordable rental market is complex,” said Community Services Minister Richard Mostyn.

“I am grateful for the stakeholders who helped us explore the issues affecting residential tenancies in the Yukon.

“We now want to hear from everyone who has an interest in new legislation. Your feedback will help us explore options that combat housing insecurity while maintaining a balance of interests between landlords and tenants,” the minister added.

Participants in the Solutions Lab met 17 times over two months.

“They came from diverse backgrounds, and while they represented their own individual perspectives, they brought various insights from their experience at the following organizations,” the government said. Those are:

• The Safe at Home Society;

• Yukon Council on Aging;

• Da Daghay Development Corp.;

• Yukon Tenant Association;

• Yukon Residential Landlord Association;

• Association of Yukon Communities;

• Gray Management Services;

• Yukon Real Estate Association;

• Whitehorse Chamber of Commerce Housing Committee; and

• Yukon Anti-Poverty Coalition.

The stakeholders identified a wide range of issues to put to the public, including:

• flexibility of rent increases;

• ending tenancies;

• understanding the market;

• landlord and tenant education;

• lack of clarity of terms; and

• the role of the Residential Tenancies Office.

Several other areas were identified through disputes and other interactions by the Residential Tenancies Office, such as the definition of roommates, clarity around mobile home site tenancies, and short-term rentals.

“Public input is crucial to developing legislation that better reflects the interests of current and future landlords and tenants,” the government said.

Paper copies of the survey will be available at territorial agents and community libraries around the territory and the Residential Tenancies Office, in the lobby of the Jim Smith Building and at the Whitehorse Public Library.

Respondents can mail completed surveys in the self-addressed envelopes postmarked no later than Feb. 29.

A What We Heard report with the results of the survey will be released later this year.