Cost of New Safe Drinking Water Requirements Threaten Security of Tenure for Mobile Home Park Tenants

Compliance costs associated with the water treatment, testing, reporting and other requirements under the Safe Drinking Water Act, 2002 (SWDA) and related regulations have become a serious threat to the financial viability and continued operation of mobile home parks. These costs can be prohibitive for both tenants and landlords. This, in turn, threatens tenants' security of tenure as they may lose their housing through economic eviction or through dislocation if landlords simply close the parks, or convert the parks to other uses or housing tenures.

Small water systems lack economies of scale to meet regulatory requirements affordably. The Liberal government has committed to implementing each and every Walkerton Inquiry recommendation -- including Recommendation #84. This recommendation directs the province to provide assistance to reduce the cost of providing safe drinking water to a predetermined level per household when small drinking water systems are unable -- after exploring all managerial, operational, and technical options -- to meet regulatory requirements in an economically viable way. Such funding programs would help ensure safe drinking water for mobile home park tenants while also addressing the issues of affordable housing and security of tenure for these vulnerable households.

ACTO has made several written submissions requesting that the government give priority to implementing Recommendation #84, and we have submitted a draft proposal for how such a funding program could be designed and delivered. We have also co-ordinated a legal clinic advisory group to address the safe drinking water and other issues affecting the security of tenure of mobile home park tenants.

In response to a letter from ACTO asking when the promised funding assistance program would be available, Environment Minister Laurel replied in a letter dated June 27, 2006 that, “At this time, I cannot offer any certainty regarding the provision of provincial funding to assist owners of non-municipal year-round residential systems, including mobile home parks.”

On June 7, 2006, the Environment Minister announced amendments to water testing and operational requirements under O. Reg. 170/03 (made under the Safe Drinking Water Act, 2002) to provide more treatment options and reduce costs for smaller systems. ACTO, along with the community legal clinic advisory group and the Canadian Environmental Law Association, is monitoring the impact of the amended regulation which provides the option of using point of entry (POE) treatment as an alternative to centralized treatment and distribution of water for non-municipal year-round residential systems that serve fewer than 101 private residences.