Health and nuisance by-laws in focus
City Bylaws do protect residents from public health and nuisance hazards, but are they enforced?
ACCORDING to the city’s environmental health and nuisance by-laws, a number of health or nuisance hazards could apply to homeowners or tenants, including noise pollution, overcrowding, open fires and solid waste pollution.
The by-laws require any owner or occupant of premises in the municipal area to ensure the property is used for and maintained so no public health hazard or nuisance is created.
The premises may not be of such construction or state that is offensive, injurious or dangerous to public health.
If council reasonably believes the premises is causing a public health problem and reasonable measures have not been taken to avoid or reduce the risk to an acceptable level, council must prescribe such measures.
An environmental health practitioner may, after inspection, serve a notice prohibiting its use for a specified purpose and require measures to ensure compliance.
The notice can be served on the owner, occupier or any person in charge of the premises.
If the practitioner reasonably believes a person has not complied, council may enter the premises and perform any function it reasonably considers necessary to ensure compliance or reduce, remove or minimise the public health hazard or nuisance.
No owner or occupier of any dwelling or room may allow it to be overcrowded so as to constitute a nuisance or be ‘injurious to health’.
A dwelling may not be dirty or infested with pests that may result in the spread of disease.
There may not be dampness in any foundation, wall or floor or any serious leaks in the roof.
No person may use any building not erected for the purpose of human habitation unless such building has been altered and made suitable.
Cellars, basements or underground rooms or garages may also not be used for habitation without written consent of the municipality.
And while all this is good and well, the problem is that municipalities do not enforce their own by-laws.
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