A Winnipeg city councillor is demanding a crackdown on rooming houses near the University of Manitoba following a weekend blaze.

Coun. Janice Lukes (South Winnipeg-St. Norbert) has long warned of safety hazards — including crowding and a lack of fire inspections — within homes rented out to multiple tenants in University Heights and Fort Richmond.

After canvassing the area, Lukes and a team of volunteers identified 140 suspected rooming houses. Since none are licensed, she said it’s tough to ensure adequate smoke detectors and fire escapes are in place.

On Saturday, one such home on Pasadena Avenue caught fire, though no one was home at the time, Lukes said.

“My worst fear is that people will die. This was a close call,” she said.

Lukes notes a 2014 ad describes the approximately 1,200-square-foot bungalow as containing nine bedrooms. The councillor said the student demand for cheap housing is proving lucrative for landlords and challenging for the city’s 17 bylaw inspectors.

“When you have an extreme shortage of affordable housing, like we have around the university, it’s (like) whack-a-mole. You shut one down rooming house and another one pops up,” said Lukes.

The councillor will push the city to fund additional bylaw and fire inspectors in its 2018 budget. She also wants the city to review licensing categories used by other cities with multi-tenant housing around universities.

U of M student Eric Liu said he’s had a positive rental experience with a good landlord but is concerned for his fellow students.

Liu said his friends were once kicked out of their basement apartment after a neighbour reported parking violations to 311. He said the renters then discovered the home contained illegal units because some windows were too small.

Liu said he supports efforts to better ensure landlords follow the rules.

“It was pretty bad for my friends to suddenly have to leave a place,” said Liu.

Lukes is also lobbying the U of M to formally join a steering committee and take a leadership role on the issue.

“This is all city taxpayer dollars going to deal with an issue that the University of Manitoba wants no part of,” Lukes alleged.

A university official, however, stressed student supports are already in place to help students find safe, affordable housing and the U of M has repeatedly consulted on the issue.

John Danakas, the U of M’s executive director of public affairs, confirmed the waiting list for on-campus housing ranged from about 300 to 350 students during the most recent school year, though he noted many students turned down rooms to pursue other options.

And Danakas stressed the city is the proper authority to enforce its own bylaws.

“The city is responsible for enforcing its bylaws and the university certainly encourages the city in enforcing its bylaws,” said Danakas, who stressed many of the concerns surrounding rental units remain unclear.

“We need clear facts, not assumptions,” he said.

jpursaga@postmedia.com

Twitter: @pursagawpgsun