A flurry of recent complaints has prompted the Nova Scotia Human Rights Commission to remind landlords it is illegal to deny tenancy to individuals based on the fact they have children.

"There's been about six or so in the past two weeks, inquiries about this issue. Typically over the course of a year, there may be one or two so it's concerning, this frequency," said spokesperson Jeff Overmars.

Family status is a protected characteristic under the Nova Scotia Human Rights Act.

Overmars could not say if the alleged discrimination is taking place in any one area or if the commission is actively pursuing investigations against specific landlords.

The commission did find that the instances frequently involved people who were responding to advertisements for rentals of multiple bedrooms with yards, those most appealing to families.

Tight rental market

The spike in complaints is occurring in a tight rental market that exists throughout most of the Halifax region.

According to the most recent rental market report from Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp., the rental vacancy rate in Halifax was at 1.6 per cent in October 2018, down from 2.3 per cent in October 2017.

The shrinking vacancy rate has pushed up the average rent by 2.1 per cent across the municipality to $1,066, from $1,027 last year.

In addition, vacancy rates are lowest for three or more bedroom apartments, at 1.3 per cent. Average rent for those units is up to $1,355, from $1,307 in 2017, according to the rental report.

There is no history of the human rights commission proceeding with an inquiry into a family discrimination case, Overmars said.

However, he said "we do encourage anyone who feels they have been discriminated against to contact the commission."

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