A motion going to city council next week proposes the creation of an online database that would allow renters to search Vancouver’s records on rental buildings.

The online, searchable database would give Vancouver residents access to information on any outstanding work orders or property violations at rental buildings around the city, according to Vision Vancouver councillor Tim Stevenson.

“Basically it’s to collect the data that actually already exists within the city and make that data available, both the history of the building and safety compliance, what the landlords have done to keep the building up and so on,” Stevenson told the Straight by phone.

The councillor, who is introducing the motion in city council on January 17, said Vancouver’s records on rental buildings are already publicly available, but posting the information online would make the data easily accessible to renters.

“This will mean you’ll just go to the website and be able to look up your building and see the history,” he said. “It’s all public information, it’s just very difficult to get at it at the moment, in different places in the city.”

Stevenson noted that over 50 percent of Vancouverites rent. In the West End, the proportion of renters is even higher, at 85 percent.

Mayor Gregor Robertson called the rental database “a useful tool” for Vancouver renters that will help them to make informed choices and to avoid negligent landlords.

“Rental housing is a huge part of our housing stock in Vancouver, and the vast majority of landlords do a good job of maintaining their buildings and helping tenants,” said Robertson in a news release. “However, we do know that a small minority of landlords ignore violations and let their buildings fall into disrepair.”

Stevenson noted that if landlords know the records on their building will be publicly available online, it may translate to increased incentive for them to comply with work orders.

The idea of an online rental database was proposed by Vision Vancouver during the November 2011 election campaign. The initiative is modelled on a searchable database of buildings in New York City.

Stevenson’s motion directs staff to report back on creating an online database in Vancouver. He hopes that if the motion is passed by council that the site will be up and running “within the first few months”.

“It won’t be something that costs the city anything because we already have this information available in different places over the years, so it’s a matter of the staff bringing this together and moving ahead with it,” he said.