Could Hamilton's anti-renoviction bylaw work in Toronto? Council committee wants to find out
CBC
Toronto councillors are asking city staff to study how Hamilton's first-in-Ontario, anti-renoviction bylaw could be implemented in Toronto.
Four councillors made the request in a motion passed at the planning and housing committee Wednesday. The motion directs staff to include in an upcoming report "consideration and analysis" of the bylaw and how that approach could work in Toronto.
Hamilton's bylaw, passed by its council in January, is designed to deter landlords from using major renovations as an excuse for bad-faith evictions and better protect tenants living in affordable units.
"A lot of housing is being bought up for investment purposes and landlords that buy it want to get rid of the tenants because they want to make more money," Coun. Paula Fletcher (Toronto-Danforth) said in an interview ahead of the meeting.
"We have to stand up for tenants to be able to stay in their homes at a reasonable price, a reasonable rent."
The move is a step toward tackling what housing advocates say is a major problem pushing tenants out of affordable living situations and contributing to rising rent prices.
Landlords are allowed to issue N13 eviction notices to tenants if they think units need to be vacant for renovation and repairs to be done safely. In Ontario, tenants have the right to move back in afterwards, at the same rate.
City staff in Hamilton described "bad faith" renovictions as when the landlord uses the excuse of renovations to make existing tenants leave and then rent the unit to new tenants at a higher rate.
In a letter to the committee, Fletcher and fellow councillors, Mike Colle (Eglinton-Lawrence), Frances Nunziata (York South—Weston) and Parthi Kandavel (Scarborough Southwest) said that a subcommittee during the previous council term heard from many tenants and advocates who said they had been pushed to leave a rental home despite no evidence that renovations were going to be substantial.
Some told the committee they didn't understand their rights or had been offered money to sign away their rights and leave, according to the letter.
"There were many instances where tenants left and while only cosmetic changes took place the rent was doubled or tripled in the same apartment," the letter reads.
"Many tenants have been forced out of their long time homes and neighbourhoods where they actually had the right to stay."
The councillors say it became clear to members of the subcommittee that eviction notices should be tied to building permits, but the council term ended before the committee could advance this as a solution.
"The key to stopping a renoviction is the building permit," Fletcher said. "Often, landlords give tenants an N13 and say, 'We need you out of there because we have to renovate this to such a degree that you can't stay.' Meanwhile, they never get a building permit. They never do the renovation."
Lawyers for a man acquitted in a high-profile Toronto murder trial where a police officer was killed are holding a news conference Thursday to address a recent Ontario Provincial Police report that re-examines evidence from the trial.
Quebec provincial police arrested two men after a suspicious package grounded flights headed to Montreal's Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport on Wednesday.
A nurse in Winnipeg says Canada's immigration system is undercutting efforts to address a shortage of health-care workers, after his application for permanent residency was rejected based on a technicality.
This year's provincial budget is "essentially" the status quo for wildfire preparation and response, the finance minister says.
Parts of B.C.'s coast continues to see heavy rain as Environment and Climate Change Canada warns of a prolonged atmospheric river this week.
Alberta teachers say they face increasingly dangerous conditions at school, with the most common threat coming from their own students.
Cataract surgeries at Charlottetown’s outpatient clinic are expected to resume in April, after procedures scheduled for March were cancelled due to the clinic reaching its annual funding target earlier than expected.
Shannon Elgazzar can see planes taking off from Cairo International Airport from her balcony.
Yellowknife city council has voted in favour of signing an agreement with the federal government that's aimed at bringing piped water and sewer service to the city's airport.
While Canada's economy is far more reliant on exports to the U.S. than vice versa, Canadian negotiators have crucial ammunition in their efforts to land a trade deal that reduces or eliminates tariffs imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump.
Nova Scotia PC MLA Rick Burns says he and his wife are victims of blackmail after hackers accessed and shared videos and intimate images on his personal devices this week.
The Saint John Board of Police Commissioners and Chief Robert Bruce have lost a bid to permanently deny public access to all court documents related to conduct complaints nine officers filed against the chief.
With the looming October election, Quebec Finance Minister Eric Girard has delivered a modest budget as the province aims to withstand ongoing trade disruptions and mounting geopolitical pressure.