Toronto moves towards stronger protections against renoviction

THE GREEN LINE
DOCUMENTERS NOTES

TORONTO MOVES TOWARDs STRONGER PROTECTIONS AGAINST RENOVICTION WITH NEW BYLAW

City councilors and tenant advocates talked about a proposed bylaw that would curb bad-faith renovictions that force tenants out and offer clearer protections and compensation options for renters.

Councillor Josh Matlow at City Hall Oct  30, photo taken by Martha Gai

Coun. Josh Matlow (centre) and Coun. Paula Fletcher (right) spoke in favor of the new anti-renoviction bylaw.
📸: Martha Nyakuan Gai/The Green Line.

Taylor Simsovic

Taylor Simsovic

University of Toronto graduate and community worker living in Little Italy with her four rescue pets. Passionate about tackling food insecurity and engaging communities.

Oct. 31, 2024

These city meeting notes are part of Documenters Canada. Learn more about our program here

If you’ve been following the news you’d notice there’s been a lot of chatter about an anti-renoviction bylaw in Toronto.

Renovictions refer to the type of evictions that happen when a landlord wants to evict a tenant to repair or renovate the building or unit. 

Earlier this year, the City of Hamilton was the first Ontario municipality to pass a bylaw which required  “landlords to obtain a license before undertaking renovations that necessitate tenant eviction.” 

The Planning and Housing Committee met on Oct. 30 to discuss how to protect Torontonian renters from unfair evictions due to such renovations. Fifty people were in attendance, predominantly members of the Toronto ACORN (Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now).

Kamal Gogna, chief building official and executive director of Toronto Building presented a the bylaw to be enacted in Toronto.

In his presentation on the Rental Renoviction License Bylaw, Gogna defined renoviction as an “illegitimate eviction by a landlord claiming the need for vacant possession for the purpose of renovations.” He said the proposed bylaw is intended to help balance bad faith landlords using renovations as an excuse to evict tenants with very real needs for renovations.

  • The bylaw would not prevent the issuance of N13 notices, which are eviction notices for tenants when the landlord seeks to renovate the unit. 
  • The bylaw would require a Residential Rental Renovation License for the renovation, repair or maintenance work if an N13 notice is issued. This also has to include a Tenant Accommodation Plan or a Tenant Compensation Plan.
  • With this bylaw, if a tenant chooses to return to the unit after its renovation, they could choose alternative housing accommodation or financial accommodation to be provided by the landlord. If the tenant chooses not to return, the landlord would pay a lump sum equal to three months of ‘rent-gap’ payment.
  • The bylaw would also help keep tenants informed throughout the licensing process. Landlords will be required to notify tenants and post information notices. The city will also provide tenants with a “preventing evictions in Toronto” handbook. 
  • There are fines of up to $100,000 to ensure that the requirements of the bylaws are met and followed. 
  • This bylaw would regulate the licensing of renovations for all residential rental units in the city starting July 31, 2025.
Acorn members during a City Hall meeting October 30, Photo taken by Martha Gai

ACORN members gathered at the Housing and Planning committee meeting on Oct. 30, 2024.
📸: Martha Nyakuan Gai/The Green Line.

Kim Breland, a senior member of the public, shared that she has already been renovicted three times and that she would be homeless if she was renovicted a fourth time. Since COVID-19, her building had been sold to people who she said “became millionaires off of making people homeless.” She said landlords have sent the police to tenants’ units to say that they were “harassing” the landlords for speaking up against their treatment. She said high fines were important to ensure that the bylaws are enforced since current provincial laws have not been sufficient to protect tenants.

Marcia Stone, chair of ACORN’s Weston chapter, stated that this bylaw means a lot to their tenants, members and other people across this country. She said that this bylaw requiring landlords to apply for a license will catch the bad-faith actors and allow enforcement against corporate landlords who use tenants as “commodities.” She added that the Landlord and Tenant Board (LTB) is not in favour of tenants; rather it is “like an ATM machine for landlords.” She said that the LTB was effectively working in favour of the profits of landlords by simply approving N13s. 

Sara Beyer, a Manager of Policy at the Canadian Centre for Housing Rights, said that renovictions have increased across Ontario with the highest number of N13s filed in Toronto. She said people who are low income and racialized are facing the brunt of this crisis. 

Karly Wilson, a housing lawyer for Don Valley Community Legal Services, stated that there was a “room full of tenants that feel heard” and a city full of tenants that are going to benefit from this bylaw. However, she expressed concern that one of the clauses could be abused by bad faith landlords. She stated that the “Emergency health and safety issue” exemption should be removed because of vague language. She said that abusive and coercive tactics can be used with this loophole and health and safety hazards can be deliberately created for tenants by the landlord. 

Josh Matlow, councillor for Toronto-St.Paul’s ward, in response to Wilson, stated that they would remove the clause. 

The committee did, in fact, remove the “loophole” section which would provide landlords an exemption if there was an “emergency health and safety issue.” They then approved the motion. 

What does our Documenter have to say? 

Working at the Fort York Food Bank (FYFB) on College street, I’ve heard many stories from community members about renovictions and demovictions that they’ve dealt with. 

While listening to the different speakers at the meeting, I was reminded of the story a friend and volunteer at FYFB had told me. She’s lived in an apartment building near College street and Spadina avenue for over 15 years, over which she has had many landlords. She said the first landlords were “family owners” and “relaxed.” If tenants were a couple of days behind on rent, they would be flexible. But then the building was sold and then it was sold again and again. Now, it is owned by the multinational corporation Akelius, which has an automatic system that will begin sending you notices for failure to pay rent. 

Another FYFB volunteer had recommended that my friend go to the Kensington Bellwoods Community Legal Services (KBCLS), who helped her with her case at the LTB. She was not evicted, but continues to face issues with her landlord. For tenants in Akelius’s buildings, this notoriously includes the ever-looming threat of Above Guideline Increases (AGI’s).

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