Toronto City Council passed a motion Wednesday aimed at stemming the tide of so-called renovictions – a practice where landlords boot tenants from a unit by saying they want to carry out renovations, only to then rent the unit out for a much higher price.
Tenant advocates have long decried the practice as a way of getting rid of tenants in rent-controlled units so that landlords can charge market rates which may be much higher.
“Renters in Toronto need to know that their homes are stable and secure and there’s no fake rent evictions, that they won’t be forced out because their landlord found a loophole,” Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow said Wednesday.
Hamilton has a renoviction bylaw and city staff studied it to make their recommendations.
Hamilton’s bylaw requires landlords to get permission from the city before doing renovations which require tenants to move out.
Chow said that Toronto’s bylaw would require landlords to obtain an engineer’s report showing why it is necessary for tenants to move out while the renovations are underway. That report would then need to be submitted to and approved by city staff.
A fee paid by the landlord would cover the costs of the process.
While some councillors argued that the bylaw would intrude into the authority of the province, which regulates rules around tenancy, many said that should not stop the city from taking action.
“What renters are telling us in Toronto is that far too often their landlord will start doing work in their building, shove them out really because they want to eventually rent out their units for a higher rent,” Coun. Josh Matlow said.
He said that with provincial rules which exempt new units from rent control, tenants who are booted for renovations often find they can’t afford to continue living in their own communities.
“That’s fundamentally wrong,” Matlow said. “Hamilton has taken steps to protect those tenants and we need to use that model here in Toronto. Do I expect it will be challenged? Perhaps, but it shouldn’t stop us from taking that step.”
Coun. Brad Bradford sounded a similar note and said there may very well be a legal challenge when a bylaw is enacted.
“This really is the jurisdiction of the province,” Bradford said. “That being said, there are countless situations across Toronto every year where tenants are wrongfully evicted under the guise of a renovation. Making sure that we have a process in place where the city can actually validate that there is in fact a building permit being pulled is in facts thoughtful and prudent.”
The bylaw will also be informed by consultations with stakeholders which will be held both virtually and in-person in the coming months.
City staff are expected to report back to the Planning and Housing Committee on Oct. 30 with a renovictions by-law for council to vote on.
Wednesday also marked a milestone for Chow, who was elected mayor a year ago after beating out a crowded field of candidates.
“Today is a special day for me and my team here,” Chow said at a news conference before a city council meeting Wednesday. “It’s one year since the byelection and one year where we have an opportunity to build a city that is more affordable, caring, safe where everyone feels they belong.”
She listed a new deal with the province among her top accomplishments so far.
“We went from an ‘unmitigated disaster’ to a new deal in just a few months,” Chow said, referring to Premier Doug Ford’s assessment of her as a mayoral candidate. “That deal freed up billions of dollars that we can spend fixing other things in the city, and billions more for transit and shelters.”
Prior to her election, Ford endorsed former police chief Mark Saunders and said a Chow mayoralty would be an “unmitigated disaster” for Toronto. However the two have worked well together since then, hammering out a deal for the province to take back responsibility for the Gardiner Expressway and Don Valley Parkway.
Chow also supported renaming a stadium in Etobicoke after former mayor Rob Ford, the premier’s late brother.
Ford posted a video to social media Wednesday lauding Chow and congratulating her on her first year in office.
“Mayor Chow, you’ve shown real leadership over the last year and have been a great partner as we work together on many, many priorities,” Ford said in the video.
He held up a varsity jacket from Don Bosco, the Toronto high school where Rob Ford coached football, and said he was presenting it to Chow for her “critical” role in renaming the stadium.
“It just meant so much to me and my family. Thank you for all your support. Congratulations on one year,” Ford said.
