Landlord group's push to kill Windsor's rental licence program dismissed

The Windsor city councillor who championed a residential rental licensing pilot program is "delighted" with the city's win in a court challenge to the program made by a group of landlords. 

On Monday, Ontario Superior Court Justice Kelly Gorman ruled against Windsor Housing Providers, Inc.'s arguments and dismissed their application. 

It means the City of Windsor can continue with its Residential Rental Licensing (RRL) program in Ward 1 and Ward 2, which was first approved by city council in 2021 after years of debate. 

Costante says the win means the city can "continue inspecting properties, ensuring that units are up to code, cracking down on on slumlords and gathering necessary data so that we can make long term decisions in the next year or so."

The RRL means landlords in Wards 1 and 2 renting out a property with four or fewer units must apply for a licence for each unit.

Each licence initially costs $466 and must be renewed each year.

It also requires landlords to provide a criminal record checks and electrical inspections, which are not covered by the licence cost.  

The city is about halfway through its two-year pilot program, city staff said. 

Costante compared the rental licence to what any other business would need to operate in the city. 

"So now the rental stock in our community is, in my view, going to be upheld in a way that achieves this minimum standard," he said. 

"Addressing this housing crisis requires two predominant things. The first is the enforcement side, which is what the RRL is intended to address — making sure that these units are up to code. The second is a supply side. Doing those two things in concert I think is important. And today is just moving forward on one of those pieces."

Landlords have argued that the costs will be passed on to renters, making housing more expensive, while arguing in court that the program is illegal, discriminatory and created in bad faith. 

Borys Sozanski owns several properties in Windsor, and splits his time between Windsor and Toronto. A member of Windsor Housing Providers, Inc., the group that challenged the bylaw, he says it creates "another level of bureaucracy" and expense at a time of higher interest rates and property taxes. 

Landlord group says bylaw a 'negative influence' on housing stock

"At some point these properties become not profitable," Sozanski said. "We need more housing. We need it desperately and this is not the way to do it.

"So it's not a way of of attracting investments to Windsor or create any more housing stock. To the contrary, it's a very negative influence on the number of people who are going to provide housing and ... the new housing stock."

Sozanski says the bylaw will cause him to reconsider building any new rental units in Windsor because of the cost of the program. 

And, their group will be meeting with their lawyers in the coming days to review the decision and determine next steps, he said. 

In a statement issued immediately after the decision, the group called the RRL one of the most expensive programs of its kind in Ontario and said it will result in skyrocketing rents, a loss of housing stock and withdrawal of investment from the city of Windsor. 

"Although Housing Providers are burdened with the initial fees, the costs are eventually passed on to tenants, a segment of the population that can ill-afford to pay more," wrote Sozanski. 

Costante dismissed those concerns, saying there was no evidence of that in other municipalities with similar bylaws. 

Craig Robertson, the city's manager of licensing and enforcement, says the program has taken about 750 applications to date. 

Some properties, he says, have no compliance issues, while others have minor problems. Some, he says, have bigger issues, like problems with fire alarms or rooms not built to code. 

"Our focus has always been and will continue to be on education and encouraging voluntary compliance," he said. "But now we know that if we need to take enforcement steps or take that next step, we have that ability."

Robertson said staff will come back with a "midterm report" on the program that will let councillors know about what staff are seeing and the issues they're encountering. 

Program launched after years of debate

The push for a RRL program was renewed in 2017 after a university student was killed in a house fire in the city's west end.

Andrew Kraayenbrink's sister gave an emotional statement when council considered the program in 2018 saying that she believed this type of program would have saved her brother's life. 

Council voted against implementing a system, with Mayor Drew Dilkens saying at the time council would hire more staff dedicated to educating landlords on standards. 

A year later, Costante, newly elected in Ward 2 asked city staff to report back on creating a pilot program in his ward, leading to the creation of the new RRL policy. 

The program does not require landlords who rent units to family members or rent out units inside of a property they also live in. 

In court, the landlords argued that the bylaw gives the city power to deny applications based on who or where the owner is. 

The city wants applicants to prove they live in Windsor or authorize someone who can act on their behalf in the city. 

Justice Gorman ruled that did not go beyond the city's powers.