Tenants and advocates cautiously optimistic that new city bylaw will curb renovictions

Advocates representing low-income tenants say the City of London's new bylaw aimed to crack down on unlawful renovictions — evictions under the guise of renovations — is a step in the right direction, but lacks specific protections for tenants compared to other Ontario municipalities. 

The new bylaw went into effect at the beginning of March and requires landlords to apply for a licence within one week of serving a tenant with an N13 eviction notice, which is given when the landlord intends to renovate or demolish a rental property, or convert it to a non-residential use. The new bylaw forces landlords to submit a report certified by an engineer or architect proving the renovations require the rental unit to be temporarily vacant. 

The licence costs $600 and is valid for six months, after which it must be renewed. Landlords must also provide tenants with an information package from the city, informing them of their rights. Fines for violating the bylaw range from $1,000 to $5,000 per unit.

"Tenants are tentatively hopeful about the bylaw providing some additional protection," said Claire Wittnebel, chair of the London and Surrounding chapter of ACORN, a tenant advocacy group.  

"It's good that city council has observed the problem and is taking some action toward it. But most folks who are familiar with ACORN's stance do wish there were stronger protections for tenants in the form of rental accommodations."

Bylaws in Hamilton and Toronto require landlords to provide tenants with temporary, comparable housing at similar rents or give them monthly rent-gap payments to cover the rent difference if tenants are the ones finding themselves a place to live. 

London is the third Ontario city to have a renoviction bylaw and although its regulations follow examples from Toronto and Hamilton, it doesn't include those same requirements.

"The incentive of rental accommodations is to ensure that people remain housed while they are displaced for the renovations and that they're not merely sent out on the street or stuck in a long-term lease that won't allow them into their unit when the renovation is done," said Wittnebel.

In Ontario, tenants have the right of first refusal, which ensures they can move back into their units after a renovation at the same rate they were paying before. 

City open to adding more tenant protections in future

In their applications for a residential unit repair licence, landlords must also give the city a copy of the eviction notice issued to each individual tenant, an affidavit from the person who gave the tenant the notice and their information package, as a trail of documentation.  

Janet Neatby, 78, said she was renovicted from her rental unit at 1270 Webster Street apartments last May. Although she is relieved there's a way to hold landlords accountable for bad faith evictions, she wants better protections for seniors who she believes are disproportionately impacted by renovictions.  

"The human toll has been incredible on people's lives, so I think any measures that go forward to prevent landlords from going in and just evict en masse is a good thing," she said. 

"People don't necessarily know their rights because there's a whole intimidation process going on like papers coming to your door fast and furiously or cheques arriving in your mailbox, and work because after a while, people's stress level is so high that they finally succumb."

Kristie Pagniello is head of Neighbourhood Legal Services London and Middlesex, which offers low-income tenants with legal advice. London's bylaw could be more onerous on landlords to provide temporary accommodations, its detailed requirements and hefty fines will "make a big difference" in deterring renovictions, she said. 

"It's basically going to curtail the bad-faith evictions because landlords will have to go through these steps and there's going to be a good set of eyes on them at all times," she said. 

"It also won't give landlords the time to drag their heels because tenants don't often know when they'll get back in, so this allows people to make short-term arrangements to stay somewhere knowing they have the ability to go back within a reasonable amount of time."

London's bylaw has higher fines compared to other cities, said Orest Katolyk, the city's head of bylaw enforcement. Hamilton's bylaw took effect in January and seems to be working, he added.  

"They've yet to receive an application [for a repair licence], so what that tells us is that they've done a good job in terms of communication with the public," he said. "If landlords are looking at doing renovations, they are working with the tenants and not evicting them."

Katolyk said his team will continue monitoring how effective this bylaw is for its first year and will report back to council on what can be changed and improved.