Sudbury homeowner frustrated that homes on his street have multiple tenants

A Sudbury, Ont., homeowner says he and his neighbours are frustrated with some "shared housing" on their street, saying up to 10 people are living in one suburban home.

"We thought we'd be in a nice quiet neighbourhood and all of a sudden we end up with cookie-cutter houses with multiple people living in [them]," said Denis Brochu.

"To me, it's not so much the people. It's the fact that they don't abide by our rules."

Brochu said he has seen some homes on his street with multiple vehicles parked on the lawn in the summer.

He said some of the homes aren't properly handling their garbage, which leads to birds and animals getting in the bins and spreading trash on the street.

Sudbury city Coun. Al Sizer, who represents the New Sudbury neighbourhood where Brochu lives, said there's nothing illegal about residential homes with multiple tenants.

"There are regulations and bylaws that affect it, but there are also allowances for this type of housing," he said.

Sizer said shared accommodation is becoming more common in the city because of a housing shortage.

"We're in a crisis," he said. "We don't have enough housing to accommodate everybody that's here."

Sizer said that while shared housing is allowed, landlords and tenants still need to abide by local bylaws for everything from parking to garbage collection.

Brochu said other Ontario cities are more proactive in addressing issues around shared housing.

He cited a lodging house bylaw that the City of Kitchener passed on Jan. 1 for homes where five or more people live, not including the owner of the property.

The bylaw requires mandatory inspections for lodging houses, and sets out advertising requirements and a requirement for a "dedicated responsible person" tied to the home.

Sizer is planning a townhall meeting on Wednesday for residents in the area — concerned homeowners and people living in shared housing — to learn more about what is and isn't acceptable.

Staff from the city's planning, building services, communications, bylaw and emergency services departments will be available to answer people's questions.