Kitchener Centre MPP Aislinn Clancy introduced a new bill at Queen’s Park on Wednesday, aiming to offer protections for renters in Ontario from “bad-faith” landlords and “renovictions.”
“Homes are for living in-not for wealthy investors and corporations to make a buck,” said Clancy.
The MPP noted that the issuance of N13s in Ontario saw a rise of 300 per cent between 2017 and 2022. An N13 allows a landlord to evict tenants to carry out significant repairs, renovations, or demolitions, but according to Clancy and others, this form is often misused by dishonest landlords who evict one tenant just to increase rent and fill the unit with someone new.
“If you hear those stories, it’s really heartbreaking to see people becoming homeless. We want to keep people housed. That’s the gist of the legislation, closing up those loopholes to make sure things are fair, and things are affordable in Ontario.”
Clancy’s proposed law is called the Keeping People Housed Act and would include:
Expansion of rent control on all buildings, including those constructed after 2018. Reinstatement of vacancy control to limit rent increases between tenancies. Increased requirements for landlords ensuring that a vacancy is needed for renovations before submitting an application for an N13. Measures that require any buildings with six or more units with below mid-range rents, if demolished, be replaced with at least the same number, size and type of units with rent similar to what was lost. The establishment of a Rental Task Force aimed at tackling the misuse of above-guideline rent increases.
On Tuesday, Kitchener council passed a bylaw mandating that landlords must apply for a license through the city before filing an N13. This initiative would necessitate hiring two full-time staff members and could potentially cost the municipality and taxpayers $400,000 in 2027.
“I applaud the municipalities; I applaud Kitchener council, but definitely this is provincial downloading,” said Clancy. “This province likes to act like they never raise the tax but all they’re doing is going out to supper and passing the bill along to somebody else, and that’s the property taxpayers.”
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