New Rules in Mississauga to Curb Renoviction Practices

Mississauga is tightening its grip on renovictions with a new bylaw that starts on Sept. 1, targeting landlords who try to hike rents under the pretense of renovations.

The city’s new Rental Repairs and Renovations Licensing bylaw mandates that landlords who give an N13 notice, which is a regulated provincial notice for ending a tenancy due to significant repairs or renovations, must also apply for a municipal license.

This license, costing up to $600, needs to be applied for within seven days of sending out the notice and requires landlords to provide additional compensation to tenants as per Ontario’s Residential Tenancies Act.

ACORN Canada, a group advocating for affordable housing for low-income Canadians, discovered that from 2017 to 2023, Mississauga ranked ninth among Ontario cities for N13s with 68 notices issued. Toronto topped the list with 950 notices.

The new bylaw will not undermine the Landlord and Tenant Board’s authority but focus on renovictions at the local level. (Kimberly Ivany/CBC)

When asked, Mississauga council did not disclose specific numbers regarding renovictions.

“The City of Mississauga engaged extensively with community stakeholders and understands that there are issues within the municipality,” said city spokesperson Irene Mc Cutcheon in an emailed statement.

The bylaw empowers Mississauga’s enforcement agents to inspect activities locally to ensure compliance with licensing requirements but does not decide if tenants need to leave their homes.

Landlords must also keep tenants updated throughout any repair or renovation work being done.

Municipal governments across southern Ontario have introduced similar bylaws recently; Hamilton passed one in January 2024 followed by Toronto, London, and Kitchener.

Noah Lister-Stevens is a paralegal based in Toronto who deals with landlord-tenant cases and has experience on both sides of these issues.

WATCH | How Toronto’s renoviction bylaw protects tenants:

Toronto’s new renoviction bylaw comes into effect next week

The city’s new renoviction bylaw goes into effect on July 31. As CBC’s Lane Harrison explains, it aims at safeguarding tenants against eviction from their homes by unscrupulous landlords pretending they need renovations as an excuse for raising rent.

“Part of this issue has been driven by the fact that we have such a really hot rental market right now that is creating a tremendous incentive for landlords to reset rents to market,” said Lister-Stevens.

“That drives the increase in stuff like renovictions and improper use of N12 or just pressuring tenants to move out.”

According to Lister-Stevens, rent stabilization laws exist for good reasons and Mississauga’s bylaw helps stop landlords from getting around them.

Small property owners voice concerns over new regulations

Boubah Bah, founder of Small Ownership Landlords of Ontario-representing 8,000 investors owning up to five properties-disagrees with these measures.

For people like him who only rent out one or two properties occasionally, Bah says this extra process discourages locals from investing in real estate.

Boubah Bah is the founder of the Small Ownership Landlords of Ontario Association. He said this bylaw will hurt investors who own up to five properties. (CBC)

“We’re not talking about big real estate,” said Bah. “The investor in rental properties could be anyone-a civil servant or even self-employed.”.. Accordingto Bah,these “mom-and-pop” landlords usually lack funds available for renovations because annual rent hikes are limited-capped provincially at 2.5 percent in 2025 and 2.1 percent in 2026.... So when they do opt. to make repairs,. dealingwith construction costs,municipal permits,|and now needing. a renoviction license creates a huge deterrent during an ongoing housing crisis,said Bah.<spanstyle=color:#000000;/≥Before%20that​as​"the%20city, a​ A reportfrom Statistics Canada revealed52. 6 percentof rentalpropertiesarenownedby​smallownershiplandlords.

Accordingto th e city, the ne w framework was designed wi th small lan dlords’in terests takeninto consideration.

WATCH | Small landlords i n Kitchener also oppose r enovict ion li cense:

Small landlords concerned wi th Kitchener ‘s reno viction b y law Earlier this week , th e Cityof Kitchener passed arenoviction b y law , butthedecis ion faced oppositionfromsmall ownershiplandlords wh o claimthattheby lawwill disproportionatelyaffectthem. Startingin January , landlordsin Kitchenerwillneedtoobtainap er-unitlicenseforrenovationsthat requireatenant tov acate theirunitbasedon an N13notice. Danielle Chiasson, a small landlordin Ontario, b elievesthisby lawwillhave unintended consequences.

To lessenfinancial barriers, theby lawincludesascaledlicensingschemewithlicensetermso fthree, sixor twelve monthsandfeesthatcorrespondtothe expectedduration,”said Mc Cutcheon.

The cityalso stateditwasdesignedso landlordswon’t have topaymore thanoncewhen coveringmovingcostsfordisplacedtenants.

Tenant association reports fewer evictions after bylaws

The Federationof Metro Tenants’Associations, w hichadvocatesfortenants’righ ts inthe GTA including Miss issauga, note sadecreaseinevictionsreported tothem since2021. Executive director Yaroslava Montenegroattributes Toronto ’s2024renovictionsbylawastheleading factor. After evictionreports peakedat1 ,378in2023, theassociationrecorded930in20/25and409asof August20/26.Yaroslava Montenegroistheexecutivedirectorof t he Federationof Metro Tenants’Associationsandsaidherorganizationisseeingdecreasesinreovictionreportsafter Torontoimplementedalicencingbylaw.(CBC)

“In pastyears, we’ve se enlan dlordsbasicallyuse badfaithevictions topush tenantsofout,”said Montenegro.(p )”It’s goingtobealittlebit harderforfolks toestablishallthose red tape processesandalsoto ensuretheyprovide tenantsthewelfareresourcesnecessaryformovingout.”

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