Concern 'renovictions' will surge as unethical landlords look to avoid council’s crackdown this summer

Councillors pushing to speed up the city’s response to so-called “renovictions” got a reality check from city staff.

On Monday, the Community and Protective Services (CAPS) Committee urged Civic Administration to expedite the drafting of a new licensing by-law aimed at discouraging renovictions that target low-income Londoners.

“To have it back and have a PPM (public participation meeting) with Q2 and not dragging this into Q3, is that feasible?” Coun. Hadleigh McAlister asked city staff. “Because I really do think this is something we need to prioritize.”

Director of Municipal Compliance Orest Katolyk replied that addressing renovictions is already his department’s top priority, however, creating a new by-law takes time even when it’s based on policy developed in another municipality.

A provincial N13 notice informs a tenant that significant renovations are planned for their apartment that require them to move out.

However, some landlords have been accused of abusing N13 notices to pressure tenants to leave apartments so that the rent can be substantially increased for the next tenant.

In Hamilton, landlords issuing an N13 notice will have to obtain a renovation licence from the municipality for $715 per unit.

The eviction and renovation will only be permitted to proceed if the landlord proves that the unit must be vacated for the renovation to be done safely.

Tenants can opt to return to their apartment after the work is complete.

If so, the landlord must arrange for a comparable unit for the duration of the renovation.

Katolyk warned committee members that further accelerating the process to draft a new licensing by-law could compromise the opportunity for public consultation.

“It’s a new by-law. It could be [legally] fatal if there was an application to quash the by-law in the courts,” he explained.

A letter from a lawyer representing the London Property Management Association lends credence to Katolyk’s advice.

The letter challenges the legality of council’s plan to base London’s by-law on the Hamilton model.

“If a municipality enacts a by-law or resolution to exercise authority that it does not have, then the by-law or resolution is illegal,” the letter warns.

Coun. Elizabeth Peloza acknowledged the desire for urgency, but emphasized that the by-law must be able to withstand a court challenge.

“We need to get our [by-law] right and it might take an extra month or two,” she said.

Staff also need time to calculate the staffing requirements, municipal costs, and licensing fees.

But in the meantime, there are concerns that the number of renovictions could surge.

By telegraphing its intent to discourage renovictions with a by-law this summer, council might unintentionally motivate some landlords to issue N13 notices to pre-empt the new licensing requirements.

Staff were unsure if there is a way to prevent a surge of N13s in the short-term.

“If there are any owners out there who think they are going to benefit by serving these notices before this by-law comes into effect — they’re making a big mistake,” warned Coun. Sam Trosow.

A motion directing staff to continue work on the renoviction strategy was supported by the CAPS Committee.

On April 2, 2024 city council will receive a projected timeline for public input and consideration of the upcoming draft licensing by-law.