Council quashes push for Toronto-style apartment inspections

Slumlords were squarely in the crosshairs of city council on Tuesday evening, but how to best ensure renters have safe and properly maintained housing proved divisive.

After a council committee was deadlocked three weeks ago, Coun. Jesse Helmer renewed his motion calling for a budget business case on a rental inspection program modelled after Toronto’s RentSafeTO.

“We’ve heard from some members of the Tenant Landlord Taskforce that they’d like to weigh in on this idea and talk about it, and having a business case come forward to the next multi-year budget give plenty of time for that,” Helmer told his council colleagues.

RentSafeTO is a municipal program inspecting apartment buildings every three years in Toronto to ensure proper maintenance.

Buildings that score low can be subject to greater scrutiny and penalties for not completing essential repairs in a timely manner.

Civic administration at city hall estimates a similar program in London would require hiring 37 more bylaw officers and an equal number of fire prevention officers.

“Before building more bureaucracy, let’s make sure when there’s a complaint or a problem, we have a way for it to be fixed,” argued Coun. Michael van Holst.

However, Coun. Anna Hopkins emphasized that the request was simply for additional information, “Why not look at a business case? We’re not approving to go ahead with this program.”

After consulting with the local Tenant Landlord Taskforce, municipal staff recommended a different approach which includes streamlining the complaint process at city hall and conducting some targeted building blitzes.

The political push for a business case on a RentSafe-style program lost on a 3-10 vote.

“It was almost like one solution fits all, and frankly that’s not practical, and I think it’s expensive and just doesn’t make sense for our city,” explained Mayor Ed Holder.

There are over 47,000 rental units in townhouses and apartment buildings in London.