Members of tenants’ advocacy group London ACORN held a rally outside City Hall on Tuesday, calling on council candidates to pledge that they will support expanding municipal licensing of rental properties operated by landlords. Currently, only residential buildings with up to four units, and converted dwellings with five or more units, require a Residential Rental Unit License. “That leaves out the majority of landlords, all of the large landlords, and all of the corporate landlords,” said Jordan Smith, chair of London ACORN’s East of Adelaide Chapter. “So, that’s obviously really ineffective as a policy.” The municipal licenses are intended to provide regulations for rental units, protect the safety of renters, and ensure property standards are maintained. However, ACORN wants landlords to pay annual per-unit fees to fund a broader licensing program that would include proactive inspections and public reporting of the results. Smith says with less than three weeks to go until the municipal election, candidates are being asked to pledge their support for the changes, “We’ve been presenting to the city for the last six years, literally that resolve this issue, you know, so we’re looking for a little bit of common sense here. We’re looking for a champion coming into it with our new council. Mayoral candidate Tariq Khan was among a small number of candidates who attended the rally, “The rental protection office is not working, or there is a lack of accountability. There is a lack of supervision, and I just want to fix it.” Following a meeting of the Strategic Priorities and Policy Committee (SPPC) on Tuesday afternoon, CTV News asked incumbent mayoral candidate Josh Morgan and mayoral candidate Susan Stevenson about potentially expanding rental unit licensing. “I wouldn’t make any changes without a robust consultation on the extent of the licensing regime,” Morgan said. “What I will say is, there are costs and enforcement implications of licensing widely. Often those costs get passed on to tenants. So I think we’d want to be cautious about that.” He added, “I do think we need to continue to work with community partners on modernizing our rules. We brought in a renoviction by-law. We’ve made other changes to protect renters, and I’m always open to discussion about things that we could do.” Stevenson acknowledged the concerns expressed by ACORN, “We’re hearing a lot of concern about apartment buildings where people have gone a long period of time without elevators, without heat, access to hot water, or water itself. So, I think that’s the underlying issue. I wouldn’t want to go broad and create a lot of red tape and costs in areas where it’s not needed. We want to focus all the efforts on the problems.” She added that consultation would be important, “Getting people involved and listening to what the issues are, where are they, and at what level of government are we able to make a difference.” A list of all 12 candidates for mayor can be found on the City of London website along with the registered candidates in all 14 wards. Election day is Oct. 26.
