Landlords will need to acquire a licence from the City of Ottawa before issuing an eviction notice to their tenants as part of a new renoviction bylaw to deter bad faith evictions for renovations or repairs. Councillors on the planning and housing committee approved the adoption of the Rental Renovation Licence Bylaw, with only Coun. Wilson Lo dissenting. If approved by Council, Ottawa’s new Rental Renovation Licence Bylaw would take effect on Jan. 1, and enforcement will be complaint-based. “All evictions are provincial jurisdiction,” staff told the committee. “It is the Landlord and Tenant Board that hears and rules on disputes between landlords and tenants. No municipal bylaw can ban evictions. No municipal bylaw can determine when and how an eviction takes place. Rather, what bylaws can do is support the provincial process to stop bad actors from evicting tenants without following the proper process.” The proposed Rental Renovation Licence Bylaw would require landlords seeking to evict a tenant for renovations or repair work to apply for a licence from the City of Ottawa within seven days of issuing the eviction notice to tenant. Landlords would need to obtain a building permit prior to submitting an eviction notice to their tenants. To obtain the licence, landlords must obtain a building permit prior to issuing an N13, provide their tenant with a City of Ottawa product eviction education guide and must provide the city with details of the rental and the scope of the work. Coun. Ariel Troster, who moved a motion calling for staff to table the Rental Renovation Licence Bylaw, said while the bylaw doesn’t go far enough, it is a start. “I think this is something that most of us can agree on and I think it does the most essential piece, which is to say if you’re going to evict, show your permit, show that you’re doing the work,” Troster said. “I think that education piece is really important. This is one small thing we are doing for tenants.” After the vote Troster said, “I am elated, I’m relieved. I’m so happy to see such a nearly unanimous vote at planning and housing committee to finally implement a renovation bylaw to protect tenants. Is it what you wanted to see? There are some things that are really good there.” Troster says there is more than could be done to protect tenants but calls this proposed bylaw a good first step. “I think there’s some huge steps forward in this bylaw requiring landlords to show their permit, proving that they need vacant possession of a unit before issuing an eviction notice is a huge step. It means that we’re going to be calling the bluff of bad actors who might be evicting people just to jack up the rent and paint the walls.” Coun. Riley Brockington said while he doesn’t believe Ottawa has a renoviction crisis, he supports the new protections for tenants. Brockington asked staff what the net benefit for the new renovation licence bylaw requirements is. Staff said there are two key benefits. “The first is that by requiring a building permit, the landlords that pursue evictions for renovation or repair are doing so in good faith, and that this will help prevent unnecessary displacement of tenants,” staff said. “Another key benefit is that tenants and landlords will better understand their rights, their responsibilities and the provincial processes in place.” There will be no fee for a landlord to obtain a licence under the Rental Renovation Licence Bylaw. James Adair told the committee he lived in a Centretown apartment until he was renovicted by the landlord. “Renovictions are destroying our communities, families and people,” Adair said, encouraging councillors to support a renoviction bylaw. The Alliance to End Homelessness applauded the committee for approving the bylaw. “We commend council and staff for taking action to address bad faith renovations and strengthen protection for tenants,” said Kaite Burkholder-Harris. “This bylaw recognizes something fundamental. Housing stability is one of the strongest protections against homelessness. When people lose affordable housing, they don’t simply lose an apartment, they lose community stability, access to employment, and often any realistic opportunity to secure another affordable home in this housing market.” Burkholder-Harris called on the city to include mandatory compensation for tenants evicted for renovations, including covering “reasonable moving expenses and compensate tenants for rent increases.” Hamilton, Mississauga and Kitchener have approved renovation bylaws. There is an average of 31 notices of eviction for renovations or repairs in Ottawa filed with the Landlord and Tenant Board each year, staff said. According to a report for the planning and housing committee, staff identified 230 evictions where an eviction was not issued or filed with the Landlord and Tenant Board across 40 addresses since 2020. Staff said 42 per cent of evictions for renovations or repairs occurred in rental units charging below market rent. The median age of buildings subject to eviction applications in Ottawa is 66 years old. The Ottawa Real Estate Board said it supports “strong tenant protections,” but urged the committee not to proceed with a renovictions bylaw “at this time.” “Introducing a municipal licensing system alongside the now strengthened provincial regime risks overlapping requirements, unnecessary administrative complexity, and an uncertainty about enforcement responsibilities,” Tami Eades, president of the Ottawa Real Estate Board, said. “This matters, because Ottawa continues to face a housing affordability challenge, and many of our older rental buildings provide some of the city’s most attainable rental housing.” Eades added municipalities should “be cautious about introducing additional regulation” when there is already provincial legislation in place. The new Rental Renovation Licence Bylaw will cost approximately $55,000 to implement, including $6,500 to develop the multilingual eviction education guide and $40,000 to add the rental renovation licence to the incoming online business licensing application portal. Staff initially said a Rental Renovation Licence Bylaw in the City of Ottawa was not needed because amendments to the Residential Tenancies Act in April “enhanced tenant protections.” According to City of Ottawa staff this spring, provisions coming into force under the Residential Tenancies Act in September include: Renovation/repair eviction transparency requirements: Right of refusal enforcement mechanism Other provisions not yet in force The differences between the Ontario government’s chances and the city’s proposed Rental Renovation Licence Bylaw include the city requiring a renovation licence, requiring a building permit before the eviction notice instead of after, and requiring landlords to provide an education guide on evictions to tenants. The Residential Tenancies Act requires compensation to tenants for renovictions, between one- and three-months rent. With files from CTV News Ottawa’s Leah Larocque
