Windsor pausing rental licensing in Wards 1 and 2, will launch review of city-wide options

From rental licensing to stormwater fees and the fate of a major rec centre development. CTV Windsor’s Sanjay Maru has more from city council.

Windsor city council has decided to put its pilot rental licensing program on hold and begin work on a new plan that could apply city-wide.

At a meeting Monday, council voted to place the existing Residential Rental Licensing (RRL) bylaw in “abeyance” — pausing enforcement while administration studies alternative ways to regulate rental properties across Windsor.

The decision marks a shift from the city’s current approach, which was limited to a two-year pilot in Wards 1 and 2. That pilot required landlords to register their rental units and undergo inspections aimed at improving housing conditions and fire safety.

According to a city report presented Monday, inspectors examined 660 rental units during the study.

Many properties had expired or absent smoke and carbon monoxide alarms — prompting administration to call fire safety the program’s “most significant and immediate improvement.”

One landlord, Al Teshuba, warned expanding licensing would create costly new bureaucracy without fixing real safety issues.

He argued the city already has tools like complaint-based inspections through 311 — and compared the licensing idea to Windsor’s former bicycle licensing system.

“These are things that are just not needed, especially with the huge cost associated with the extra bureaucracy,” Teshuba said.

But other speakers pushed council to move forward, citing safety risks uncovered during the pilot.

Caroline Taylor, a Ward 2 resident, pointed to the serious problems in rental units that were revealed by inspections, including missing smoke detectors, unsafe staircases and neglected properties.

“We cannot afford to kick this can down the road any longer,” Taylor told councillors. “We’re losing our neighborhoods.”

The RRL report showed about 29 per cent of properties inspected during the pilot were fully compliant on first inspection.

Common issues included missing or defective smoke alarms, inadequate exits and property standard violations​.

Council was told the current pilot model would require about 34 new full-time staff — at a cost of more than $4.3 million — to be expanded citywide as-is​.

Instead, administration will develop alternative models that could include licensing property managers, implementing a rating system for landlords, or adjusting how often inspections occur.

Ward 2 councillor Fabio Costante said the pilot’s findings confirmed longstanding concerns about the condition of rental housing in Windsor.

“The complaint-driven model doesn’t work across all neighborhoods,” Costante said. “There’s a problem here — and now we have the data to prove that we do have a problem within our rental stock.”

Windsor Mayor Drew Dilkens asked administration to keep affordability in mind when figuring out alternative options.

“At a time where affordability is an issue, guess who’s paying for that? The tenant,” Dilkens said. “At the end of the day, the tenant is paying for this.”

Administration is expected to report back with new city-wide options during the 2026 budget process.