Unanimous renoviction vote sidelines landlord concerns

More than a dozen people including landlords, lawyers, and tenants spoke at city hall on Wednesday, before planning committee members unanimously voted for City of Ottawa staff to explore the creation of a new anti-renoviction bylaw.

Coun. Ariel Troster said she was "thrilled" at the support for her motion which she hopes will help protect the rapidly shrinking stores of affordable rentals.

Troster was inspired by Hamilton, Ont., the first in the province to pass a bylaw to protect tenants and punish landlords who use renovations as an excuse to push out a tenant, then put the unit back on the market at higher rent.

The motion will head to council for a vote next week. If it passes, staff will review Hamilton's bylaw and then evaluate what resources would be needed to institute similar rules here.

Staff could not say how often this happens, but many believe the issue is exploding.

"Our community legal clinics are absolutely overwhelmed," Troster said. "All of our community agencies are talking about the fact that these evictions are putting stress on them as social service providers and on our city's housing stock."

The councillor echoed concerns raised by Aileen Leo, with the Ottawa Mission, who said she's frustrated to see shelter clients who fight to secure housing end up losing their independence.

Somerset Coun. Ariel Troster was 'thrilled' that every member of the planning committee supported her motion. (Jean Delisle/CBC)

Landlords push back

Several others countered these emotionally charges delegations, arguing that provincial rules already support renters who find themselves with an N13 notice.

Tenants can legally stay in their unit while awaiting a hearing with the Landlord and Tenant Board. They also have the right to reclaim their unit once renovations are done — without an increase in rent.

But advocates on both sides of the issue agreed these rights aren't always well-known or understood, and can be difficult to enforce.

Real estate investor Tony Miller called Hamilton's new rules onerous, adding both cost and bureaucratic hurdles to small landlords without deep pockets.

"It's not just one thing that makes it difficult," he said, arguing that some may simply give up on doing important work on their units. "It's a death by a thousand cuts."

It's an argument councillors weighed against what they call an inherent power imbalance between landlords and tenants.

"I think private sector landlords are always going to push back at red tape and the requirement for permits," said planning chair Jeff Leiper. "Some of the renovictions are spurious ... the impacts to their lives, the impact to city services all outweigh a little bit of a new requirement on landlords."