Renovictions Policy Implementation: Review of Hamilton Renovation Licence and Tenant Relocation By-law and developing a Toronto Renovictions By-law

As a result of factors impacting Toronto's housing market, including low rental vacancy rates, insufficient new rental homes, and the financialization of housing, over the past decade the Toronto region has lost more affordable and mid-range rental homes than have been built. These housing market pressures combined with gaps in provincial rent control requirements have resulted in increased rates of evictions, with disproportionate impacts on low-income and marginalized residents, including those from equity-deserving groups. There have been reports of a growing trend of renovictions in Toronto, where a landlord illegitimately evicts a tenant by alleging that vacant possession of a rental unit is needed to undertake renovations or repairs. Renovictions can include refusing to allow a tenant who has exercised their right of first refusal to return post-renovation, illegally raising the rent on a returning tenant, or not undertaking major renovations after evicting renters. This results in the displacement of tenants, the permanent loss of affordable market rental housing, and contributes to rising homelessness in Toronto. The Province of Ontario has jurisdiction over rent control policy and landlord-tenant matters through the Residential Tenancies Act, 2006. The most effective tools to protect tenants and deter renovictions reside at the provincial level. City Council has previously requested that the Province introduce measures to amend provincial legislation to protect tenants from renovictions, including but not limited to: introducing rent control that is maintained upon turnover of a unit, requiring landlords to provide temporary relocation assistance while renovations are taking place, and creating a centralized data system and registry for rental properties and eviction activities in Toronto. In the absence of these changes, Toronto and other cities are considering steps to address the growing trend of renovictions within their authorities. On July 19, 2022, City Council, through Item PH35.18, adopted a Renovictions Policy as a framework to guide the development of a new renovictions by-law that would respond to growing trends in illegitimate evictions, protect tenants, and preserve affordable housing supply. In January 2024, the City of Hamilton adopted a Renovation Licence and Tenant Relocation By-law ("Hamilton by-law") that aims to prevent renovictions and mitigate harms to tenants by requiring a licence to renovate tenanted rental units. The by-law includes several new requirements of landlords to achieve these objectives and establishes a dedicated investigation, compliance, and enforcement framework. The Hamilton by-law was enacted on April 10, 2024, and the administrative and enforcement framework are under development. The Hamilton by-law is expected to come into force January 1, 2025. On February 28, 2024, the Planning and Housing Committee directed staff to include in this report consideration and analysis of the Hamilton by-law and how that approach could be adopted by Toronto. This report responds to this direction and provides staff's analysis of implementation considerations related to the Hamilton by-law. Further comments respecting the by-law will be provided by the City Solicitor by way of a separate report. It also provides City Council with an update on actions underway to implement the renovictions policy and corresponding by-law, and provides necessary context regarding provincial policy and legislative changes impacting renovictions and tenants' rights (including Provincial Bill 97, Helping Homebuyers, Protecting Tenants Act, 2023). Finally, the report provides Council with information on how the Hamilton by-law approach could be implemented in Toronto, should Council provide such direction.

2. City Council direct the Chief Building Official and the Executive Director, Toronto Building, the Executive Director, Housing Secretariat, in consultation with the Executive Director, Municipal Licensing and Standards, to engage with impacted stakeholders on the draft by-law components and implementation plan that is generally in line with what is outlined in Attachment 1, and include the results of this engagement process with the report to the October 30, 2024 meeting of the Planning and Housing Committee. 3. City Council direct the Chief Building Official and the Executive Director, Toronto Building to establish a dedicated staff team (led by a Project Director) to work with senior staff across relevant City divisions to develop a renoviction by-law and its operational framework by the fourth quarter of 2024. 4. City Council direct the Chief Building Official and the Executive Director, Toronto Building, the Executive Director, Housing Secretariat in consultation with the Executive Director, Municipal Licensing and Standards, to report through the 2025 and 2026 budget processes on any additional budget and resource impacts of the renoviction by-law implementation. 5. City Council request the Province of Ontario to proclaim and bring into force Bill 97, Helping Homebuyers, Protecting Tenants Act, 2023, and/or related regulations to: a. require that when landlords provide a notice to terminate a tenancy for repairs or renovations, that it be accompanied by a report from a qualified person confirming that the renovations/repairs are so extensive that they require vacant possession of the rental unit. A qualified person should include someone with professional qualifications who is licensed and required to meet professional and ethical obligations under provincial legislation (e.g. architects and professional engineers); b. require landlords to provide tenants who have provided notice that they wish to have a right of first refusal to return to the unit with written notice of the estimated completion date, any changes to this date, and final notification once the renovations/repairs are completed; c. require landlords to provide tenants with a grace period of at least 60 days after the rental unit is ready for occupancy, to allow tenants to move back in and provide the required 60-day notice to end their tenancy in their temporary accommodation; and d. allow tenants whose landlords fail to provide the required written notices, the grace period and/or the right of first refusal to apply to the Landlord and Tenant Board (LTB) for a remedy until the later of two years after the tenant moved out or six months after renovations/repairs are completed. 6. City Council reiterate its requests to the Province of Ontario to amend the Residential Tenancies Act, 2006, and/or related regulations to: a. reintroduce vacancy control legislation which ties rents to residential units rather than tenancies; b. introduce rent control to cover units first occupied after November 15, 2018; c. require landlords of residential units to be responsible for finding temporary accommodation or provide sufficient relocation assistance for their tenants for the duration of the renovations if tenants intend to return post-repair/renovation; d. require landlords to obtain a building permit before issuing an N13 notice of termination, provide a copy of the applicable permit to tenants together with any N13 notice of termination, require evidence that the permit was delivered with the N13 notice of termination as part of any L2 application to end a tenancy filed on that basis, and require the approved permit be provided to the LTB as part of any L2 application to end a tenancy filed on the basis of an N13 notice of termination; e. provide the same rights and compensation afforded to tenants in buildings with five (5) or more units to those in buildings with less than five (5) units; f. increase the required compensation for tenants in no-fault evictions; g. remove ex parte eviction orders for breached repayment agreements; h. require landlords to attach a plain-language tenants' rights information package to N13 eviction notices (similar to the City of Toronto's Eviction Prevention Handbook); i. regulate N11s and buy-out agreements; and j. amend Above Guideline Increase (AGI) rules to eliminate the eligibility of capital expenditures that constitute general repair and maintenance of the property; add a new subsection requiring landlords to save 10 percent of rental income to be accessed for capital expenditures; and require landlords to notify tenants of the decrease in advance of the date when rent is required to be reduced as specified in an order permitting an AGI related to eligible capital expenses. 7. City Council reiterate its requests to the Province of Ontario to make the following operational changes: a. allow tenants the right to in-person LTB hearings to eliminate technological barriers for individuals who do not have access to digital devices or reliable internet connection; b. simplify LTB notices with plain language so they are easily understood and ensure all forms include a tracking number that is linked to a public registry; and c. establish a provincial rental registry that tracks building ownership, rental rates, AGIs and their expiry dates, and LTB eviction filings and their outcomes; and monitor data on N12 and N13 evictions. 8. City Council reiterate its requests to the federal and provincial governments to significantly increase their investment in the HousingTO 2020-2030 Action Plan which will increase the supply of new affordable and supportive homes, protect existing rental stock including through retrofit programs, and help residents across the city to maintain their existing homes. 9. City Council forward this report to the Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) and Greater Toronto Hamilton Area municipalities for information, as they may be considering the development of similar strategies to address renovictions within their jurisdictions.