Have something to say about Toronto’s proposed renoviction bylaw? Now’s your chance

In June, Toronto city council directed city staff to create a bylaw that would curb the contentious practice of “renovictions,” wherein some landlords evict long-standing tenants under the guise of extensive renovations, but instead re-rent the unit at a much higher rate with minor or non-existent changes.

Public consultations on the bylaw and all it entails are set to begin Wednesday and advocates say it is a critical juncture in the process.

“Right now the community, we cannot [back down],” says Alejandra Ruiz Vargas, Canada chair for the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN). “If we, in this moment, decided to backtrack because of pressure or because we’re not sure that this is the solution, we are going to lose a lot of time and we going to lose a lot of opportunity. This is the moment when we have to go [ahead] with all [our strength].”

Ruiz Vargas is encouraging Torontonians to participate in the public consultations to ensure that their voices are not only heard, but that the city takes concrete action.

“Toronto tends to do things halfway sometimes because they want to test. We don’t need to test anything. It’s proven this is the right combination. Why test when people are screaming, in many ways, ‘please, this is what we need?’”

She cites the success of the renoviction bylaw in New Westminster, B.C., as proof that such bylaws are effective. As per that city’s statistics, renovictions went down to zero in 2019 when the bylaw was implemented. A similar bylaw has also passed council in Hamilton.

“We need [to ensure] that the bylaw will be exactly what we need. Like for example, we need to tell the landlords in some way with this bylaw that they cannot simply send you an N13 [notice to end your tenancy because the landlord wants to demolish the rental unit, repair it or convert it to another use] and say, ‘okay, it’s time to go,'” she says.

The proposed design of the Toronto bylaw will require landlords to apply for a renovations license beforehand, submit a report showing the unit has to be vacant to do those renovations and also provide compensation and accommodations to tenants in the mean time, where applicable.

“This gives certainty that when you go to the landlord and tenant board, I’m assuming that they’re going to want to see now with the renovictions bylaw, ‘yes, you have a building permit from the city of Toronto. You mean business, you’re really gonna make a big change there.’ You can’t just tick a box, take somebody to the tribunal, get them out and triple the rent,” says Coun. Paula Fletcher, one of the city councillors who has been leading the charge on the bylaw since 2019.

“We need to do this right. We need to de-incentivize landlords to do whatever they please. Period,” says Ruiz Vargas.

How to participate in public consultations

Torontonians can participate in consultations both in-person and online.

In-person consultations will be held at various community and civic centres across the city between Sept. 4 and Sept. 13 and a city-wide online consultation will be held on Sept. 9.

“People are welcome to attend those [in-person sessions] and get information, give your input, your feedback, ask questions about what’s being proposed, what the possibilities are. There’s no pre-registration or sign-up required,” explains Ted Van Vliet, Project Director, Toronto Building, City of Toronto.

In-person consultation meetings:

• Toronto East
  Date: Wednesday, Sep. 4
  Time: 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.
  Location: East York Civic Centre, 850 Coxwell Avenue – Foyer
• Toronto West
  Date: Thursday, Sept. 5
  Time: 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.
  Location: Parkdale Activity Recreation Centre (PARC), 1499 Queen Street West – Auditorium
• North York
  Date: Thursday, Sept. 5
  Time: 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.
  Location: Memorial Community Hall, 5110 Yonge Street – Burgundy Room
• Etobicoke
  Date: Saturday, Sept. 7
  Time: 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.
  Location: Etobicoke Civic Centre, 399 The West Mall – Council Chamber
• Scarborough
  Date: Sunday, Sept. 8
  Time: 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.
  Location: Scarborough Civic Centre, 150 Borough Drive – Atrium
• Downtown Toronto
  Date: Friday, Sept. 13
  Time: 1:30 p.m. to 3.30 p.m.
  Location: 55 John Street – Rotunda (main floor)

City-wide online session:
Date: Sept. 9
Time: 7:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
Click here to join via Zoom.
Meeting ID: 369 644 7895
Passcode: 740975
To join via phone: 647-374-4685

For those who cannot attend the in-person or online sessions, the city has created an online survey that can be completed by Sept. 30.

Click here to participate in the survey.

“The city does better when we say ‘here’s our bylaw we’d like to have, we need to hear what you think about it.’ So this is a really important period. Did we miss anything when we put forward this draft bylaw? Is there gonna be hardship or not? Does it protect tenants? Is it too much, is it too little? That’s what we’re going to hear,” says Fletcher.

“Public consultations are important so that we make sure that we hit all of the right topics. Council has given direction for this. We want to make sure that the bylaw that we come back with meets the needs of tenants, is clear for landlords and other interested parties as well,” adds Van Vliet.

“City staff will take the information and will analyze it. It’ll form a part of the final recommendations and reports. So it’ll be integrated into the bylaw where it’s appropriate. And we will bring that bylaw and report for consideration to the Planning and Housing Committee in October and onward to council, ideally in November.”

If the proposed bylaw is adopted by council, it is expected to come into force in early 2025.