Item - 2024.PH10.10

The Planning and Housing Committee:

1. Directed the Deputy City Manager, Development and Growth, and the Deputy City Manager, Infrastructure Services, to include in their upcoming report to the Planning and Housing Committee consideration and analysis of the Hamilton Renovation and Tenant Relocation By-law and how that approach could be adopted by Toronto.

In the 2018-2022 term of City Council, the Planning and Housing Committee set up a subcommittee for the protection of affordable rental housing. This committee was set up expressly to deal with Renovictions – evictions where a landlord gives a tenant an N-13. An N-13 is supposed to be only used for renovations so substantial that a building permit is required and the unit must be empty to undertake them.

At the Subcommittee, many tenants and advocates spoke about their experiences of not understanding their rights, of being pushed hard to leave their home despite no evidence that renovations were going to be substantial as well as being offered money to sign away their rights and leave.

There were many instances where tenants left and while only cosmetic changes took place the rent was doubled or tripled in the same apartment. Many tenants have been forced out of their long time homes and neighbourhoods where they actually had the right to stay.

It became clear that an N-13 eviction notice should be tied in some way to a building permit. With the end of the 2022 term, the Committee ended without being able to advance this as a solution.

The City of Hamilton has now found a way to tie the N-13 to a building permit with their new Renovictions bylaw that requires landlords to obtain a Renovations Permit after they have issued an      N-13 to tenants. In Hamilton's bylaw passed in January 2024, the landlord has seven days to apply to the City for a Renovation License, which includes a building permit, an engineer's report to certify that the unit is not habitable during the construction, and a copy of the N-13 issued to the tenant.

If tenants exercise their formal right to move back into the unit under the Residential Tenancies Act, 2006, Hamilton's renovation license requires that that the landlord provide the tenant with suitable relocation assistance and share this information with the City.

This also triggers the City to provide information to tenants about their rights and the N-13 process including how tenants can file a right of first refusal.

The Hamilton By-law is a unique and innovative example of how City's can protect renters. We are seeking the Committee’s support to have the staff incorporate analysis of the Hamilton by-law into their upcoming report back on the renoviction by-law.

We ask all Committee members for their support.