Ottawa is contemplating an ‘anti-renoviction’ bylaw. This is how it could work

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Earlier in August, Debbie Staples received a dreaded N13 notice stating that she must vacate her Vanier studio apartment, citing the need for extensive renovations to the six-unit building where Staples has lived for 18 years.

The notice offered a long list of fixes to the building, including structural repairs and updates to plumbing and the electrical system, full renovations of kitchens and bathrooms as well as addressing concerns about asbestos and lead paint.

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In a letter dated July 21, Staples was offered $5,000 to permanently vacate her apartment. She is currently paying $587 a month. Retired and living on a fixed income, Staples said that, after paying rent, car-related expenses and utilities, she has little money left over for food.

“I’m calling the food bank at least once a month. And I hate that because I’m alone and there are families that need it more than me,” she said. “It’s really tough.”

Staples says she is being “renovicted,” a situation that occurs when a landlord issues an eviction notice, citing the need for significant renovations, then puts the unit back on the market at a higher rent, whether or not the renovations have been completed.

Staples’ landlord Jason Anbara, who bought two six-unit buildings at 265 and 269 des Pères-Blancs Avenue in June, denies the situation constitutes renoviction.

The two buildings were built around 1950 and need between $200,000 and $400,000 of work to make them livable, said Anbara, who has a 109-page inspection report detailing issues ranging from inefficient windows to rot damage.

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“The property is falling apart. The tenants should not be living under those conditions,” he said.

“We don’t want them to live in these conditions, but, if they refuse to leave, that is their option. As their landlord, I want to make sure they are living in humane conditions, and this 80-year-old property is in desperate need of care.”

Last spring, Ottawa councillors asked city staff to assess the feasibility of developing an “anti-renoviction” bylaw similar to one passed by Hamilton last January. Toronto and London are also contemplating anti-renoviction bylaws.

When Hamilton’s bylaw comes into effect in January 2025, tenants who have been issued N13 notices can reach out to Hamilton city staff to ensure that their landlords actually do the proposed renovations.

ACORN Ottawa, a tenants’ rights group, supports a Hamilton-style bylaw, spokesperson Evan Bury said.

“It would compel landlords to have an engineer’s report complete, for example, before they can proceed with getting permission from the city (for renovations),” he said. “Right now, we don’t have any of that protection.”

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Under the Hamilton bylaw, a landlord would have to get a building permit from the city, as usual, said housing policy researcher Steve Pomeroy, a professor at McMaster University’s Canadian Housing Evidence Collaborative.

But landlords will also have to get licences from Hamilton obligating them to complete the proposed renovations. An application for a renovation licence would include proof of a building permit and a letter from a qualified professional indicating that it was necessary for tenants to vacate to perform the repairs or renovations.

Meanwhile, if the tenant decides to invoke first right of refusal to return to the apartment after the renovation, the landlord would have to provide proof that there’s an arrangement for accommodation during the renovation period. That arrangement can mean the landlord is responsible for similar temporary housing or offering compensation to the tenant.

What happens if the renovations are a ruse to evict one tenant and find another willing to pay more?

If Ottawa adopts a bylaw, its important that tenants and tenant advocacy organizations understand how it works, Pomeroy said. The onus would be on the tenants to apply to the city to ensure the renovations were completed as proposed.

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Under Hamilton’s bylaw, if renovations don’t happen and a landlord has a new tenant who is paying more than the previous tenant, the landlord will be subject to a fine and will have to evict the new tenant and reinstate the previous one. Hamilton’s proposal for fines is $500 to $10,000 for an individual landlord and $500 to $50,000 for a corporation.

Under previous Ontario legislation, rent increases were limited for all units, whether there was tenant turnover or not, Pomeroy said. Allowing landlords to increase rents after a tenant vacated was meant to encourage landlords to revitalize aging rental stock. Renovictions were an unintended consequence.

Municipal bylaws are a complicated work-around to tackle the problem when the province could solve it by introducing new legislation or amending the Tenant Protection Act, Pomeroy said. At the same time, a bylaw would create an onerous process for landlords that legitimately want to improve their properties.

The City of Ottawa needs to answer important questions if it is to introduce a by-law, including how many resources the city will devote to enforcing it, says John Dickie, chair of the Eastern Ontario Landlord Organization (EOLO).

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Provincial legislation already spells out when landlords  can terminate tenancies for major renovations or demolitions, he said.

“Some people think landlords have free rein to force tenants out. That’s not accurate,” said Dickie, a  residential tenancy lawyer.

If a tenant receives an N13 notice and doesn’t believe the landlord plans to do extensive renovations, they don’t have to do anything, Dickie said. The onus is on the landlord to take the matter to the Landlord and Tenant Board, prove the need for the work and prove that the work is significant enough that the tenant must vacate. It takes time to get building permits and time to get hearings scheduled.

“The position of most EOLO landlords is that we need sufficient housing, and we need existing housing to be kept in good condition. At some point we need major renovations. At some point the intelligent thing to do is to demolish and build new,” Dickie said.

If Ottawa adopts a Hamilton-style by-law. bylaw, it won’t happen soon.

The council-requested assessment of the feasibility of developing a by-law similar to Hamilton’s will include an outline of anticipated timelines, costs and resource implication, as well as the planned or approved departmental projects that would have to be deferred or postponed, Valérie Bietlot, the City of Ottawa’s manager of business and technical support services, said in a statement.

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It’s expected the assessment will be provided to councillors by the end of September and will be considered at a standing committee in October. The report to the committee will include the feasibility assessment, but it won’t include an actual by-law. Rather, it will let city council know what would be needed to develop this type of by-law in Ottawa and to propose a work plan, Bietlot said.

The eviction date on Staples’ N13 notice says her landlord wants her to move out by Aug. 31. But the notice also says the date set out on the notice must be at least 120 days after the tenant receives the notice.

Staples is considering a limited range of unpalatable alternatives. Even if she accepts the $5,000 being offered to leave her apartment permanently, it won’t go far, she said  A comparable apartment would be more than double what she’s paying now. She would have to move in with one of her three brothers, who all live in one-bedroom apartments.

She has not ruled out living in her car.

“Where am I supposed to go? I’m stuck,” Staples said.

“Back in the day, I used to see moving vans all over the place. Now I don’t even see one now because no one can afford to leave.”

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