As the number of tenants being forced out of their homes soars, an Ottawa city councilor wants the city to do more to prevent bad-faith evictions.
The city has seen a significant increase in the number of N13 forms being used for evictions – which require a tenant to move out so a landlord can do major renovations and charge a higher rent.
According to a renoviction report by ACORN, the number of N13’s filed in Ottawa from 2021 to 2022 jumped 545 per cent.
Coun. Ariel Troster now wants the city to explore an anti-renoviction bylaw. Looking to Hamilton, the first city in the province who is requiring a renovation licence for landlords and allowing tenants to return to their units at the same rent.
“Our office has been absolutely inundated with calls,” said Troster, who is putting forward a similar motion to the city’s planning comittee.
“We have no provincial tenancy control right now, which means, in between tenants, a property owner can raise the rent as much as they want. Citywide, this is leading to a massive problem that’s driving people into homelessness.”
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It’s crazy to me that landlords don’t need to be licensed. I can’t think of any other service provider that provides anywhere near this level of accommodation that doesn’t need to be licensed. I know there are a handful of cities that have it, but it should be done federally IMO.
It would help make sure the accommodation is to code (fire escapes, alarms, mold, locks etc.), as well as ensure that the income collected in on the books and taxed properly. It would also ensure the landlord knows the laws, rules and guidelines they must follow.
But them not knowing the laws can actually benefit you in the end, provided you know the laws.