Ottawa city councillor puts forward motion to crack down on bad-faith renovictions
An Ottawa city councillor wants the city to do more to prevent bad-faith evictions amid a soaring number of tenants being forced out of their homes.
- Sign up now for our daily CTV News Ottawa newsletters
- The information you need to know, sent directly to you: Download the CTV News App
Coun. Ariel Troster has put forward a motion to the city's planning and housing committee that if approved, would direct staff to explore the option of introducing an "anti-renovictions" bylaw that could prevent landlords from evicting tenants for renovations without proof the construction is significant.
In Ontario, the N13 eviction notice—also known as a renoviction—informs renters that they must vacate their home because the unit needs major renovations. Advocates say renovictions force a current tenant to move out of a unit to raise rent exponentially for a new tenant.
"One of the ways that we can stop the current crisis in our shelter system is to do everything we can to stop bad faith evictions," Troster told 580 CFRA's Ottawa at Work.
"It's pushing people out of the city and increasingly, it's driving low income seniors to our shelter system."
The city of Ottawa has seen an increase in N13 eviction notices handed to tenants. Statistics from the Ontario Landlord and Tenant Board (LTB) show there was a 545 per cent increase in N13 notices filed in Ottawa between 2017 and 2022, and tripled between 2022 and 2023.
"I am quite sure a lot of these renovictions are being done in bad faith," Troster said.
Troster says she was inspired by the city of Hamilton, who this year became to first Ontario city to make it a requirement for landlords to provide a licence before making major renovations that require giving a tenant an N13 notice.
Troster says there is a need to introduce a similar policy in Ottawa.
"You do have to get permits, but you don’t have to show proof," she said.
"It's totally fine if you want to renovate your apartment and do some significant changes to the building. If that justifies asking the tenant to leave, then you need to prove it – I think that that's a pretty low bar."
Troster cites a Carleton University study that found that for every new unit of affordable housing built in Ottawa, 31 are being lost due to issues such as renovations or soaring rents.
Troster's motion will be discussed at the April 24 meeting of the city's planning and housing committee. The motion would direct staff to explore anticipated costs and report back to councillors.
City staff have considered a number of housing strategies to curb the impact of rent increases and prevent renovictions. A 2022 report said that an outright ban on all renovictions is not within the scope of the municipality's authority.
Ottawa's city council voted unanimously to declare housing and homelessness a crisis and an emergency in 2020.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Prince William and Kate release photo of daughter Charlotte to mark ninth birthday
Prince William and his wife Kate released a picture of their daughter Charlotte to mark the princess's ninth birthday on Thursday.
Weight-loss drug Wegovy available in Canada starting May 6
The makers of Ozempic say their weight-loss drug Wegovy will be available to patients in Canada starting Monday.
Five human skeletons, missing hands and feet, found outside house of Nazi leader Hermann Goring
Archeologists have unearthed the skeletons of five people, missing their hands and feet, at a former Nazi military base in Poland.
NEW A mother's hopes to free her son from a Syrian prison is revitalized by a new human rights report
Just days before the seventh anniversary of the day Jack Letts was thrown in prison with thousands of suspected ISIS fighters, his mother, Sally Lane, delivered a small stack of envelopes to the headquarters of Global Affairs Canada in Ottawa.
NEW Companies letting customers opt out of Mother's Day ads
In an effort to balance the profitability of Mother's Day with the pain it causes some people, some brands are offering customers the choice to opt out of Mother's Day email advertising.
DEVELOPING Police begin removing barricades at a pro-Palestinian demonstrators' encampment at UCLA
Police removed barricades and began dismantling a pro-Palestinian demonstrators’ fortified encampment early Thursday at the UCLA campus after hundreds of protesters defied police orders to leave, about 24 hours after counter-protesters attacked a tent encampment on the campus.
Dental care program accepting claims for 1 million seniors
Citizens' Services Minister Terry Beech says 1,200 seniors have already visited a dentist and had their claims processed by the federal government's new dental care plan.
Concerns about Plexiglass prompt inspections at some Loblaws locations in Ottawa
Inspections are underway at more than one Loblaws location in Ottawa after complaints were filed about tall Plexiglass barriers.
NEW Facial reconstruction reveals what a 40-something Neanderthal woman may have looked like
Scientists studying a Neanderthal woman's remains have painstakingly pieced together her skull from 200 bone fragments to understand what she may have looked like.