New Oakville bylaws will protect renters from losing their homes if a developer wants to demolish their building to put up a taller or pricier version.
Town council has approved two bylaws that will force owners of rental buildings with six or more units to seek a permit from the town before demolishing rental units or converting them to other uses.
Modelled on similar bylaws in Toronto and Mississauga, the rules will allow the town to impose conditions on any renovation or demolition that evicts tenants from six or more units.
That would cover traditional ‘renovictions,’ where property owners move out existing tenants to do large-scale renovations and then re-rent updated units at a higher price.
It would also protect renters if a developer sought to tear down their building and replace it with something new.
That scenario has recently landed before Oakville council, with the owners of 50 Speers Rd. looking to demolish a seven-storey apartment building and replace it with a 27-storey tower.
Long-term tenants in the building are worried that they will lose their affordably priced units and won’t be able to find anything similar in the market.
Under the new bylaws, the town could force the owners to provide new similar sized and priced units to existing tenants.
A range of other conditions could also be imposed on landlords of apartments or townhouses built as rental units.
Owners could be compelled to maintain at least the same number of rental units in a new building, or to maintain a minimum number of units at affordable rates. The terms might be in place for a decade or more.
Landlords could also be required to mitigate the impact on existing tenants beyond what is already required under the provincial Residential Tenancies Act.
That could mean additional compensation or help with finding a new unit, as well as guaranteed rights of return.
Permit conditions would be registered on the title of the building, forcing both existing and future owners to comply with the terms. The conditions will not be subject to appeal.
The rules won’t apply to rental condos, lodging homes, co-ops, basement apartments or Halton Region non-profit housing projects.
Ward 1 councillor Jonathan McNeice, whose suggestion brought about the bylaw, said he is glad to see the town be proactive.
“We used to see the renovictions you’d hear about, and we just may be starting to see this demoviction trend, so why not get ahead of it before we see more situations like we did with 50 Speers,” said the newly elected town councillor.
Town staff will consider permit applications on a case-by-case basis and negotiate suitable terms with the landlord. Those negotiations will remain confidential, but once an agreement is reached, details will be made public and shared with existing tenants for feedback.
Final approval of the permit – known as a Section 99.1 permit based on the section of the Municipal Act that allows these bylaws – will come from either town staff, or town council if it wishes to be directly involved.
The bylaws were approved by a vote of 11-2, with councillors Cathy Duddeck and Dave Gittings absent from the meeting.
Councillors Sean O’Meara and Natalia Lishchyna opposed the bylaws, questioning the possible impact on the town’s rental market and the lack of consultation with landlords.
O’Meara said he is worried the plan will deter landlords from making necessary building improvements.
“We have some absolutely god-awful, horrible rental buildings that need to be gutted, that need to be cleaned up and brought up to some sort of code,” he said.
But Mayor Rob Burton, who noted he was “delighted” with the bylaws, said that council has discretion in the types of conditions it imposes on each application.
“If there was a case that called for a light touch, then council could consider it,” Burton said.
“But there are a lot of apartment buildings in our town and many of them are old and the likelihood of renovations or other activities that would impact the tenants is increasing with every year, I would suggest.”
The bylaw will be implemented after the town creates a permit application process outlining procedures, fees and how existing tenants will be notified.
