New controversial bill to target ‘renovictions’ passes Second Reading

By Melissa Nakhavoly and Victoria Revay

For many of those who rent in the city, making ends meet during the COVID-19 pandemic has become increasingly more difficult – including paying rent on time, if at all.

While a temporary pause on evictions is in place in the province, tenant advocates say backpay in rent is piling up and many are still getting eviction notices.

Advocates say this is leading to an uncertain future for many when it comes to where they will live once the ban on evictions is lifted.

A bill that passed second reading today in Ontario legislature is being highlighted for this very reason.

The legislation called Protecting Tenants and Strengthening Community Housing Act would make changes to the Residential Tenancies Act.

Mainly, the province says it would deter landlords from bad-faith evictions and “renovictions”— when landlords evict tenants saying they will renovate and then get a new, higher paying tenant once the repairs are done.

Some of the changes proposed include doubling the maximum fines for offences under the Residential Tenancies Act to $50,000 for an individual and from $100,000 to $250,000 for a corporation.

In addition, if passed, landlords would have to notify the LTB if they’ve previously evicted a tenant to use the unit for their own use – something the province says could help identify patterns in behaviour.

The new rules would also force landlords to pay up big for “bad faith” evictions. Landlords could be forced to pay compensation to the tenant of up to two years rent, or a maximum of $35,000.

According to Jonathan Kleiman, who is a lawyer that often deals with tenant and landlord disputes, said the changes would create further financial implications for landlords not to act in bad faith. He says if passed, the changes “seem fair and it seems like it’s something that needs to be done.”

“It boosts up the compensation to the tenant so now as opposed to before, where the tenant would be compensated for out of pocket expenses, whether that’s higher rent somewhere else moving costs, hotel costs…there would be an administrative fee of up to $35,000, now you also have a penalty of 12 months of rent for the for the tenant,” he said. “So not only does this create a further disincentive for the landlord. It actually gives something to the tenant.”

However, Keep Your Rent Toronto, a tenant advocacy group, said this bill is not protecting tenants at all.

They say it limits a tenant’s “legal defenses and in some cases, removing the requirement to hold eviction hearings.”

“If Bill 184 passes, tenants would need to give notice in writing of these complaints before a hearing occurs. When landlords apply to evict tenants for late rent, the tribunal can make repayment agreements,” they said. “Under the new law, if tenants are unable to fulfill those repayment agreements, landlords would not have to go back to the tribunal for an eviction hearing. Instead, the tribunal could issue a quick eviction order without a hearing.”

Suze Morrison, Ontario NDP Tenant Rights critic, also agrees, adding the province should not “capitalize on a pandemic to quietly ram through legislation that will make it easier for landlords to evict tenants.”

“You know the real crux of the issue here is that tenants need support to get through the crisis before us as many tenants are staring down thousands of dollars of back rent,” Morrison said. “And if this legislation were passed, if they had entered into an arrangement to try and get caught up in good faith with their landlord. [In the future may not be] able to meet the arrangement that they entered into with the landlord, no longer are they going to be able to go back to the Landlord and Tenant Board and try to renegotiate the deal.”

Kleiman adds there’s arguments on both sides and for good reason. But he says it’s in the best interest of both landlords and tenants to do the right thing.

Landlords should be much more careful to be very careful as I guess as always, but even more now, to be able to show that their evictions are in good faith,” said Kleiman. “If they intend to move in, they better do it. If they intend to renovate substantially and they’re able to convince the board to let them, they better do it. On the other hand, with tenants, for those groups that are out there saying don’t pay your rent. Well, the reality is that might come to bite you down the road.”

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