Chatham-Kent Council is calling on the Province of Ontario to take further action to protect multi-bedroom rental housing and help ensure families continue to have access to attainable places to live.
Council approved a motion from Councillor Melissa Harrigan directing municipal administration to advocate for a province-wide strategy aimed at preventing the loss of multi-bedroom rental properties.
The advocacy builds on steps already taken locally by Chatham-Kent Council to address renovictions and protect tenants, including the recent approval of a Rental Renovation Licensing By-law. The by-law adds a municipal regulatory process for rental renovations and is intended to help protect tenants from being improperly displaced under the guise of renovations.
However, the municipality’s ability to protect existing rental housing is limited by provincial legislation. Decisions involving residential tenancies and certain land-use matters fall under provincial legislation and can ultimately be determined by the Landlord and Tenant Board or Ontario Land Tribunal.
Council’s latest advocacy effort recognizes that even legitimate renovations can sometimes result in multi-bedroom units being converted or removed from the rental market. While these situations may not constitute a renoviction, they can still reduce the number of attainable housing options available to families.
“Families need rental homes that actually meet their needs, and protecting multi-bedroom units is an important part of protecting our local housing supply,” said Councillor Melissa Harrigan. “We have taken action locally to address renovictions, but municipalities only have so many tools available to us. We are asking the Province to work with municipalities on a broader solution that helps keep family-sized rental housing available in communities across Ontario.”
Council’s direction will see the protection of multi-bedroom rental housing incorporated into Chatham-Kent’s ongoing provincial advocacy efforts.
The initiative aligns with council’s continued focus on housing and homelessness and recognizes that maintaining existing attainable housing is an important part of addressing housing pressures alongside efforts to create new homes.
“Chatham-Kent Council has made housing a priority, and that means looking at both sides of the equation by building more housing while also protecting the housing we already have,” said Mayor Darrin Canniff. “Our Rental Renovation Licensing By-law gives us another tool locally, and now we’re asking the Province to use the broader tools available to them to help protect attainable rental housing for families.”
Through its Rental Renovation Licensing By-law and continued provincial advocacy, Chatham-Kent Council is working to use the municipal tools available while seeking legislative and policy changes at the provincial level to provide additional protection for tenants and the existing rental housing supply.
