Cracking down on shady landlords

The saying goes that the punishment must fit the crime. And yet, when it comes to shady landlords in Ontario, it would seem the punishment inadvertently rewards the crime.

This is the takeaway from a recent analysis by the Star’s Victoria Gibson which determined that even when landlords break the rules by improperly evicting tenants, they often face “far milder punishments than are available.” Even more damning, landlords caught breaking the rules and fined as a result are often able to quickly recoup their losses by raising the rents on their properties.

Indeed, between November 2022 and November 2023, the Star identified 11 rulings at the Landlord and Tenant Board where a landlord was caught giving an eviction notice in bad faith. In six of those cases where the rent was raised after tenants were inappropriately evicted, the landlord “could have recouped the cost of their punishment by the hearing date.”

What makes this trend particularly troubling, beyond the fact that Ontario faces a growing housing crisis, is that the province has already vowed tougher consequences for scofflaw landlords.

In 2020, the provincial government introduced new legislation that increased the maximum fines for housing law offences from $25,000 to $50,000. Yet, according to the Star’s reporting, none of the aforementioned landlords caught giving bad faith eviction notices were slapped with an LTB fine of more than $10,000. And even when tenants took their concerns to the supposedly more discerning Rental Housing Enforcement Unit — the steepest fine that unit levied in the 2022-23 cycle was $20,000.

It is unacceptable and unconscionable that amid a severe housing shortage, many landlords who defy the rules for their own gain do not feel anything resembling the full extent of the law. The provincial government is keen to remind the people of Ontario how committed it is to building housing; Premier Doug Ford recently handed out millions to cities that met their provincially defined housing targets.

But he has an equal responsibility to do right by renters in the province, a growing demographic typically underserved and ignored by the political class.

It should go without saying that the glaring lack of affordable rental housing in our society is not a problem that can be solved nor even slightly mitigated by way of steeper fines. However, bad actors must know that legitimate consequences exist for their actions; there is little point introducing punitive measures if authorities are hesitant to use them.

It is our view that if it is at all serious about improving the housing situation for every Ontarian, the provincial government must take a firmer stance with landlords who evict tenants for no good reason. And that stance must include giving landlords a very good reason to abstain from bad behaviour, such as a financial penalty they can’t immediately recoup.

Additionally, we urge municipalities to pitch in to curb the problem wherever they can: more specifically, they can follow Hamilton’s lead, which will become the first municipality in Ontario to implement a bylaw whose stated goal is to prevent so-called “renovictions.”

The bylaw will require that all landlords in the city apply for and obtain a “renovation license” prior to beginning any renovation work that would require the delivery of an N-13 eviction notice. Such a license would include a building permit and an engineer’s report, the latter to determine that the landlord is telling the truth — that the unit will actually be unlivable during construction.

The good news for Torontonians is that last month four Toronto councillors formally asked the city to investigate what it would take to implement a similar policy in Toronto. We hope the city can move quickly to follow suit.

In the end a Hamilton style bylaw is not a silver bullet. Nor are hefty fines for exploitative landlords. But taken together both measures are an added layer of protection against the flagrant mistreatment of Ontario tenants and a small yet consequential step toward a fair housing future for all.

It is unacceptable and unconscionable that amid a severe housing shortage, many landlords who defy the rules for their own gain do not feel anything resembling the full extent of the law