Details of new rental licensing study up for council approval
Details of a new pilot study that will see rental units in two Windsor wards licensed and inspected in an effort to eradicate unsafe living conditions are up for council approval on Monday.
Following considerable community and stakeholder consultation in the months since council greenlit a two-year pilot study for Wards 1 and 2, administration has drafted a bylaw to regulate rental housing, particularly in areas where longtime residents have seen student-saturated rental units take over neighbourhoods.
If approved, the bylaw would require rental housing owners around the college and university to have their units licensed. To do so, units must comply with building and fire codes and undergo inspections annually.
“I'm sure a majority of landlords adhere to all these laws and adhere to bylaws, but it is a shame that a few bad apples are ruining it for everyone,” Ward 1 Coun. Fred Francis told the Star on Thursday. “That's just where we are now. We don't want anyone to get hurt. We don't want anyone to live in an unsafe situation.”
City council in March of 2021 voted to try the licensing system as a two-year pilot in response to a decade of complaints about vulnerable people stuffed into unsafe rental housing. While some have expressed concern that the licensing fee — $466 upfront and $275 for subsequent renewals — would be passed down from landlords to tenants and make the affordable housing crisis worse, Francis said the pilot project is a “measured approach” to allow council to “weigh what works and what doesn't” when the study ends.
Using information gathered through licence applications during the two-year study period, the city will document rental housing unit conditions with reactive and proactive inspections, ensure occupied units comply with applicable laws, work with community organizations to educate stakeholders on the rights and responsibilities associated with rental housing and collect data to monitor objectives, including impacts to specific populations, where possible.
The data will be collected and reported to council with a summary of the study's findings. Council will then be able to decide whether the program should end or be extended citywide.
“I think this is a good, necessary first step,” said Ward 2 Coun. Fabio Costante.
Costante and Francis said they've heard complaints about overcrowded houses from those living nearby. While some live in legal units, others are living in, for example, “basements that have very low ceilings, don't have a separate exit and create a potential fire risk,” Costante said.
Exempt from licensing will be properties with five or more units; units occupied by the property owner, their spouse, child, or parent; hotels, motels or inns; accommodations already licensed by the city; long-term care and retirement homes; and social or affordable housing units under agreements with the city.
If the draft bylaw is passed, it's expected the study won't begin for another six months. Francis said he would like to see that process expedited so the licensing requirement can be in place before the next school year begins.