Toronto councillors have just voted in favour of a new motion intended to further protect tenants in the city, particularly from dreaded "renovictions."

The proposal, adopted on Wednesday, takes inspiration from nearby Hamilton, which is implementing a special bylaw applicable to landlords looking to renovate a rental unit — something Toronto will now move forward in emulating.

Under Hamilton's Renovation Licence and Relocation Bylaw, property owners have to take additional steps when issuing an N13, which is a notice to end a lease in order to renovate, demolish or convert a unit for another use.

This would be great for tenants but would make some landlords think twice before becoming landlords. If this does happen hopefully slumloards don’t find too many loopholes.

— Andrey ( Andy) Shinberger (@AShinberger) February 27, 2024

N13s already come with a list of requirements, including that a landlord give their tenant(s) at least 120 days notice of the work, and that they offer the resident(s) the chance to move back into the unit, in the case of repairs or renovations, once the upgrades are complete.

Per the Ontario Landlord and Tenant Board, landlords must also provide one month to a year of rent as compensation, depending on the situation, or house the tenant(s) in another comparable unit permanently (if they are are not moving back in) or temporarily (until they move back in).

A City renovation bylaw adds additional layers to this. In Hamilton, it dictates that landlords must apply for and secure a special renovation licence — at a cost of $715 per unit — within seven days of delivering an N13.

This licence is contingent upon the proper documentation, which includes approved building permits and an engineer's report confirming that renters have to leave the premises for the work to take place.

The bylaw also enables the City to issue steep fines for landlords who don't take the proper steps: up to $10,000 for an individual and $50,000 for a corporation.

The idea is, of course, to ensure that N13s are issued in good faith, and not under false pretenses, as some bad actors have used the form as a means to boot tenants to find new ones and potentially jack up the rent in between (as provincial rent increase guidelines only apply to existing tenants).

Lavish Toronto house renting for $15k per month after controversial renoviction https://t.co/DSwYuX5G2w

— blogTO (@blogTO) February 15, 2024

While renovictions have indeed been an issue in Toronto and elsewhere in the province — Hamilton bylaw enforcement cited a 983 per cent increase in N13s from 2017 to 2022, though it is unclear how many of these were in bad faith — small landlords appear to be dealing with an uptick in issues on their side, too.

Multiple stories have emerged of homeowners having to live in their cars, couch surf or find other accommodations because tenants have simply refused to accept eviction orders for the landlord to move into their own unit.

Some have also been dealing with months in unpaid rent for this or other reasons as they continue to pay a mortgage, which they can't do anything about due to the backlog of tens of thousands of cases at the Landlord and Tenant Board — an issue that both landlords and tenants seeking justice have had to deal with, some of them without a place to live in the interim.

Adding a layer of bureaucracy of having to apply for a renovation permit and for an engineer's report, will add time & costs to the renovations. A bureaucrat will say the tenant can live in the living room while the bedroom and bathroom are being renovated. Crazy.

— Robert Kepes (@RobertGKepes) June 7, 2024

Toronto in particular saw a 77 per cent surge in landlords seeking to evict tenants so they themselves could move in last year, likely due to rapidly declining affordability in the city. But, if a tenant refuses to leave, or a landlord takes this route in bad faith, it is now many months before the affected parties can secure a hearing at the Board to deal with it.

Renoviction bylaws, like the one Toronto is now doing the leg work to get into action, will at least help give tenants the extra security of not having to worry that they could be randomly renovicted at any time. It's a step that tenant advocates and many residents are praising, but that others online seem to have their doubts about.