Tenant advocacy groups are raising increasing alarm about proposed changes to Ontario’s eviction rules, as the provincial Progressive Conservatives on Thursday bypassed public hearings and limited debate on Bill 60.
The fast-track push was introduced in a motion from government house leader Steve Clark on Wednesday. That motion added fuel to frustration among rental advocacy groups who had hoped to voice opposition to changes like removing compensation for tenants kicked out for a property owner’s own use.
“This bill, like many others since the legislature has come back for the most recent session, is basically being bypassed, fast-tracked, however you want to call it to basically rid any potential public scrutiny,” said Lindsay Blackwell, a member of tenant advocacy group No Demovictions who was pushed out of her former rental for a teardown.
Ontario’s majority PC government has recently expedited other changes, including a bill banning municipalities from using speed cameras. To Blackwell, the pace has been bewildering.
“Us along with other tenants and advocacy organizations are absolutely horrified,” she said, describing the bill as being “jammed through the legislature.”
It’s been two weeks since the province introduced Bill 60, kicking off a firestorm of criticism at first centred around the government floating changes to renters’ security of tenure — rules that ensure leases automatically extend at the end of an initial term. Briefing materials distributed by the government suggested landlords could be given new options to “adjust tenancy arrangements based on market conditions, personal needs or business strategies,” framing it as a way to “potentially” boost rental supply.
The province back-peddled on those consultations days later, with Housing Minister Rob Flack announcing on social media platform X that the government had decided “not to proceed” with changes to the month-to-month lease rules. “Residents expect stability and predictability in Ontario’s rental market, and now is not the time to consider changes to this system,” Flack wrote.
But the government has forged ahead on other proposed changes, including increased restrictions on tenants’ ability to raise new issues at eviction hearings without notice, reductions in the time allowed to seek a review of Landlord and Tenant Board decisions from 30 days to 15 days, and the removal of compensation for tenants whose landlord wants to evict them to move into the unit themselves, so long as at least 120 days’ notice is provided.
These changes, among provisions of the new bill, have upset tenant advocacy groups who see them as an erosion of renter protections.
The government has said their hope is to reduce delays at the chronically backlogged tribunal and “limit bad actors from abusing the system.”
The changes have been welcomed by at least one landlord advocacy group. Tony Irwin, president of the Federation of Rental-housing Providers of Ontario, told the Star they backed any moves to unjam the Landlord and Tenant Board.
“While processing times at the Landlord and Tenant Board have been improving … they continue to be too long for both providers and residents alike. So, government actions that lead to greater efficiency so disputes can be heard and adjudicated in a more timely fashion is something we’re in favour of,” Irwin said in an interview after the bill was introduced.
But critics like Chiara Padovani, founder of the York South—Weston Tenant Union, see the changes as largely benefitting property owners. “It’s just so obviously pushing the finger on the scales in favour of landlords,” she said.
She warned of worsening homelessness if the proposals to speed up the eviction process are passed into law, and is frustrated by the expedited process.
“The fact that the government doesn’t want to have the public consultations is because they know the public is adamantly opposed,” she said.
A spokesperson for Flack, in an email Thursday, framed the proposed changes as a way to address Landlord and Tenant Board backlogs.
“We are rebuilding confidence in Ontario’s rental housing market to ensure families can find a safe place to call home,” spokesperson Alexandra Sanita said, while pointing to past moves aimed at protecting renters, such as boosting maximum fines for breaches of the Residential Tenancies Act.
Her email did not address concerns over forgoing public hearings on Bill 60. The opposition NDP at Queen’s Park has meanwhile lambasted the move as “undemocratic.”
Bill 60 has also set off alarm bells at Toronto City Hall, with Mayor Olivia Chow in a public letter saying she was “relieved” the province walked back potential changes to security of tenure, but still found the bill “very concerning.”
Chow’s executive committee this week asked senior city staffers to provide an analysis for next week’s council meeting about the impacts of Bill 60 on renters. A motion, passed on for council consideration, also asked the city’s solicitor to “review legal options” for challenging provisions of Bill 60.
When asked by the Star last week for comment about tenant advocates raising concerns about Bill 60, including a hastening of evictions and increasing homelessness, as well as concerns raised by Chow about the bill, a spokesperson for Flack referred Star reporter Manuela Vega back to the statement Flack posted online about security of tenure.
“Ontario will continue to implement common-sense reforms and strengthen the province’s rental housing market by restoring balance at the Landlord and Tenant Board, cracking down on abuse of the system, and encouraging new rental construction to make it easier for families to find a place to call home,” the statement reads.
With files from The Canadian Press and Manuela Vega
