Toronto just voted to make it way harder for landlords to kick out tenants. 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 be doing as well. 

Under Hamilton's Renovation 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.

 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 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 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 out to find new ones and potentially jack up the rent in between. 

While renovictions have indeed been an issue in Toronto and elsewhere in the province — Hamilton bylaw enforcement cited a 983% increase in N13s from 2017 to 2022, though it is unclear how many of these were in bad faith. 

Toronto saw a 77% 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.