NDP housing critic Jessica Bell said a proposal in Ontario’s new housing plan would allow the province to limit the powers of municipal rent replacement statutes. These rules protect tenants if their rental unit is demolished. The regulations, which exist in Toronto and Mississauga, mean developers must offer tenants financial assistance and the right to return to a replacement unit in the new building. “[Premier] Doug Ford wants to make it easier for developers to dump tenants by the hundreds and turn these affordable for-profit rentals into luxury apartments,” Bell said. “The consequences of [the bill] are potentially devastating to housing affordability.” Last week, Ford announced his government’s new plan to build new homes across Ontario. It has set ambitious targets for municipalities to ensure the province meets its overall goal of building 1.5 million new homes over a decade. The legislation has yet to be passed and contains sweeping changes to development rules across Ontario to, in part, incentivize developers. But the bill has also raised concerns from municipal leaders, conservation authorities and tenant advocacy groups. A spokesman for Ontario Municipal Affairs Minister Steve Clark said part of the solution to the province’s housing crisis is to ensure more rental units are built. “While the goal of a municipality’s charter may be to maintain affordable rents and protect renters, it can limit the supply of rental units and lead to a deterioration in the housing stock,” said Chris Poulos. “We will launch consultations to determine how we will protect our rental housing supply while promoting the construction of desperately needed rental housing,” he added.
The opposition is calling for a review of the plan
Bell called the proposed changes to rental replacement regulations a “devastating attack on renters” and said it would hurt Ontario’s already shrinking stock of affordable housing. The province should review the entire plan, he said. “We are calling on the Ontario government to develop a comprehensive housing plan to make housing affordable in Ontario,” Bell said. “This plan must include building more housing, building more supportive and affordable housing, cracking down on investor speculation and providing better protections for renters.” Patricia Johnston, who also spoke at the press conference, lives in an apartment complex in Toronto that is currently in redevelopment negotiations between the city and a developer. She has lived in the building for 17 years and said the government proposal could leave her homeless. “The building I’m in contains a lot of seniors who are on a fixed income, they’re worried they don’t have a place to go,” he said. “And now we’re being told that we won’t be eligible for a compensation package or that we won’t be eligible to go back when the new building is built. I can’t see where this bill represents or helps affordable housing.” Housing policy analyst Melissa Goldstein said Toronto’s rental replacement bylaw prevents these situations and is considered the best in the province. It requires anyone proposing to demolish six or more residential units where at least one is a rental unit to get city approval. The developer must offer tenants financial assistance and the right to return to a replacement unit at approximately the same rent. The rules have preserved more than 900 rental units in Toronto this year, he said. “Getting rid of these regulations will not fix our housing crisis,” he said. “It will make things much worse and the only winners will be the developers who will be lining their pockets with even more money.”
