Ottawa city council passed a motion to research a potential bylaw which would address the city’s growing issue of “renovictions.”
Renovictions occur when a landlord evicts a tenant to complete major renovations on the leased property. Oftentimes, the property is redeveloped for the purpose of attracting higher paying commercial and residential tenants.
At a Jan. 22 council meeting, student representatives and advocacy groups such as the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN) voiced concerns about the need to control renovictions for the future of housing in Ottawa.
“It’s a priority to get these bad landlords in order right away,” Debbie Staples, the block captain for ACORN Ottawa’s Vanier chapter, told the Charlatan.
Staples, who described herself as a “renoviction victim,” said she has experienced the stress and hardship the practice can cause. Staples said she was given “super short notice” and offered $5,000 to move out of her home, in what she called a “cash for keys buyout.”
“I’d been at my residence for 18 years and all of a sudden the rug was pulled under me in the matter of a blink of an eye,” Staples said.
On Jan. 15, the city’s planning and housing committee voted to bring the renoviction motion to city council, despite a report from city staffers recommending against a bylaw. The planning and housing committee meeting provided an opportunity for over 20 community members to speak about the devastation renovictions have brought into their lives.
The report, regarding the feasibility of implementing a renoviction bylaw in Ottawa, argued it would be “costly.”
Somerset Coun. Ariel Troster, who first introduced the motion in April 2024, argued that the right to evict tenants is being abused by “bad faith” landlords.
“Every unnecessary eviction is not only a human tragedy but costs our city money,” Troster told city councillors. The goal of the motion is to investigate how to put a stop the “bleeding” of the homelessness crisis in Ottawa, she said.
The motion directs Ottawa to request that the provincial government enforce tenant protections in the Residential Tenancies Act through Bill 97, which was passed in June 2023, but has yet to be enacted. If the city does not receive a response from the province by April 1, then it will press ahead with the study of its own bylaw.
The policy also requests funding for public awareness and legal clinics to support people impacted by renovictions.
Though tenant rights and landlord responsibilities typically fall under provincial jurisdiction, Troster said the city must take action where the province has not intervened.
“We wouldn’t be in this position if the province did its job,” she said.
Barrhaven West Coun. David Hill, who was one of the six councillors to vote against the motion, raised concerns that an anti-renoviction bylaw could negatively impact the housing market.
“Looking at all [renoviction] notifications as a bad thing is a disingenuous oversimplification,” Hill said, adding banning renovictions could lead to a decrease in the quality and supply of available and affordable housing.
City staffers said enforcing a renoviction bylaw could cost the city $2 million per year.
The motion passed 19-6, including support from Mayor Mark Sutcliffe.
“We are facing a crisis that threatens to undo all the progress we have worked so hard to achieve,” Laviolette told the council during the meeting.
According to Laviolette, her landlord tried to trick them into signing incorrect paperwork, neglected to make necessary repairs, and gave no opportunity for Laviolette to return after the renovations were completed.
“The situation has left me constantly worried about what will happen next,” Laviolette said. “I simply cannot afford to move, and more importantly, I cannot afford to lose the community that has provided support for my child.”
Pierre Girard, an ACORN member who is in the process of being evicted, said landlords often don’t offer solutions to their tenants when they give their renovation notices.
“They don’t want to talk to us,” Girard said. “Not at all.”
Artur Estrela da Silva, the vice-president (student issues) for Carleton University Students’ Association, also spoke during the Jan. 15 meeting. He advocated for student protections from renovictions amid rising housing costs in Ottawa.
“I think it’s a move in the right direction, something that the city should be striving towards,” Estrela da Silva said of the proposed bylaw. “It puts Ottawa as a [better option] for pursuing post-secondary education because a city in which renovictions are simply not accepted is one where students are more secure.
Housing and affordability is one of the items on CUSA’s advocacy roadmap priorities this year.
“Rent evictions are an issue that we did have student testimony from and is also something that we know for a fact that students, [who] are often in a position of more vulnerability, can be victim to,” Estrela da Silva said.
While ACORN and CUSA considered the council’s decision a major win, tenants experiencing evictions now and in the near future may not feel any relief. Following the province’s response by the April deadline, city council will then take a year to research and implement its renoviction bylaw.
“It’s too late,” Girard said. “[I] just want to stay in my place. I have been there for 13 years. I’m 63 years old, I don’t want to move.”
Featured image by Daniel Arnold/the Charlatan.
