Tenants' Rights Private Member's Bill

The NDP-sponsored Bill received first reading in the Legislature and contains a number of proposed changes to the law that tenant advocates have been seeking.

If passed, the Bill would make several changes to the RTA including:

Ending vacancy de-control and prohibiting a landlord from increasing the rent charged to a new tenant by more than the annual guideline amount.
increasing the time limit for most tenant applications to the Landlord and Tenant Board from one to two years.
Requiring a landlord who terminates a tenancy for personal use to compensate the tenant and expanding a landlord’s duty to compensate a tenant if the landlord terminates a tenancy for the purpose of demolition or conversion to non-residential use.
abolishing landlord applications to the Board for above-guideline rent increases where there has been an increase in the cost of utilities.
Requiring that the Landlord and Tenant Board dismiss an eviction application from a landlord who has been given a work order and has not completed the items in the work order or the order.

The Bill also would introduce a provincial landlord licensing scheme for units in a building with six or more rental units. The Bill is expected to come for 2nd reading debate soon, and ACTO will be following the debate closely and will take part in Committee hearings if it moves forward to the Committee stage.