Mayor Olivia Chow has warned that Bill 60 will make it easier for landlords to evict tenants
Premier Doug Ford’s government’s controversial tenancy reform bill passed a final vote on Monday at Queen’s Park, clearing the way for changes to Ontario’s Residential Tenancies Act.
Under Bill 60, the Fighting Delays, Building Faster Act, Ontario landlords will no longer be required to provide one month’s rent compensation when evicting tenants for “personal use,” provided they give 120 days notice.
Additionally, the notice period before landlords can file eviction applications for rent arrears will be cut from 14 days to seven days. The review period for tenants to appeal Landlord Tenant Board (LTB) decisions will be slashed to 15 days, down from 30.
Renters will also be barred from raising new issues, such as complaints about maintenance failures or landlord harassment, at LTB rent arrears hearings unless they provide proper advance notice.
The Ford government time-allocated the legislation to speed up its passage, and eliminated public hearings and committee review on its contents.
At City Hall, Toronto councillors voted this month to formally oppose Bill 60, warning its changes to tenant protections could drive more people into homelessness and overwhelm city services.
“Some have claimed that the changes in Bill 60 will incentivize developers to build, however our experience at the City shows us that making it easier to evict renters is not what builds housing,” Mayor Olivia Chow said in a letter to her executive committee last month.
Over the weekend, hundreds of housing advocates and Toronto residents marched in protest of the legislation.
Stacey Semple, an organizer with the economic justice advocacy group ACORN, told TorontoToday on Saturday that landlords, especially corporate landlords, were already looking for ways to evict longstanding tenants so they can raise rents on their units. Bill 60 would embolden them further, she argued.
“Why are you feeding corporate landlords more tools to make more money when the tenants are having a hard enough time in this economy?” she questioned. “Landlords already have so many advantages that if they give them more, you’re gonna see massive homelessness within just a short period of time.”
Housing Minister Rob Flack has maintained that Bill 60 will restore “balance” and rebuild “confidence” in Ontario’s rental market by “ensuring accountability for those who repeatedly abuse the system and create backlogs at the Landlord Tenant Board.”
Bill 60 “also ensures families who depend on rental income are able to pay their mortgages, property taxes, and utility bills,” a spokesperson for the minister told TorontoToday earlier this month.
More than 130 organizations signed an open letter warning the proposed changes would deepen the province’s housing and homelessness crisis.
“Bill 60 will expedite evictions by giving tenants less time and fewer means to pay rental arrears — right as Ontario is experiencing record unemployment and job losses,” said the letter, which was signed by grassroots Toronto groups such as Climate Justice Toronto, FoodShare Toronto, Progress Toronto and Toronto Centre Tenant Union.
“It will also make it more difficult for tenants to dispute an eviction application or appeal an eviction decision, and it takes away discretion from adjudicators at the Landlord and Tenant Board to consider a tenant’s circumstances before ruling on an eviction order,” the letter continued.
On Monday, the Ontario NDP called the passage of Bill 60 “a shameful day for Ontario.”
The most controversial aspect of the province’s planned rental reforms was quickly withdrawn after public outrage.
The province initially proposed consulting on ending “security of tenure” — the principle that allows tenants to remain in their homes indefinitely as long as they follow their lease terms. Minister Flack walked back the proposal, which critics warned would effectively end rent control, late last month.
— With files from TorontoToday’s Emma Johnston-Wheeler, Aidan Chamandy and Kathryn Mannie.