Creating sub-classes with higher property taxes for \u201crepeat, chronic offenders\u201d under the city\u2019s landlord registration program could curb the number of bad actors in Brampton\u2019s rental market, Coin. Rowena Santos says. (Photo: Coun. Santos)<\/p>\n
Creating sub-classes with higher property taxes for \u201crepeat, chronic offenders\u201d under the city\u2019s landlord registration program could curb the number of bad actors in Brampton\u2019s rental market, one councillor says.<\/p>\n
The idea comes from Coun. Rowena Santos, and was inspired by the City of Edmonton\u2019s Problem Property Initiative \u2013 a program addressing problematic occupied and unoccupied properties in that city which lead to frequent complaints or safety concerns.<\/p>\n
Alberta\u2019s tax laws are different from Ontario\u2019s, and the city implemented a derelict residential subclass in 2024 which allows the city to charge three-times the property tax rate to owners that are assessed as derelict.<\/p>\n
Costs for remedial action work completed by the city are also charged to the tax roll of the property owner.<\/p>\n
Santos says she learned more about Edmonton\u2019s program during the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) Annual Conference and Trade Show earlier this month, and the city is now calling on the province to introduce a \u201csub-class\u201d for problem properties, similar to rules in Alberta.<\/p>\n
READ MORE: Parking fines up over 170% under rental licensing program in Brampton<\/a><\/p>\n Brampton uses graduated fines with increasing penalties \u201cto encourage early corrective action and reduce non-compliance,\u201d and found 58 per cent of RRL matters are resolved at the \u201cIntermediate Penalty\u201d level following a first offence. Issues with additional rental units (ARUs) are also mostly dealt with at the intermediate stage (51 per cent).<\/p>\n Some 5 per cent of RRL matters escalated to the highest penalty, and landlords who remain in non-compliance with the RRL program face escalation through the Provincial Offences Court and penalties up to $100,000.<\/p>\n Santos said RRL enforcement has managed to identify \u201cthe worst of the worst,\u201d but says some \u201crepeat, chronic offenders\u201d would rather pay fines and fix ongoing issues. Hitting problem landlords on their property tax bill would be a way of encouraging compliance, she says.<\/p>\n \u201cWe need to make it that the cost of doing business as a slum landlord no longer is a benefit to them,\u201d Santos said during a committee of Brampton City Council meeting last week.<\/p>\n Brampton Bylaw Services has handed out penalty notices with fines of at least $695,550 under the RRL program, and the report shows there have been 620 fire safety inspection orders issued \u201cwhere deficiencies were identified\u201d since January 2024.<\/p>\n Starting next week,\u00a0Brampton Bylaw Enforcement officers will be rotating through all ten wards in the city under a plan designed to crackdown on ongoing resident concerns<\/a> related to parking enforcement, property standards and other issues.<\/p>\n The patrols will help bylaw enforcement address neighbourhood challenges sooner and improve responsiveness to resident concerns in each of Brampton\u2019s wards and areas \u201cidentified as having the highest number of service requests\u201d and \u201crepeat concerns and compliance failures,\u201d the city says.<\/p>\n