Item - 2019.PH6.13

The Planning and Housing Committee:

1. Established a subcommittee to make recommendations to the Planning and Housing Committee on the protection of affordable rental housing, including, but not limited, to such matters as:

a. the impact of N12 and N13 evictions on the supply of affordable housing in the City of Toronto; and

b. how the City of Toronto may better assist and protect tenants to stay in their apartments and protect the affordable housing supply in Toronto including suggested changes to the Landlord and Tenant Board process.

2. Appointed Councillor Paula Fletcher, Councillor Brad Bradford and Councillor Gord Perks to the subcommittee for a term of office until December 31, 2020 and until successors are appointed. 

3. Directed the subcommittee to meet a maximum of four times with the first meeting including the review of its terms of reference.

Across established neighbourhoods like Davenport, East York, Leslieville, Beaches and Parkdale tenants are being evicted from long time affordable dwellings through the use of what could be considered false and misleading applications to the Landlord and Tenant Board (LTB).

'Renovictions' are when false or misleading information about renovations is used to evict tenants. The Landlord and Tenant Board document for notifying tenants about renovations is N13 – "Notice to End your Tenancy Because the Landlord Wants to Demolish, Repair the Rental Unit", while quite often the work that is actually planned does not require a tenant to permanently vacate the unit.

The N12 is "Notice to End Your Tenancy Because the Landlord, a Purchaser or a Family Member Requires the Rental Unit". The media and community groups report an increase in the abuse of this process as well – citing examples where no one from the family moves into the apartment after it is vacated.

Quite often tenants simply move due to the uncertainty of an eviction. Those that stay may or may not end up being evicted at the LTB. Once vacated the rent is re-established at a much higher rent, thus turning an affordable space into one that is no longer affordable.

While the city is working so hard to build new affordable housing it is imperative to keep as many currently affordable units available as possible and as well as to ensure that only evictions that are legitimate are approved at the LTB.