'They're not being truthful': Tensions as Kitchener adopts renoviction bylaw

Plenty of discussion and debate were seen around the Kitchener horseshoe, with city councillors agreeing in a tight vote to approve a rental renoviction licensing bylaw.

According to the city, the new bylaw is intended to “protect tenants from bad‑faith evictions while still allowing legitimate renovation work to move forward.”

At the latest council meeting, delegates and advocates representing both landlords and tenants were in attendance, with councillors also working to have their thoughts and opinions heard on the divisive issue.

“I just want to say, I’ve rented,” said Councillor Debbie Chapman.

“I’m pretty sure that everyone around this table, if not in this room, has rented at some time in their lives. I can’t imagine being handed an N13 with very little compensation and having my world turned upside down at no fault of my own as a tenant.”

Delegates, including Douglas Kwan, Director of Advocacy and Legal Services with the Advocacy Centre for Tenants Ontario, discussed the current hardships being faced by many tenants amidst housing and affordability concerns.

While Kwan worked to describe some of the options and current conditions for local tenants, Councillor Bil Ioannidis pressed to learn more about what similar hardships tenants faced, particularly in terms of legal fees and costs, leading to a tense exchange.

“Do you charge those services (for tenants) or are they free?” asked Ioannidis.

“No. They’re paid by the province through Legal Aid Ontario,” Kwan stated.

“So when a landlord goes in, who does their legal? Do they get their legals free?”

“Yes, the Landlord’s Self-Help Centre is funded by the province, and they help small landlords.”

“No, that’s not true. I don’t believe that. I know that’s not true,” Ioannidis said.

“I assure you they exist and there’s an organization,” Kwan said.

“Councillor Ioannidis, the delegation is answering the question to the best of their ability,” interjected Chair and Kitchener Mayor Berry Vrbanovic.

“Well, they’re not being truthful, sir.”

“Councillor Ioannidis, that’s not appropriate.”

As the talks continued, Ioannidis spoke of the implications from both an administrative and a taxpayer perspective, saying that adding measures that are meant to be run by the provincial government would solely download the workload to city staff, as well as download those extra costs onto taxpayers.

“I think (the reason) every single one of us came on this council was that we were going to be committed to affordability, and we’re going to be committed to working on having better roads, better parks, better everything else,” Ioannidis stated.

“I don’t think anyone came on this council to say, ‘Hey, we’re going to go take on the province’s responsibility as well.'”

According to city staff, the integration of a new renoviction bylaw, alongside its ongoing implementation, would require two additional full-time staff members, as well as costing approximately $400,000 next year.

Mayor Vrbanovic said, though, that while there is a countless number of good examples when it comes to tenants and landlords across the city, the bad examples are the reason why councillors have to step forward and put specific local bylaws in place.

“There are some folks who, quite frankly, work the system,” Vrbanovic said.

“It becomes the role of government to address those situations when they exist.”

As the talks amongst various delegates and councillors pushed forward, councillors ultimately agreed in a close vote of 5-4 to approve and move forward with a rental renoviction licensing bylaw.

In a release, the city has said, “Informed by extensive research and engagement with tenants, landlords, community organizations, advocacy groups, and legal and housing service providers, the by-law creates a licensing process that requires a per‑unit licence for any renovation that needs a tenant to vacate their unit, as triggered by the service of an N13 notice.”

It added that it will now work to establish a fee structure and provide additional staffing to support administration, inspections, and enforcement.

As of now, work is expected to be done in terms of firming up the details of that new renoviction bylaw, with those new rules currently expected to go into effect around renovation-based evictions in January of 2027.