Public weighs in on London, Ont. renoviction bylaw

The bylaw as it stands would require landlords to pay $400 per-unit fee for a renovation licence from the city within seven days of serving the N13 notice.

More than a dozen Londoners let members of city council know how they felt about the city’s renoviction bylaw during a council committee meeting Monday afternoon.

At a Community and Protective Services committee meeting, a public participation meeting was held to gather feedback on the proposed bylaw. It aims to curb bad-faith N13 notices, otherwise known as renovictions.

A N13 notice is used by landlords to inform tenants that significant renovations need to be done to their units and they need to relocate. While some N13s are in good faith, some landlords have been accused of abusing the notice to evict current tenants so rent can be increased.

The bylaw as it stands would require landlords to pay $400 per-unit fee for a renovation licence from the city within seven days of serving the N13 notice. It would also require approval from a city engineer or architect that the repairs/renovations warrant the tenant vacating the unit.

While the bylaw is a step in the right direction, it lacks necessary tenant protections, according to co-chair of the Carling-Stoneybrook chapter of ACORN London Nawton Chiles.

“What we’re looking for is to require the landlords to find alternative accommodations for tenants, while the renovation is ongoing, and that is not there,” Chiles said outside City Hall prior to the meeting.

“Even if landlords pay this small (cost) to the city for rent evicting a tenant, the tenant themselves will still have to find housing, which if they’re on a fixed and limited income is increasingly difficult.”

Additionally, the bylaw as proposed is lacking when it comes to preventing renovictions and fining landlords who may be found in bad faith, Chile said.