Ottawa Councillor Challenges Provincial Legislation
An Ottawa city councillor is taking a stand against proposed provincial legislation that housing advocates claim would significantly undermine tenant rights across Ontario. Rideau-Vanier Coun. Stéphanie Plante tabled a motion during last week's council meeting, urging the city to formally voice its opposition to Bill 60, the Fighting Delays, Building Faster Act.
What Advocates Say Bill 60 Would Change
Introduced at Queen's Park on October 23, Bill 60 proposes a series of amendments to the Residential Tenancies Act that the provincial government says are designed to make conditions more favourable for builders and address the housing crisis. However, tenant advocacy groups interpret the legislation very differently.
Eddy Roué, chair of the Central-Ottawa chapter of ACORN, asserts that the bill represents an attack on tenants rather than a minor technical adjustment. According to ACORN's analysis, the legislation would introduce several concerning changes that could make it easier to evict people. These proposed changes include:
- Preventing tenants from raising new issues on the day of a Landlord and Tenant Board hearing.
- Making it more difficult for tenants to challenge N11 voluntary evictions.
- Reducing the time to appeal unfair eviction decisions from 30 days to just 15 days.
- Fast-tracking evictions for late payment and cutting tenant eviction notice periods from 14 days to seven days.
- Eliminating compensation for tenants evicted for a landlord's own use if they are given four months' notice.
- Restricting tenants' ability to postpone evictions, even during emergencies.
The Broader Impact on Ottawa's Rental Landscape
The motion to oppose Bill 60 comes at a critical time for Ottawa's housing market. According to the city's 2024 housing needs assessment, 36 percent of all households in Ottawa are currently renters. This number is projected to grow significantly, with renters expected to make up 43 percent of all city households by 2035, driven by factors like rising home prices and slow income growth.
Compounding the issue, Ottawa's vacancy rate was just 2.6 percent last year, with no vacant units available for $775 a month or less. Advocates like Roué fear that the proposed changes in Bill 60, framed as a solution to the housing crisis, could instead exacerbate homelessness and housing insecurity for a large and growing segment of Ottawa's population.
