The City of Toronto Follows into the Footsteps of Hamilton

By Implementing the Same Bylaw to Hinder Renovictions

By Mirjana (Mira) Markovic

Last year I wrote an article on the topic of renovations. The full article can be accessed by clicking here.

To Summarize, The City of Hamilton (“City”) was the first municipality to adopt and implement a bylaw to deter landlords from bad-faith evictions and further promote better protection for tenants, especially those who are vulnerable and rely on the affordable housing sector. The said bylaw was in the works for over a year and on January 17, 2024, the City’s councillors voted unanimously in support of the bylaw. The bylaw has taken effect as of January 1, 2025, and applies to all rental housing units in Hamilton as of this date.

On November 14, 2024, the City of Toronto council followed in the footsteps of Hamilton and adopted the same bylaw to try to curb bad faith evictions, allow honest landlords to carry out necessary renovations and/or repairs to their properties, and protect tenants from arbitrary evictions. The said bylaw will come into effect on July 31, 2025.

Landlords to wish to evict tenants for renovations and/or repairs, will be obligated to follow the same procedure as the landlords in Hamilton and apply for a renoviction licence within seven (7) days of issuing an eviction notice called the N13 Notice (“Notice”). For the full details of the step-by-step procedure please click on the hyperlink above.

Concluding Remarks:

Both the City of Hamilton and Toronto hope that by implementing the renoviction bylaw, it will discourage landlords from arbitrarily evicting tenants, especially those who are vulnerable and rely on the affordable housing sector.

We will have to wait and see how 2025 unfolds and whether such a program will be effective.

The momentum continues to build I anticipate that other municipalities will follow in the near future.

I hope that this article has provided you with some helpful information. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me at mira@sorbaralaw.com.