Market Insight for November 28

Ontario legislators have voted to pass Bill 60, a controversial housing bill that proposes amendments to tenancy rules.

Here’s what you need to know as the bill gets closer to becoming law. Once it receives Royal Assent, it will formally become an Act of the Ontario Legislature.

It is aimed at speeding up housing and infrastructure delivery, changing planning and development rules, reshaping parts of the landlord-tenant system, and restructuring how some municipal services, like water, sewage, and roads, are governed.

Bill 60, officially named the “Fighting Delays, Building Faster Act,” is an omnibus bill introduced by Ontario’s Progressive Conservative government focused on housing and development processes in the province.

The government says the bill is meant to protect the economy by cutting red tape, speeding up construction and development, increasing rental housing supply and addressing delays at the backlogged Landlord and Tenant Board (LTB).

Schedule 12 of the bill, which includes amendments to the province’s Residential Tenancies Act, has attracted the most public attention.

How will Bill 60 affect Ontario tenants?

Changes to the Residential Tenancies Act laid out in the legislation include:

Compensation:  Landlords who are evicting tenants for personal use reasons would not need to compensate tenants or offer them another rental unit if notice is given at least 120 days in advance. Currently, landlords must compensate tenants with one month’s rent in this situation.

Non-payment of rent: Landlords may file to evict tenants seven days after providing notice over non-payment of rent. Landlords previously had to wait 15 days to file to evict tenants over missed rent payments.

Raising issues at hearings: Tenants would be required to give advance notice before raising any new issues at a Landlord and Tenant Board hearing involving non-payment of rent. They would also need to pay half of the rent arrears listed in the landlord’s application, along with any additional amounts set by regulation, before the hearing, and within timelines established by those regulations.

Tenant appeals: Tenants will have less time to ask for a review of Landlord and Tenant Board decisions. Tenants now have 15 days to appeal an eviction order, down from 30 days. This time period can be extended if the board “considers it just and appropriate in the circumstances.”

These changes may speed up LTB processes, but they limit renters’ rights to effectively protect their tenancies, appeal decisions, access legal resources, and obtain financial compensation to find new homes in an unaffordable rental market.

These changes may also increase the likelihood of evictions in Toronto and across the province and could add pressures to City programs which provide financial support, eviction prevention services, and housing stability. This is due to provisions in the bill that critics say weaken tenant protections and expedite the eviction process.

What does the government say?

The legislation is meant to restore balance in the landlord-tenant system and maintain tenant protections.

The government’s changes to the Landlord and Tenant Board are meant to speed up the adjudication process after years of delays at the board, by “tightening the system” so hearings can proceed faster.
The bill will help create more housing supply, because it is designed to streamline housing approvals and allow for quicker builds. With more supply comes lower rents.