NDP proposes legislation to make landlords more accountable for maintenance

Morrison’s bill inspired by 650 Parliament nightmare

QUEEN’S PARK — Suze Morrison, Ontario NDP Housing critic, is proposing to hold landlords more accountable for properly maintaining apartment buildings. Morrison’s St. James Town Act would require owners of buildings with 10 or more units to set aside a small portion of the rent they collect from tenants each month for major repairs.

If passed, the Act would also allow tenants to get discounts on their rent when landlords fail to fix serious problems.

“Too many Ontarians are living in apartment buildings with badly needed repairs,” said Morrison. “It’s simply wrong for landlords to collect skyrocketing rents and then turn around and say they don’t have the money when tenants plead with them to fix serious problems.

“In the worst cases, this becomes a question of safety. I am bringing this legislation forward because no tenant should have to go through what 1,500 residents in my riding went through last summer, and continue to go through today, at 650 Parliament.”

At 650 Parliament, an electrical fire left 1,500 residents displaced from their homes for seven months, and counting.

In order to access the rent discount under the St. James Town Act for unaddressed repairs, tenants would be able to state their case in writing, instead of having to appear at the Landlord Tenant Board in person. And the test for awarding abatements would be a loss in value to the tenant, not the fault of the landlord, as the courts have previously established. Awards would be based on how serious the problem is, and how long the tenant has been waiting for the repair.

On Aug. 21, 2018, an electrical fire in a St. James Town apartment building forced 1,500 residents out of their homes, and they have still not been able to return home. Neighbouring buildings have been subject to power shutdowns in the last few months for safety-related inspections.

“Instead of protecting renters, Doug Ford’s Conservatives are making things so much worse for tenants in Ontario,” said Morrison. “Tenants were already getting renovicted and struggling to afford rent before Ford decided to let landlords pick ways to evict tenants faster and remove rent control on new units.

“Tenants deserve peace of mind that the landlords they pay rent to will properly maintain their home. I am urging this government to support my private member’s bill so we can hold landlords accountable when they don’t live up to that obligation.”