By: Pam Wright, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Chatham Voice
Might Chatham-Kent become a leader in the fight against renovictions?
Councillor Alysson Storey hopes so and to that end iss expected to bring a notice of motion on the matter before council at the Jan. 26 meeting.
According to Storey, a handful of municipalities, including Hamilton, have adopted a municipal bylaw. The city’s Renovation License and Relocation Bylaw lays out strict guidelines to stop exploitive landlords who try to get rid of tenants paying modest rent by undertaking renovations.
Storey, C-K representative for the Federation of Canadian Municipalities, said she learned from her colleagues there that the bylaws work.
“We’ve got nothing to lose by doing it,” Storey explained. “I think we have the momentum right now.”
Storey said Chatham-Kent could draw on Hamilton’s experience.
“This is a very good template to use,” she said. “We don’t need to reinvent the wheel.”
Storey stressed that Ontario’s homelessness problem continues to grow and a bylaw preventing renovictions is a way to keep vulnerable people in their homes.
“It’s much easier to keep people housed where they are. The upstream approach is much more cost effective and humane.”
