By: Pam Wright, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Chatham Voice
Chatham-Kent has taken a major step towards implementing an N-13 renovictions bylaw.
On Feb. 9, C-K council approved a motion from Chatham Coun. Marjorie Crew directing administration to explore the issue and return with a report and draft bylaw in June.
Council chambers were packed as many came out to support Crew’s bylaw proposal, including residents of Chatham’s Terrace Forty apartment building. Older residents – some in their 90s – braved the subzero temperatures to attend the meeting, with a few using walkers.
In January, all 40 residents at the Chatham complex were served N-13 notices by landlord Rex Brondial stating they need to leave for eight months so work to address asbestos and lead concerns can be completed. All of the tenants have been offered a $5,000 cash-for-keys deal to end their tenancy and move out by the end of March.
Currently, under an N-13 notice, landlords give tenants a notice stating they must vacate their apartment so work – such as asbestos abatement – can be completed. Tenants are asked to voluntarily move, sometimes prompted by a cash for keys deal. However, tenants who relocate have first right of refusal to return after work is completed, paying the same amount of rent as when they left.
Critics say renovictions are a ploy to get rid of tenants paying modest pre-Covid rents, in order to maximize profits by charging market-level rents – often double or triple what the tenants are currently paying. They’re in favour of an N-13 bylaw to try and stop unscrupulous landlords from evicting people under the guise of renovations.
Crew said she was encouraged by the show of support at council.
“I’m happy we’re moving on to the next step,” Crew said following the meeting, noting staff will be looking at best practices in other jurisdictions, including Toronto and Hamilton where N-13 bylaws are in place.
“We’re going to be engaging with others,” she added. “We hope this will take care of the loopholes that allow bad-faith landlords who take advantage of vulnerable tenants.”
According to Crew, an N-13 bylaw will be aimed at bad actors only, not good landlords who comprise the majority.
Under other Ontario N-13 bylaws, landlords who insist that dwellings be vacant to complete work must apply for a license from the municipality and get building permits. They must also get certification from a professional, such as an engineer, that the work is necessary. Landlords breaking the rules face heavy fines.
Deputations by Chatham-Kent Legal Clinic housing stability paralegal Jeff Wilkins and Advocacy Centre for Tenants Ontario representative Doug Kwan, as well as Terrace Forty resident Gord Harvey were among those to address council.
According to Harvey, the N-13 notices came as a shock to tenants.
Many said they would “end up on the streets,” Harvey explained, as they have nowhere to go.
“For all of us at Terrace Forty, receiving an eviction notice wasn’t an inconvenience, it was in fact, a crisis,” he told council. “Without challenging these evictions, it means scrambling to find housing in a market with low vacancy rates and rapidly rising rents.”
Harvey pointed out the intent of a renoviction bylaw is not to stop lawful renovations but to introduce “clarity and transparency” to the process, ensuring tenants are informed of their rights.
Most of Terrace Forty’s tenants are opting to stay put and are working with the C-K Legal Clinic to do so legally.
It has been reported by other media outlets that Brondial is behind similar N-13 actions at a complex in Sarnia and a building in Tillsonburg. However as of press time, The Voice has not been able to speak with Brondial or any of his associates.
