On July 8th, Hamilton Community Legal Clinic delegated in support of Ottawa’s Rental Renovation Licensing By-Law, a critical municipal checkpoint to help deter bad-faith renovictions and protect affordable housing.
We are pleased to see Ottawa’s Planning & Housing Committee approve the by-law on July 8, 2026. It will come into force on Jan 1, 2027.
Hamilton’s experience demonstrates that renoviction licensing works. Since Hamilton’s Renovation License and Relocation By-law came into effect, displacement by N13’s decreased by 80% and the numbers justify what tenant advocates have long said: when landlords are required to obtain permits, justify vacant possession, inform tenants and comply with relocation protections, bad-faith N13’s are deterred.
This kind of by-law does not prevent necessary repairs. It ensures that renovations are not used as a mechanism for displacement, rent gouging or the permanent erosion of affordable housing.
Tenant protection means affordable housing preservation.
Hamilton Community Legal Clinic is proud to stand with tenants, community advocates like ACORN (Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now) who were instrumental in advocating for this by-law and municipalities taking meaningful action to preserve affordable housing across Ontario.
Read more at CTV News: City committee approves Renoviction Bylaw to deter bad faith evictions in Ottawa: https://www.ctvnews.ca/ottawa/article/city-committee-approves-renoviction-bylaw-to-deter-bad-faith-evictions-in-ottawa/
