‘Homes are for living in’: Kitchener MPP tables protections for renters
Posted Apr 15, 2026 01:00:56 PM.
Last Updated Apr 15, 2026 01:43:02 PM.
Kitchener Centre MPP Aislinn Clancy tabled legislation at Queen’s Park on Wednesday, looking to provide protections for Ontario renters against “bad-faith” landlords and “renovictions.”
“Homes are for living in–not for wealthy investors and corporations to make a buck,” said Clancy.
According to the MPP, the number of N13s being issued in Ontario between 2017 and 2022 increased by 300 per cent. An N13 allows a landlord to evict a tenant in order to perform major repairs, renovations, or demolitions, but according to Clancy and others, that document is abused by bad-faith landlords who evict one tenant only to raise the rent and bring a new tenant in.
“If you hear those stories, it’s really heartbreaking to see people becoming homeless. We want to keep people housed. That’s the gist of the legislation, closing up those loopholes to make sure things are fair, and things are affordable in Ontario.”
Clancy’s legislation is titled the Keeping People Housed Act, and would include:
- Expansion of rent control on all buildings, including those built after 2018.
- Reinstatement of vacancy control to limit rent increases between tenancies.
- Increased requirements for landlords to ensure that a vacancy is required for renovations before filing an application for an N13.
- Measures to ensure that any buildings with six or more units with below mid-range rents, if demolished, are replaced with at least the same number, size and type of units with rent similar to those that were demolished.
- The creation of a Rental Task Force to address the misuse of above-guideline rent increases.
On Tuesday, Kitchener council approved a bylaw making it so that a landlord would be required to apply for a licence through the city before filing an N13. This program would require the hiring of two full-time staff members, and could cost the municipality and taxpayers $400,000 in 2027.
“I applaud the municipalities, I applaud Kitchener council, but definitely this is provincial downloading,” said Clancy. “This province likes to act like they never raise the tax, but all they’re doing is going out to supper and passing the bill along to somebody else, and that’s the property taxpayers.”
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