Cambridge councillor ditches rent control motion amid new information

Back in 2018, the Ontario government changed rent control rules, omitting all newly built units and those occupied after November 15, 2018.

Since then, reports of skyrocketing rents have increased significantly as the province continues to struggle to create sufficient housing. That includes affordable housing.

Cambridge Ward 6 Councillor, Adam Cooper, was intending to bring forward a notice of motion this week, calling on Cambridge City Council to pressure the province to reinstate those regulations.

But he decided to pull the notice of motion.

Cooper was a guest on The Mike Farwell Show and said he spoke with stakeholders who gave him a better understanding of the landlord’s side of this issue.

“Frankly, as a result of the conversations with these landlord professionals and tenants, I thought the best move was to pull the motion so we could work together when proposing changes that have a greater likelihood of what we want, which is gaining support from other municipalities and the province. But at the same time, without imposing unnecessary restrictions.”

Kayla Andrade is the founder and front lobby ambassador with the Ontario Landlords Watch team. She also swung by The Mike Farwell Show and said her focus is on small landlords who have been feeling the pinch, particularly since the pandemic.

“When you look at what the landlords in Ontario are dealing with, they have an increase in property taxes. They have their increase in utilities, the mortgage renewals are now skyrocketing for many who are now renewing, the maintenance costs, insurance, the lost rent,” she said. “We are trying to hold onto the current landlords in the industry because there has been a mass exodus that has happened ever since COVID.”

Andrade said Ontario is not a friendly province for landlords.

She went on to say that when a smaller landlord is forced to sell, there’s always the chance of losing that housing completely.

“Are they selling to a developer who is going to come in and take an affordable unit off the market? Or, are we going to see them completely go into a commercial property within that landscape of buying it from a small landlord?”

Andrade doesn’t rule out the option of rent control, but believes a targeted approach is needed.

“I think we need to revaluate what rent control looks like. I think we have to identify it’s not a one size fits all situation.”

Ultimately, it is the province that is responsible for the regulations. Andrade says that is where the action needs to come from.

“We do need to encourage our elected officials at the provincial level to step up their game, and they do need to change the way the Residential Tenancies Act and the Landlord and Tennant Board are in Ontario. I think that’s the headline in our community is how broke that system is.”

Cooper was adamant that in no way does pulling the motion indicate he’s turning his back on renters.

“I am still absolutely committed to protection because the situation where tenants have literally no protection whatsoever from excessive and malicious increases is unacceptable to me. I mean, for obvious reasons.”

Cooper did not indicate when he intends to table a reworked motion.