Say NO to the City of Waterloo's proposed rental licensing regime.
On April 11, 2011 the City of Waterloo tabled a revised draft for a new by-law that, if passed into law, would adversely affect
Waterloo home owners, renters, students, small businesses, tax payers, and the general housing market in Waterloo.
The proposed by-law hinges on 2007 changes to the Ontario Municipal Act, allowing municipalities to license and regulate all
business transactions. The City of Waterloo proposes to use these powers to treat all housing rental transactions for
low-rise units as business transactions, whether they involve a professional landlord with a townhouse complex or a senior citizen
renting out a room within a private residence to help pay the bills.
Many home owners, including seniors, rent out rooms to make ends meet.
Some rent out rooms to supplement or help replace income after losing a job.
If you rent out a room, apartment, 'granny' suite within your home, or rent out an entire home during an absence:
you will need to apply for a license, at a cost of $392 to $473, with annual renewals of $214 to $259,
you will require a criminal record check annually,
you have to complete an expensive and time-consuming application process, and
if your house has more than 3 bedrooms you cannot rent it out unless you get a boarding house licence and
fire/building code approvals.
Failure to acquire a rental license and comply with all requirements
will result in fines from $350 to $50,000.
Residents Concerned with Neighbourhood QualityMore...
When the City closes bedrooms in Northdale, thereby displacing students, investors may open
boarding houses in your neighbourhood.
Boarding houses and purpose-built three-bedroom houses with huge bedrooms could house six, seven,
eight, nine, or even more students and these could be very close together.
Just introducing new licenses does nothing to improve safety or property standards or to reduce
nuisances. That takes by-law enforcement and Waterloo has fewer by-law enforcement officers than
any university town in Ontario, even though we have more students than most.
Rents will increase, to cover increased licensing fees and administration costs and this means
that rental housing will be less affordable.
Families who need more than 3 bedrooms will be prohibited from renting a regular single-family home
in Waterloo and this violates the Human Rights Code and offends basic principles of housing rights.
Existing rental homes with four or more bedrooms are not allowed to have more than two
bathrooms, an ensuite, or another kitchen.
Even three-bedroom homes will be in short supply since bedrooms will need to be 150 square feet in order
to be occupied by two, and there are other rules for specific sizes of living rooms, dining rooms, and kitchens.
The foregoing restrictions contravene the Human Rights Code as they establish unfair and discriminatory
barriers to large families who require affordable housing in the City of Waterloo.
Rents could increase up to $750 due to a cap of 3 bedrooms per rental unit which will result in a decreased supply of housing.
Students will have fewer housing choices and the cost of housing will increase: this will mean
either more students in fewer rooms or an inability to find affordable rental accommodation at all.
You will have to share the cost of utilities with 2 roommates
City By-law officers can show up any time and ask for access to your home.
By-law officers may demand that you housing be "shut down" thus leaving you literally on the street.
Businesses who support small landlords in town, rather than large apartments, will have less
business, so they will pay less tax and employ fewer workers.
Your property values will be depressed in neighbourhoods where banks foreclose on student
landlords and where unused and abandoned properties are left derelict.
Read and sign our petition here.
Please encourage your friends/neighbours to do the same.
Write to Mayor Halloran, Ward Councillors, Director of By-law Enforcement, Jim Barry, City's
rental feedback channel, rentals@waterloo.ca, You may use one of our
templates below as a basis for your letter. Please add, delete, change the wording, and personalize.
The more variety among the letters received by city staff and council, the better.
