The province’s new eviction rules are in effect starting today, September 1.
Ontario is placing new requirements for landlords to “increase security and peace of mind” for renters, according to a press release.
Effective today, when a landlord ends a tenancy in order to use the rental themselves, or for a family member to use it, the landlord must provide one month’s rent to the tenant as compensation or offer the tenant another acceptable rental unit, and express intent to occupy the unit for at least one year.
But if the landlord advertises, re-rents or demolishes/converts the unit within one year, they will be considered to have acted in bad faith unless they can prove otherwise, and could face a fine of up to $25,000.
The province says that the new measures will help protect tenants by discouraging landlords from unlawfully evicting them, whether for conversion of the unit into a short-term rental or immediately re-renting it at a higher rate.
“When a tenant is evicted through no fault of their own, they are forced to scramble to find new accommodations and cover the costs of a sudden move. These new measures will help make that transition easier and, in some cases, prevent it from happening at all by curbing unlawful evictions,” said Peter Milczyn, Minister of Housing and Minister Responsible for the Poverty Reduction Strategy in a statement.
The new rules are part of Ontario’s Fair Housing Plan, which also includes the expansion of rent control to all private rental units, including those first occupied on or after November 1, 1991.
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