Ontario’s planned new housing legislation could open the door to ending rent control and indefinite leases across the province, advocates warn after a recent proposal by Premier Doug Ford’s government.
The Ford government introduced a new housing bill on Thursday that it says would streamline approvals and let developers build homes more quickly.
But buried in the legislation is a proposal for “alternative options to lease expiry rules that could allow landlords to control who occupies their units and for how long,” including through adjustments to rental arrangements based on “market conditions, personal needs or business strategies,” according to the province’s briefing slides Thursday.
Housing advocates say if passed, the legislation will hurt long-term renters and vulnerable tenants, like seniors and students, across Ontario.
“Everybody’s panicking. This is not the solution for affordable housing,” said Stacey Semple, a volunteer organizer with Acorn, a non-profit organization that advocates for various social justice issues, including affordable housing.
“He is taking rights away from tenants,” she said, referring to Ford. “The landlords are getting free passes to evict long-term tenants, especially because they want to collect more rent because it’s more economically viable.”
What does a ‘renters’ market’ mean for landlords and tenants?
Currently, tenants are protected by what’s called “security of tenure,” which gives them the right to remain in a rental unit as long as they follow the lease agreement and residential tenancies act.
It also allows them to continue on a month-to-month rental basis after a fixed-term lease ends. Landlords are unable to evict tenants without a legally valid reason.
But if the legislation passes, Semple says Toronto and other areas large populations of renters will be hit especially hard. According to 2021 census data by Statistics Canada, 48 per cent of Toronto’s population are renters.
How much are ‘financial landlords’ driving up Toronto rents?
She says without affordable housing options, more people could be evicted from their rent-controlled homes and may end up homeless.
“[Ford] is actually going to create more encampments … I am not necessarily surprised Ford is all about the profit and the bottom line.”
In an emailed statement, a spokesperson for the province said it is undergoing consultations on options to lease expiry rules, but that it will continue “to protect tenants while supporting landlords, including mom and pops who rely on rental income to help pay their mortgage.”
“Tenants will continue to have strong protections across the province, including from significant rent hikes, holding 2025 rent increase guideline holding below the inflation rate at 2.5 per cent,” said the statement.
When he first came across the proposal, long-term renter Leigh Beadon went on social media to share what he called a “shocking” discovery. His post on X has over 100,000 views, with several other concerned renters chiming in, he said.
“[This] directly attacks every single one of the tenants in Ontario and I think people who haven’t paid a lot of attention to the ins and outs and the details of tenant rights in the past immediately understood that this was going to directly impact them,” he said.
Beadon said it’s “unimaginable” to consider that this proposal could force him out of the apartment and community that he’s called home for nearly 20 years.
Renters in long-term tenancies often pay far below the market price, he said, considering many live in older rent-controlled buildings.
Without rent control, tenants will be forced to pay a lot more or move out to “less desirable neighbourhoods” farther from the city, said Beadon.
“People who are on fixed incomes, such as seniors or people on disability benefits, many of whom [have said] security of tenure is the only thing keeping them in their homes,” he said.
“It’s the only way that they’re able to know that they’ve got a place to sleep tomorrow night and we know that homelessness is out of control in Ontario.”
At an unrelated news conference Friday, Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow said landlords could gain “enormous” powers with the proposal.
“There’s considerations, consultations, but there has to be fairness involved,” she said.
Adil Shamji, housing critic for the Ontario Liberal Party called Ford’s latest legislation “a mean-spirited bill that ignores the injustices” tenants face and could lead to bad-faith evictions.
“Security of tenure allows tenants in good standing to remain in their home until they wish to move on,” said Shamji in an emailed statement.
“Only in Doug Ford’s Ontario can hard-working renters in good standing be able to count on just a one-year lease, while a foreign spa company at Ontario Place gets a guarantee for 99.”
Catherine McKenney, Ontario NDP’s shadow housing minister, said families across Ontario could face mass evictions if rent controls are removed.
“Housing has never been more expensive in Ontario; 800,000 people can’t find work, and now Ford is making things even worse. Is the Premier’s only goal making life as expensive as possible for Ontarians?” McKenney said, adding the province is last in the country when it comes to building homes.
“The answer is building more homes, not trampling the rights of renters. Ford has a responsibility to keep Ontarians from falling through the cracks. We need real rent control now.”
Thorncliffe Park tenants’ years-long rent strike comes to an end
For Beadon, the proposed legislation shows tenants must advocate for themselves.
In recent years, tenants have “scored some big wins” by organizing rent strikes and protests – something renters need to consider if the Ford government moves forward with its proposal, he said.
“That’s one of the few things that gives Ontario tenants hope right now,” Beadon said. “That is where we should all be focusing our efforts together as the tenant class and let the government know that we’re not going to let them do this.
