When the subject of rental licensing first appeared in Hamilton in 2009, the REALTORS® Association of Hamilton-Burlington met with city staff and members of council to discuss the concerns we had. Over three years later our concerns have not changed; in fact, a few new concerns have arisen since the program of proactive bylaw enforcement took effect.
RAHB’s main concerns are:
- Licensing would hurt those who depend on affordable housing. Much like property taxes, the costs associated with licensing could be passed on to tenants, increasing the costs of living for those most unable to afford it. In addition, licensing without some form of zoning reform could eliminate a significant number of dwelling units.
- The city already has a number of tools at its disposal including enforcement of explicit municipal property standards, the Ontario Building Code, Ontario Fire Code, fines for non-compliant property owners and the ability to make the required repairs and add them to the property tax bill. If these mechanisms aren’t working to solve the property standards issue, how will rental licensing?
- Licensing would, in our view, discourage construction of new inventory of rental units by adding to the regulatory burden of small (and potentially large) landlords. Fees on top of already acknowledged high property taxes will discourage economic development in Hamilton.
- Licensing may infringe upon the rights of tenants and property owners, and the City may find itself in a battle with the Human Rights Commission. This is the situation faced by other municipalities in response to their licensing programs.
- Municipal bylaws do not always deliver the intended outcome, and RAHB’s concern is that this licensing will have unintended consequences such as a significant impact on housing affordability and homelessness in our city.
On December 11, 2012, the City of Hamilton’s Planning Committee met for a special meeting to review the proposed rental licensing bylaw. With over four hours of delegations, there was no doubt about the controversy surrounding this issue. At the end of the meeting, the committee voted to send the proposal back to staff for more work. The Committee also passed a motion asking RAHB and the Hamilton and District Apartment Association (HDAA) to contribute solutions to the problems surrounding rental housing, and specifically the student housing concerns.
To read RAHB’s full submission to the Planning Committee visit: http://www.rahb.ca/GR/20121211presentationonrentallicensing.pdf
What are your thoughts about the issue?