Landlords vs. the city: Windsor’s new rental bylaw to be challenged in court

Hundreds of landlords are taking the city of Windsor to court over its new residential rental licence bylaw.

“The Windsor Housing Providers are a group of about 200 landlords in the city of Windsor who are concerned that this bylaw is illegal and improper,” said Steven Pickard, the lawyer representing Windsor Housing Providers Inc.

The bylaw is a two-year pilot study focused on properties in wards one and two, which are areas that contain a high concentration of student housing. Its goal is to improve the safety of housing, but some landlords believe the bylaw is overreaching.

“This bylaw goes far beyond just regulating student housing, it regulates how people can advertise for housing, it regulates who can rent housing. It is also a violation of the Human Rights Code and the Charter,” said Pickard.

By May 31, owners of rental properties in ward one and two that contain four or fewer units must apply for a rental licence for each unit they rent.

To secure a licence, property owners will need to take the following steps:

• Complete a licence application form
• Confirm ownership and show proper insurance
• Provide a local contact for the unit
• Show that the unit meets legislated requirements, including building code, fire code, and electrical safety standards

The licencing fee is $466 for the first year and $275 for renewals.

Landlords have expressed they may have to pass the additional fees onto their tenants which may worsen the housing affordability crisis.

“Young people and students are going to be most affected by this,” said Pickard.

“I got a phone call this morning from one landlord. He applied for a licence and feels they arbitrarily denied him. So now he has tenants that he can't rent to and what happens to them is a big question.”

The first court date for this challenge is set for May 16. The Windsor Housing Providers Inc. has filed an application in superior court to halt the implementation of the residential rental licencing bylaw until the court can deal with the issue.

Matthew House Windsor understands both sides of the argument.

Executive director Mike Morency says its two biggest challenges when assisting refugee claimants find suitable housing is the lack of affordable housing and the poor quality of lower priced homes.

Morency says he is “absolutely” concerned the bylaw may increase the price of rent.

“I'm also concerned that there's a lot of unregulated rentals out there that need to be the inspected because they aren’t safe,” he said. “I think the city put a lot of work into this and the heart behind it is a good thing. Whether or not in the long run it benefits our community, we’ll see.” 

The City of Windsor says it does not comment on active legal proceedings.