Dimitrie's Rent Check #14 - Landlord Licensing - Tenant Tax - City Doesn't Get it
I was urged by two members of London's Advisory Committe on Housing to give a speech at the recent Public Meeting on the Landlord Licensing By-law. I think there might have been half a dozen tenants in the room for the by-law, a couple hundred against it, and dozens of angry big and small landlords and their employees acting as spokespersons. In the end the by-law went back to City lawyers for more work.
From the Editor: dimitrie@sympatico.ca
Many tenants around the City had notices put up in their buildings calling the by-law a tenant tax. Many tenants were scared. City By-Law Enforcement Manager took time at the Public Meeting to put the notice on an overhead and refute each point.
It's not exactly a tax but those landlords who pay it will either try to pass it on (which would be difficult to do on sitting tenants) or simply pay it and delay repairs on items they would have used the money on. The tenant could lose out if the landlord wants to be obstinate.
I supported the by-law because it would help the poorest of tenants in small buildings. However City staff and Councillors painted a false picture that those living in high rises live in Shangri-la with building managers and owners ready and willing to fix all problems as soon as they come up.
I doubt there was one tenant amongst the Councillors or high ranking City staffers. Toronto takes care of its tenants. London looks upon them as more of a nuisance. They destroy the University and College neighbourhoods and most homeowners and even some owners still believe tenants don't pay property tax. We do, every month in our rent. Most tenants pay about $800 a year. It's at least equivalent per square foot to homeowners.
The licensing by-law would have passed without further legal review had all apartments, big and small been included in the licensing by-law. There would have been no question of discrimination. Landlords would have had to try and set precedent at the Landlord Tenant Board to retrieve Licensing fees and maybe just maybe one of our legal clinics would have taken them on.
But that didn't happen. City Council in London does not understand Ontario Rental law or the highly adversarial Landlord-Tenant relationship. It doesn't want to. It wants and end to the nastiness each year at Fanshawe and Western and that's it.
It couldn't care less that the intercom in our high rise has been broken for two weeks and paramedics, fire and police would have a hard time getting in during an emergency. It doesn't care that the roadways in our complex have been crumbling for four years and the bricks on the upper floors of some of the buildings in our complex are in such shape, scaffolding has been put up to shield tenants. The problems with our building our common with many high rises built in the 1970's and beforehand. There are many such high rises in London.
In some cases Property Standards staff have been to this Complex and simply recommended a temporary patch and bluntly stated they won't recommend a permanent repair.
All of these problems have been relayed to Property Standards, London Fire Services and even the City Manager. Getting help from the City is almost a useless exercise and nobody is foolish enough to go to the Landlord Tenant Board without a lawyer. Most tenants can't afford one.
Yet that's what Property Standards tells me what to do. Tenants in London are in a Catch 22 situation. Legal Aid does not provide lawyer to the Landlord Tenant Board. Other Legal Clinics will do so on a case by case basis but they are only able to accept a small number of the amount of cases that go before the Board each week in London. Getting representation is like winning the 6/49, but the Landlords always come with lawyers or paralegals.
There is no real help from Property Standards, London Fire Services, the Middlesex London Health Unit and other agencies tenants usually call on. Landlords know how to drag their feet. In many cases tenants often feel that these agencies quickly take the landlord's side when they complaint. They feel that way with good reason.
So Ms. Branscombe and Planning staff. Get your heads out of the sand. Just because City staff tells you all the problems are in small buildings you don't have to buy it. Most of the 30 to 35 per cent of Londoners who rent live in high rises and townhouses and your by-law does nothing for them. Then again, does anyone on your committee actually care. I gave you this exact message at the Public Hearings and you all ignored it. You don't get it and neither does Council. Tenants do.
