Housing Providers Archives - Page 5 of 5 - Canadian Centre for Housing Rights

Nine months after making an historic commitment to realize the right to housing, the City of Toronto has released the very first details of how it intends to implement its 2020-2030 Housing Plan. Concrete action to increase the supply of affordable housing stock is needed now more than ever – in particular for low-income and racialized communities across the city – and the City’s Implementation Plan couldn’t come at a better time. However, while this plan is a good next step to realize its commitment, key details including timelines and concrete dates, as well as additional resources, are needed to better understand how and when the City will reach the objectives it has set for itself to realize the right to housing.

The good

To be fair, the fact that the City has managed to prepare a 10-year implementation plan in the midst of a pandemic which is exacerbating the housing crisis and a range of other systemic issues is in itself a commendable feat. It is also proof of the City’s determination to follow through on its commitment to tackle this crisis head-on, and to not let a year go by – even as challenging a year as 2020 has been – without taking this significant next step.

Additionally, the inclusion of specific chapters dedicated to the most marginalized groups and communities is a hopeful sign that the City has not wavered in its resolve to adopt a rights-based approach to housing. This is highly significant, given that the impacts of the housing crisis are disproportionately borne by marginalized and racialized communities, including Black and Indigenous communities. The plan outlines that half of its new affordable units will be supportive housing, which aim to respond to the needs of the most vulnerable residents, including people who are living in homelessness or are at risk of becoming homeless.

The gaps

The most glaring gap in this plan is that, for the most part, the City’s targets fall short of responding to the scale of the crisis. One example of this can be seen in how the plan aims to respond to the needs of Indigenous communities. Research by the Colour of Poverty in 2019 found that 87% of Indigenous people in Toronto qualified as low-income – representing roughly 40,000 people – and presumably most of them are in need of affordable housing. The target in Toronto’s housing plan aims to create around 5,000 new affordable housing units for Indigenous communities. By this measure, Toronto would need to increase its target by roughly 700% to respond to the needs of Indigenous people in the city, and they are just one community in need among many.

Another significant absence is that of a commitment to put a Housing Commissioner’s office in place. This is an essential accountability mechanism to ensure that the City continues to uphold and advance its commitment to realize the right to housing. Not only are their plans for establishing a Commissioner’s office vague, importantly there is also no mention of resources to be dedicated to this area of the plan.

What’s next

The City’s Planning and Housing Committee met on September 22 to discuss the Implementation Plan, and following this meeting, they will bring their recommendations on the adoption of the plan to the next meeting of the City of Toronto Council on September 29. CERA delivered two deputations to the Planning and Housing Committee outlining our concerns around the necessity of establishing an Office of the Housing Commissioner and continued investment in eviction prevention services as a way to ensure the positive gains made by the HousingTO Plan are not erased. We will continue working with the City as part of the Right to Housing Toronto Network (R2HTO) to ensure that the City fully realizes its commendable commitment to right to housing for all.

This toolkit is designed to assist small-to-medium-sized landlords in implementing the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005 (AODA) and its accessibility standards. It should be read in conjunction with the AODA, its regulations and the accompanying resource guide. The guide is designed to provide you with information about the law and provide you with practical solutions to the accessibility challenges small-to-medium-sized landlords face.

Download the toolkit

A drawing that says for rent with a house and a tree — For rent house colorful chalk drawing and hand writing text on blackboard or chalkboard as real estate landlord housing concept

How to choose tenants without violating their human rights

In Ontario, landlords are prohibited from discriminating against rental applicants or tenants on sixteen grounds known as “prohibited grounds “. Some rental ads can be explicitly discriminatory while others discriminate “by accident”. Ontario Human Rights Commission states that “preferential” language choices by landlords are just as problematic as blatantly discriminatory word choices:  

“Some landlords, when listing “selling points” to attract tenants, make statements that may discriminate, even if they don’t mean to. This often happens when you are trying to appeal to people you think may like the rental unit… These statements suggest that the landlord prefers some people over others. …These ads discourage good tenants from applying, because they think they won’t be treated fairly.” 

 Examples of explicit discriminatory language and preferential language:  

Available for ONE person
Employment letter with salary required
Employment and government ID is required
Perfect for a single mature adult
The perfect place for working professionals
Ideal place for young professional or a couple
Suitable for quiet professional couple without kids

The Ontario Human Rights Commission advises landlords to keep a few things in mind when write a rental ad.

Instead of describing the ideal tenant, list the rent, size and other information about the unit itself, the building, and nearby services that may appeal to tenants.

You can request landlord references, rental credit or credit history, but keep in mind that a lack of rental credit or credit history doesn’t mean that a person cannot pay their rent.  
You can ask for income information, but only to confirm that the person has enough money to pay the rent.  
A lot of info requested on applications is not necessary and could be used to demonstrate discrimination, such as SIN number, Employer information and identification documents.

Ontario landlord responsibilities

Landlords are required to:  

Provide repairs in a timely manner  
Only request legal deposits 
Provide interest on rent deposit at end of tenancy 
Provide at least 24 hours’ written notice if they need to enter the unit 
Only raise the rent once per year by the amount determined by the municipality  
Respect the rights of all tenants and treat them with courtesy  
Provide a receipt for rent if requested

Landlord responsibilities to tenants with disabilities

Landlords’ duties in case of request for accommodation:  

Accept the request for accommodation in good faith, unless there is a legitimate reason to do otherwise  
Take an active role searching for accommodation solutions 
Maintain confidentiality  
Grant accommodation requests in a timely manner  
Pay for any required medical documentation or information  
Bear the cost of accommodation up to the point of undue hardship

What does undue hardship mean?

A women pushing another women in a wheelchair

Landlords are required to take accommodation requests from tenants with disabilities seriously and respond to them in a timely manner. Landlords are only able to deny an accommodation request if they can prove that meeting the request constitutes “undue hardship.”  

A landlord can only claim undue hardship if accommodating a tenant would seriously threaten the financial viability of their business or endanger the health or safety of other tenants.  

Both the landlord and the tenant should look into whether any outside sources of funding, such as government grants, are available to help pay for the cost of accommodation.  

It is the responsibility of the landlord to prove undue hardship. They should consider: 

The threshold for undue hardship is high 
Evidence of undue hardship must be objective and real (e.g. financial statements and budgets) 
Landlords may have to hire qualified experts and consultations. Speculation is not persuasive evidence of undue hardship

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