Coun. McKenney calls ‘renovictions’ trend ‘deplorable’ following deaths of four Ottawa residents

“A sentence to homelessness.”

That’s what Somerset ward councillor Catherine McKenney calls the concept of “renovictions” following the deaths of four Ottawa men who were allegedly put in such a situation after living in a rooming house.

According to the Landlord and Tenant Board, a “renoviction,” is a notice to end a tenancy because a landlord wants to demolish a rental unit, repair it or convert it to another.

And while the action is lawful, some landlords have allowed properties to deteriorate to unhealthy living conditions as a way to evict tenants.

“I heard of one of the deaths earlier through a family member who had reached out to me and described the living and dying conditions of one of these men and I have to say — while I can’t share the details [as] they’re confidential — it had a very profound effect on me as it would on anyone,” McKenney told The Sam Laprade Show on Wednesday, May 18.

But when McKenney heard three more people allegedly died involving similar circumstances in the rooming house in a short period of time, it just further proves Ottawa needs to take its housing crisis more seriously.

“Certainly with this deplorable housing crisis we’re in, this is the result: people living and dying in the most unthinkable circumstances,” they said. “We’ve seen it with Heron Gate, we’ve seen it with so many other low-cost rentals on the private market, but they’re affordable and they allow them to deteriorate to a point where they are not livable but people are living in them because there’s nowhere else to go.”

According to McKenney, there are still a handful of people that remain at this particular rooming house, and they’re afraid there will come a time when the remaining tenants, too, will be evicted.

“It is a sentence for homelessness,” they said. “They’re on the street or they are in shelter, likely for the rest of their lives — and that is what our housing crisis is.”

But until officials can tackle landlords that allow this to happen and the concept of “renovictions,” McKenney says the housing crisis will continue to get worse.

“At some point, we will all be faced with a personal story on it,” they said. “I believe that is going to…widen and get broader within our community.”

A tenant may be served something called an N13 form, which is a notice to end a tenancy because of the landlord’s desire to demolish or convert an existing property.

An N13 form may be served for three reasons:

• The landlord intends to demolish the rental unit or complex;
• The landlord needs the rental unit to be vacant in order to do extensive renovations, in which case, the tenant may choose to move back after the repairs are complete;
• The landlord intends to convert the rental unit or complex to non-residential use.

However, there are rules landlords must follow when it comes to compensation, as well as how and when to serve a tenant.

But a tenant can dispute the N13 notice at the Landlord and Tenant Board, exercise their right of first refusal upon completion of the renovations or decide to move out.

For more information, visit the Tribunals Ontario website.

Listen to the full interview with Coun. Catherine McKenney on The Sam Laprade Show below.