City of Guelph proposes bylaw to protect renters

City of Guelph generic

The City of Guelph is digging deeper on ‘renovictions’ within its borders.

City council approved an 'evictions survey' during Tuesday night’s meeting to get a better snapshot of the impacts of evictions occurring within Guelph.

“There are a few that are not playing by the rules and so the only reason municipalities are having to step in…is because of those very few people that aren’t playing by the rules and I would add that provincial government doesn’t have the legislation in place to cover things off properly. That’s why municipalities are having to step up,” said Mayor of Guelph, Cam Guthrie.

According to the city, they have been getting an earful from tenants who say they want more actions to keep landlords honest, including some tenants currently facing evictions at a group of apartment buildings on Brant Avenue.

“The fines are not anywhere near adequate to disincentivize this type of thing, especially when it’s done on a mass scale because in our own building we have I believe 44-45 units so a lot of the families are being displaced,” said delegate Daniel Kaufmann. “I’d say at least 30 of those tenants have received eviction notices.”

City council also agreed to put out more information on the city’s website for people who are facing evictions. Council will discuss six other measures to help tenants at a meeting on October 8.

- With reporting by CTV's Jeff Pickel.