Oshawa looking for feedback on making rental housing licensing program city-wide

The City of Oshawa is looking for public feedback on the potential city-wide expansion of the Residential Rental Housing Licensing Program.

The City requires all rental properties in the vicinity of Durham College and Ontario Tech University to be licensed under the program, which helps address minimum standards of health, safety, and property maintenance for rental properties to protect tenants and ensure compliance with municipal by-laws and provincial legislation.

The program does not regulate standards governed by the Residential Tenancies Act, which covers issues like rent, landlord tenant disputes, tenancy agreements and evictions.

On January 24 Council directed staff to undertake a public consultation regarding a potential city-wide expansion of the licensing program and report back with findings on the potential impacts.

A city-wide expansion of the program would require all rental properties in Oshawa to become licensed. Council believes feedback from property owners, landlords, tenants, and other interested residents is “critical” to informing potential changes to the program.

Community members can participate by completing a feedback form on Connect Oshawa  (www.connectoshawa.ca/RentalLicensing) or on paper at Service Oshawa, located at City Hall (50 Centre St. S.); or they can attend a special meeting of the City’s Corporate Services Committee on Monday, April 4 at 9:30 a.m.

(Email [email protected] before March 29 to add your comments or delegation request to the agenda.)

Judging by the comments already made on social media on the subject the answer will be yes. Some of those comments include:

• Landlords should be made to provide ample driveway parking. Far too many cars parked on the road day & night.
• Places advertised as accessible should be properly accessible to current code regulations; and
• I think this is a great step. Many slumlords and amateurs trying to play professional. Laws getting broken, rules ignored. Safety violations up the wazoo.

Feedback will be received until noon Monday, April 18, and considered in the development of regulatory licensing standards that will be presented to the Corporate Services Committee later this year.