ACORN: License Landlords in Toronto Now

Concerned Toronto residents, their local councillors and local tenant association representatives, gathered at Main Square Community Centre on Saturday afternoon, to discuss a soon to be released report on landlord licensing.

The Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN) representatives, were there to inform the group of mostly tenants, on their strong disagreements regarding the landlord licensing report to be released by the City of Toronto’s licensing and standards committee Monday. “We are very disappointed on the report,” said Kay Bisnath, a chairperson for ACORN Gordonridge chapter in Scarborough. “The report is totally different from what we were consulted on for over two years now.” Bisnath said. ACORN is urging its members and supporters to show up in full force at City Hall on Monday to send a strong message on landlords licensing issue, she added. During the Livable Housing Forum, residents learned that the City of Toronto report calls for more periodically inspections by the landlords in an effort to crack down on "appalling" conditions at some buildings all over the city. ACORN, however, wants tenants to be able to pay all rent into the escrow accounts, allowing a kind of legal rent strike in bad buildings. “We believe the inspection system will be a much slower and less effective,” Bisnath said. “This won’t align with a livable housing initiative.” ACORN also wants to see same licensing system for apartment buildings or landlords, similar to one now used for Toronto restaurants. “We want see posting outside the buildings. So the tenant can see if the building is in livable conditions,” said Eddie Lantz of St Jamestown ACORN. Beaches-East York Councillor Janet Davis, a staunch supporter of landlord licensing urged residents to contemplate on the next move to bring landlord licensing agenda forward. However said the task is enormous. “We only have 12 New Democrats, bunch of Liberals in the middle who derail things and we have conservatives who will defend landlord up to the end,” Davis said. That is why there is problem at City Hall, she added. There have been many complaints from tenants lately about conditions of many building in the city. Including leaking ceilings, striped down wooden floors, rat and cockroach infestations and Bed bugs infestations. According to Toronto Public Health, the number of complaints about bed bugs has quadrupled over the past two years. Not everyone supports the idea of licensing landlords. According to the Greater Toronto Apartment Association, which represents some city landlords, said the city can already force landlords to fix buildings, but doesn't.