Committee approves renovictions by-law to offer added tenant protection

The Planning and Housing Committee today approved a new by-law to help protect tenants from bad-faith evictions for renovations and repairs.  

The Rental Renovation Licence By-law would require landlords to obtain a licence from the City when seeking to evict tenants to renovate or repair a rental unit. It aims to prevent landlords from evicting tenants under the pretext of renovation or repairs, but with the goal of renting the unit to a new tenant at higher rent. Such bad-faith evictions tied to renovations or repairs are known as renovictions. 

While the Province sets the rules for evictions through the Residential Tenancies Act, the City's proposed licensing process encourages landlords to follow those rules. Under the proposed by-law: 

• Landlords would need to obtain a building permit before they could issue an eviction notice.
• When issuing an eviction notice, landlords would need to provide affected tenants with a City-produced eviction education guide. The guide will help ensure tenants are informed about their rights through clear, easy-to-understand materials in multiple languages.
• Once the eviction notice is issued, the landlord would have seven days to apply to the City for a rental renovation licence. 

To support both tenants and landlords, the City would not charge a licence fee. Keeping costs low encourages compliance with the by-law and provincial rules while reducing the risk of additional costs being passed on to tenants. Rather than charging all landlords a licence fee, the by-law would rely on enforcement measures to discourage bad-faith renovictions, including fines for non-compliance. 

When tenants are displaced by renovictions and cannot return to their homes, they may face much higher rents. Encouraging compliance with provincial rules can help preserve affordable rental housing in Ottawa.  

The new by-law would take effect on January 1, 2027, providing time to develop the licensing program and to produce landlord and tenant education materials, including the eviction education guide. 

The Committee approved new and updated urban design guidelines to help ensure low-rise and mid-rise development fits well into Ottawa's neighbourhoods as the city grows. 

The existing guidelines for low-rise infill housing would be updated. Low-rise infill includes residential buildings up to four storeys and is one of the most common ways new homes are added to existing neighbourhoods. When designed well, low-rise infill helps add more homes while protecting what residents value most about their neighbourhoods – improving public spaces, protecting trees and landscaping, and respecting the character of a neighbourhood. 

The City would also adopt a new set of guidelines for mid-rise buildings that are between five and nine storeys tall. Mid-rise buildings are permitted throughout Ottawa for residential, office, hotel, institutional and mixed-use development. While some design guidance already exists for mid-rise buildings, the new guidelines will provide a more comprehensive and consistent approach. 

Both sets of guidelines focus on the design issues most commonly seen with these forms of development. They are easy to use, with plenty of visual content and examples. The guidelines are flexible and practical. They provide clear design guidance while supporting timely development approvals and helping deliver more housing. 

The Committee approved changes that will streamline how future neighbourhoods are planned and allow some projects to move forward sooner. Currently, development on lands that are designated as future neighbourhoods in the City’s Official Plan can only begin after a secondary plan is completed. Secondary plans guide how specific areas will grow and develop over time. The changes approved today would allow the City to rely on a concept plan instead of a secondary plan. 

The change will allow planning work on future neighbourhoods to continue while the Province develops a new framework for secondary plans. A concept plan focuses on the key elements needed to support a complete neighbourhood, including transportation, parks, environmental protection and servicing infrastructure. This approach helps ensure development happens in a planned and orderly way, without requiring a full secondary plan process. Council will receive a further update by Q1 2027, or earlier if the Province provides clear legislative direction. 

As part of the report, the Committee also approved pausing the start of three secondary plans. Staff would not begin new secondary plans for Beechwood/St. Laurent, Richmond Road/Westboro, and South Keys. That direction would be revisited once the Province provides updated guidance on secondary plans. The City will continue with ongoing secondary planning projects that have already been initiated. 

The Committee approved Official Plan and zoning amendments to support a new 124-unit affordable housing development near Loretta Avenue and Hickory Street in Little Italy. The non-profit housing provider, Centretown Citizens Ottawa Corporation, plans to build a 12-storey affordable rental housing development close to transit, including Dow's Lake Station. 

The Official Plan Amendment would increase permitted height from six to 12 storeys. This is consistent with development to the north, east and south, and remains below the 15-storey height limit permitted on adjacent properties. The zoning amendments would increase permitted height as well, in line with the building design, and would provide additional relief related to required setbacks, amenity space, tower separation, glazing, parking and landscaping.  

City Council has committed to helping address the housing crisis by supporting the construction of 151,000 quality market homes by 2031. The City tracks the progress of residential development in Ottawa and shares that data through an interactive housing approvals dashboard.  

Tracking began in January 2023, and between that time and the end of 2025, Council has provided land-use approvals for more than 69,600 new homes. This means about 46 per cent of the homes needed to meet the 2031 goal can now be built. If Council approves the land-use permissions that the Committee recommended today, applicants will be able to seek building permits or further approvals to build another 1,124 new homes. Since the start of 2026, it is estimated this Committee has facilitated the development of more than 2,550 new homes. 

City Council will consider the recommendations from today’s meeting on Wednesday, July 15.