QUEEN’S PARK — Tuesday in question period, Oshawa MPP Jennifer French asked the Ford government why it is doing nothing to protect renters from being “renovicted”— evicted by landlords due to so-called renovations — and why the government is failing to ensure that renters can find safe, affordable housing.
“This summer alone, almost 100 residents of a few apartment buildings in Oshawa were told they were being ‘renovicted,’ French said. “These soon-to-be displaced residents are seniors, working families and folks on a fixed income who don’t know if they’ll be able to find safe, affordable housing because the housing situation in Oshawa is dire. People don’t know where they will go.”
French said her office receives multiple calls each week from constituents struggling to find housing that is safe and affordable. She referred to Angela, a constituent who wrote to French about the widespread practice of building owners abusing what’s known as a renoviction loophole.
Citing Angela’s letter, French said, “These owners offer large sums of money to renters if they agree to give up their right to return to their unit. Owners claim the units are in a state of disrepair when in reality, all the landlords are doing in the way of ‘renovations’ is slapping some paint on the walls and re-listing the unit for double the price. There are so many stories of great people being forced out by greed.
“What is the Ford government doing to protect renters in Oshawa, and across Ontario, from abuses like renovictions?”