Brampton’s Residential Rental Licensing (RRL) pilot has sparked backlash from landlords.
Aimed at curbing illegal rentals, the two-year program requires landlords renting four or fewer units to pay a $300 annual licence fee.
Since April, the city has registered 2,200 landlords, conducted over 4,700 inspections, issued over 600 penalty notices, and seen 46 illegal units brought up to fire and building code standard.
However, many landlords argue they’re being unfairly targeted and punished with fines and extra paperwork for their tenants’ actions, such as dirty washrooms and piles of trash.
They claim the city’s guilty-until-proven-innocent approach makes it difficult to appeal penalties – a situation further worsened by delays at the Landlord and Tenant Board, and want the program scrapped.
That's unlikely to happen anytime soon – the pilot scheme is in place until the end of 2025, and the mayor and local government say that it has been a success. For now, property managers can help protect their landlords by documenting the compliance and condition of their units before any RRL inspections. Keep records of smoke alarm installations, annual gas safety checks, participation in waste collection services, and even consider partnering with cleaning services to help tenants maintain a tidy living space.
More tenant behavior headlines
Does Toronto anti-renoviction bylaw punish honest landlords? – PayProp blog
Rising backlog of landlord-tenant disputes causing tensions to boil over – CTV News
Tenants call for proof in personal use evictions – PayProp blog
