Residential Rental Licensing Pilot Program

Tele Town Hall

Thursday, February 22 | 8 - 9pm

Residential Rental Licensing Pilot Programs

Join the conversation, ask your questions and share your feedback.

We heard you and we're making enhancements!

Applications required under the two-year pilot program are suspended as the City reviews and streamlines its intake process.

Updated program refinements include:

Removing the requirement for the criminal record check.
Accepting the property tax bill as proof of ownership.
Not requiring condominium apartments or condominium townhouses to obtain a business licence.
Extending the full fee waiver from March 31, 2024 to June 30, 2024.

The City is also working on:

Streamlining the business licence requirements for registered ARUs.
Reviewing the requirements for inspections.
Improving the online application process.

We appreciate your patience. Check back regularly for updates.

Licensing, Creating Safer Rentals for All

In Q2 2023, Council directed staff to implement a two-year Residential Rental Licensing (RRL) pilot program in Wards 1, 3, 4, 5 and 7 to deal with the growing number of problem rentals. The objective of the program is:

"To protect the health and safety, and human rights of persons to protect the residential amenity, character and stability of residential areas. To proactively mitigate potential risks that may exist within a particular business sector and provide enforcement mechanism to respond to complaints relating to that sector."

The program's goals include helping to maintain the character of local neighbourhoods, uphold property standard by-laws, and keep individuals and families safe with enforcement of the Ontario Fire Code.

A pilot program is a small-scale version of a larger project. It allows the City to test the roll out of the rental licensing program and identify efficiencies and any inefficiencies with the program should the program be implemented at a larger scale.

The pilot will be evaluated over the next two years to make informed decisions for the program's future.

RRL Pilot Launch

The RRL pilot program launched on January 1, 2024, requiring owners of rental properties with one (1) to four (4) residential dwelling units to obtain a licence through the City Clerk's Office. This includes dwelling units intended or used for rental housing and owners or operators of rental housing.

Unless the entire house is being rented as a single self-contained residential unit on a property, any additional rental unit within a house or property will be required to be a registered with the City as an Additional Residential Unit (ARU) before it is eligible for a RRL licence during the pilot program.

RRL Business Licence Fee

Licensing costs are $300 annually with fees waived during the first three months of the pilot and discounted by 50 per cent between April 1, 2024, and June 30, 2024.

0-3 months (January 1, 2024 to March 31, 2024): fee waived ($0)
4-6 months (April 1, 2024 to June 30, 2024): 50% fee ($150)
After six months (July 1, 2024 onwards): full fee($300)

Licensing Fee Breakdown

Registered second units, unregistered residential rental units, and Additional Residential Units (ARUs) will be included in this program. Units within the applicable wards will be subject to random inspections. Penalties for non-compliance will be announced in early 2024.

Examples of Permitted Residential Units

Who's Required to Get a Residential Rental Licence?

Rental properties that are operating in Wards 1, 3, 4, 5, and 7 during the two-year pilot program
Properties that are renting four (4) or less units
Owners of rental housing units
Operators of rental housing units
Dwelling units used or intended to be used for a Rental Housing Unit