I am just picking my jaw up off the floor. I cannot believe this! It’s a proposal for all landlords to get a license to be a landlord in Toronto!
Ah, another brilliant idea from government officials! Let’s create more useless government jobs by charging landlords a licensing fee. With the proceeds, we’ll then hire inspectors to go out and “inspect” properties throughout the Greater Toronto Area (GTA). If landlords are found to have buildings not up to code or safety levels, we’ll fine them and order them to make the changes. Brilliant!
It will work really well to increase rents, and reduce the cash in a landlords pocket which could have been used for improvements.
And of course, all of the “good”, law-abiding landlords (which are the majority), will pay to get their license, spend the time to get the license, and then likely have to show their buildings to inspectors. They will likley incur some charges for repairs as a result. Meanwhile, the “bad” landlords will avoid getting the license, and they will avoid showing the buildings to inspectors, dragging out the process and costing tax-payers (court system) and other landlords (through licensing fees) considerably in the process.
There is already the Residential Tenancies Act which gives tenants the opportunity to push-back on slum landlords. If the politicians want more ways to improve rental conditions why don’t they just use the legislation they already have? Believe me, when it’s put to use, it can be effective. I have been hit by this in Niagara once.
Are the politicians in Toronto really that desperate to create new jobs and find new ways to spend tax payer money?
landlord license
