On Wednesday July 8 2026, alongside dozens of other delegates, CAFES delivered a public delegation to the City’s Planning and Housing Committee on the Rental Renovation Licence By-law Review to express our support for a strong Renoviction By-law.
For context, this rental renovation by-law review came to be because renters in Ottawa have been experiencing evictions from their rental homes in the context of landlords undertaking repairs or renovations. While many of these situations are in good faith, there are also mounting instances of bad actors purposely seeking to evict their tenants under the guise of ‘renovations’ or ‘retrofits’ in order to later jack up the price and rent to someone else. This issue has been disproportionately affecting seniors, low-income individuals and people with disabilities, leading to housing insecurity, mental health issues and homelessness.
CAFES approached this issue through a climate lens – discussing that bad faith building owners may be also be using subsidized green retrofits to undertake renovictions. Our delegation established a clear connection between equitable climate action and housing justice.
We called on committee to strengthen the by-law by:
- Requiring a qualified engineer’s report confirming that vacant possession is necessary, and requiring compensation or temporary accommodation for the full renovation period;
- Attaching affordability and anti-eviction covenants to the Better Homes Ottawa Loan Program, and exploring expansion beyond low-rise buildings; and
- Directing staff to report back on how tenant protections apply when repair is triggered by a climate event (flood, mold) — so a climate disaster doesn’t become a backdoor for renoviction.
On the previous day, Angela Keller-Herzog delivered inspiring remarks at ACORN’s Renoviction Rally at City Hall. ACORN has been a key player in advocating for better policies to protect tenant rights in Ottawa.
City Council ultimately voted in favour of a Rental Renovation Licence By-law, with Councillor Wilson Lo being the sole opposing vote. While the current by-law does not require an engineer’s report or additional compensation for tenants beyond the provincial minimums, it does require landlords to acquire a licence from the City before being able to hand out eviction notices, which should help to filter out those acting in bad faith.
See our delegation below and watch the committee recording here.