This is a story that is more than 20 years in the making, years in which Toronto City Council could have exercised leadership to protect housing for residents with low incomes, but hasn’t.
The story begins in 1998, when the provincial government amalgamated a regional government (Metro Toronto) and the six municipalities within its borders to form a new City of Toronto. That this was not a happy marriage is evident in the media and the legislature at time of amalgamation.
Homelessness in the amalgamated city was becoming more visible, having started to grow earlier in the decade. New emergency shelters were opening and quickly filling up. Helping people to move out of the shelters was near impossible, as their incomes weren’t enough to pay for the vast majority of housing in the city.
There was one exception: multi-tenant housing (a.k.a rooming houses). Tenants who received social assistance or who earned minimum wage could just manage to pay their rent in homes where they shared kitchens and/or bathrooms with other tenants.
Multi-Tenant housing was allowed in residential districts in the former City of Toronto. In the newly amalgamated districts, it was a different story. Rooming houses were either banned outright or limited to very specific areas (including quarters for grooms and jockeys located beside the Woodbine race track).
In 1999, the Mayor’s Task Force on Homelessness recommended making multi-tenant housing legal in all residential districts in the city. In the 23 years since that recommendation was made, the City has not been able to follow through.
Meanwhile, housing prices and rents have continued to rise and incomes have not kept pace with the growth. In districts where it is illegal, landlords are renting out multi-tenant housing. Thousands of people with modest incomes are renting illegal homes because they can’t afford anything else.
Tenants in illegal housing face eviction if they exercise their rights
People who live in illegal homes are in a tough position. They are considered tenants in the eye of the law. If they are concerned about something in their home, say the lack of a fire escape, they can complain. However, if they do, City inspectors can determine that their home is illegal and require the owner to “reduce the occupancy” of the building. The tenants will lose their housing.
When multi-tenant housing is legal, tenants can make their concerns about safety and other issues known without risking eviction, but this is not available to people who live in illegal multi-tenant housing.
Tenants in illegal units are unlikely to find better housing if they are evicted
There are a lot of other people in the city that don’t have enough money to pay for legal housing. Over 7,000 people stayed overnight at Toronto emergency shelters on Dec 30, 2021. Occupancy levels exceed 90% across the emergency shelter system. The City is building more housing, but people who earn minimum wage or social assistance will not be able to pay the rent in these new units on their own.
Where tenants can’t act, Council should step in
Tenants, landlords and advocates have spoken in favour of making multi-tenant housing legal, but so far, Council has decided to listen to the opposition. A crucial vote on the issue in 2021 was deferred to 2022.
Making multi-tenant housing legal will not solve the homelessness crisis on its own, but at the very least it is a gesture of good will toward the people who are homeless and the people who are struggling to pay for housing that is currently illegal.
In a city that has made a public commitment to the right to housing, one would hope for leadership from the Mayor and Councillors. You can read more on this issue at Maytree: The solution to our housing crisis is leadership
