QUEEN’S PARK – NDP Housing critic Jessica Bell (University—Rosedale) issued the following response to the Ford Conservatives’ housing announcement today:
“The Conservatives’ plan to make housing affordable is not working. It’s never been more expensive to rent or buy a home in Ontario.
I am encouraged to see more adjudicators are coming because the Landlord and Tenant Board is an incredibly dysfunctional tribunal that hasn’t worked well for anyone. I’m also very worried about reports that tenants are waiting twice as long as landlords for justice, and thousands of people who don’t have a good internet connection or don’t speak English fluently are not getting a fair hearing with the LTB’s online-only system.
We still need to see the details, but it’s clear the Conservatives are failing to protect tenants from illegal evictions. Even with these new changes, a landlord can still move a new tenant in when the renovations are complete, which means the former tenant has permanently lost their home.
The Conservatives are also looking at eliminate municipal rental replacement laws which protect renters and affordable private-market rentals. It looks like the Conservatives want to do away with the rules that require developers provide tenants with financial assistance and the right to return to a replacement unit if they demolish and then build a bigger building.
The Ontario NDP has real solutions to solve the housing crisis and help people find a home they can afford. We need to build more homes by ending exclusionary zoning, investing in affordable housing, clamping down on speculation, and making rent affordable.”