The municipality is calling on the province to help ensure families have access to affordable multi-bedroom rental units.
Councillor Melissa Harrigan’s motion that advocates for a province-wide strategy aimed at preventing the loss of these types of rental units was unanimously approved at council’s August 10 meeting.
“I think the approach that’s proposed in this motion, which is to raise that issue to the ministry and really say, ‘Something needs to be done about this,’ is probably what’s the best approach or really one of the only approaches that council can take,” said Deputy Chief Administrative Officer Dave Taylor.
Currently, decisions involving residential tenancies fall under provincial legislation and can ultimately be determined by the Landlord and Tenant Board or Ontario Land Tribunal.
In a media release, administration said the decision sees “the protection of multi-bedroom rental housing incorporated into Chatham-Kent’s ongoing provincial advocacy efforts.”
Mayor Darrin Canniff said in the release that the move aligns with Chatham-Kent’s mandate to make housing a priority, while looking at both sides of the equation — building more housing while protecting the housing Chatham-Kent already has.
“Our Rental Renovation Licensing By-law gives us another tool locally, and now we’re asking the province to use the broader tools available to them to help protect attainable rental housing for families,” Canniff said in the release.