City council voted recently to slash some fees for its new home rental licence, but the backlash doesn’t appear to be going away.
An online petition has now been started opposing the fee, with a web page calling it a “renter fine” because its supporters think renters will ultimately end up paying the fee through increased rents.
“Council is sitting on nearly $2 billion in reserves and does not need more money,” said Maria Rosa Vincelli, petition supporter. “This $570 renter fine is a tax grab targeting low-income renters.”
The petition can be viewed here.
The petition states that the fee is the opposite of an “empty homes tax” because it is a fine that penalizes renting unused space in houses.
Petition supporter Helen Ward said the city should be encouraging people to rent out unused space.
“Encouraging rather than penalizing the use of this existing housing in stable neighbourhoods reduces the need to build more, and therefore reduces sprawl as well as the congestion and alienation caused by building shiny super-size new towers in hyper-dense zones,” Ward said. “We all benefit. So does the environment. Except developers who build new condos - which we hear are often sold as 'investment' and are not even lived in.”
The city originally planned to charge homeowners a $570 annual fee, plus $50 application fee if they rent out their home without living there. The fee was first created last year to replace a utility surcharge for homeowners with secondary suites. It was set to extend next year to all homeowners who do not live in a home they rent out.
The fees received significant backlash from landlords, prompting city changes.
As declarations forms and information about the new program were distributed, the city heard back from homeowners, unhappy about the new expense. The licence for those renting out a home they don't live in will be $130 annually, with the planned $50 application fee eliminated.
The city has also reduced the fee for a rented suite in a duplex to approximately $430 – half the 2019 water and sewer charges for one of two main units in a duplex.
The fee for owners who live in their home but rent out a secondary suite will remain. In 2020, it will be roughly $570 (a 50% utility surcharge).
Anyone who rents out both the main unit and a secondary suite in a home, and does not live there, will be charged both the $130 fee and the 50% utility surcharge.
Homeowners have until Nov. 30 to return rental declarations, whether they rent out or not. The city plans to send out bills for rental licences in the new year.
- With additional reporting by Kelvin Gawley
