Toronto could soon crack down on fraudulent evictions

Toronto could soon be looking at new measures to help identify and investigate fraudulent evictions, with a city councillor calling for expanded powers for bylaw enforcement officers to help crack down on criminal conduct.

Councillor Josh Matlow has submitted a motion asking city staff to explore whether RentSafe officers could be given more authority to identify potential fraud, collect evidence, and help initiate criminal investigations when appropriate.

Under the motion, Councillor Matlow is asking staff to report back to the Planning and Housing Committee no later than the second quarter of 2027 on the feasibility of expanding RentSafe officers' authority and justification to identify potential fraud in the residential rental sector, compile evidence to support the initiation of criminal investigations by the Toronto Police Services, and identify potential breaches of the Residential Tenancies Act.

RentSafeTO is the city's bylaw enforcement program that ensures owners and operators comply with building maintenance standards. The program applies to apartment buildings with three or more storeys and 10 or more units, and does not apply to condo buildings, townhomes, or units in private homes.

Marlow argues that tenants who face fraudulent evictions are often required to investigate the situation themselves and to gather evidence and complex legal proceedings without the same resources typically available to landlords.

"For too long, corporate crime has been treated as an administrative matter. This is particularly evident in how Ontario treats fraud in the residential rental sector," he wrote in a letter to the Planning and Housing Committee.

"When a resident faces a fraudulent eviction, the resident is left to do their own investigation, collect their own evidence, and hire their own lawyer in order to hold the landlord accountable. The consequences of this type of fraud are significant."

Matlow added that some cases involve repeated behaviour by landlords who know tenants might face barriers when trying to challenge them through the Landlord and Tenant Board.

"This criminal behaviour is often systemic, repeated and done with impunity, as landlords know that they can afford to fight at the Landlord and Tenant Board when often their tenants cannot. This is not how we treat other crimes," he continued.

"If someone is caught stealing from a grocery store, Loblaws can call the police; they won't need to figure out the right forms to fill out, they won't need to hire a lawyer, and they won't have to pay a filing fee. They might not even need to show up in court, meanwhile a tenant might be forced to take valuable time away from work to pursue their claim. Corporate crime is crime, and it should be treated as such."

The motion comes approximately a year after Toronto enacted its Rental Renovation Licence Bylaw, in an effort to curb "renovictions" — a term that applies to cases where a landlord improperly removes a tenant from their unit under the false pretence of renovations.

In a letter of support for Matlow's motion, the Advocacy Centre for Tenants Ontario (ACTO) noted that municipal enforcement can play a crucial role in identifying problematic landlords and buildings.

"By law enforcement officers identify which buildings are performing well, which buildings require some remedial work, which buildings require significant work and which buildings consistently ignore orders and pose a health and safety threat to the residents living in them," the letter reads.

"For example, at 500 Dawes, the information that they collected was instrumental in issuing fines and eventually obtaining an order for incarceration against one of Toronto's most notorious bad landlords. The unfortunate part is that it took over 15 years of complaints from people with lived experience, tenant advocates, multiple work orders, and litigation to finally achieve this result."

The motion is being considered by Toronto's Planning and Housing Committee on Thursday and will then go before city council at the end of the month, subject to the committee's recommendations.