Landlord Licensing on CBC Ottawa Morning

On CBC radio this morning, I discussed the issues surrounding Landlord Licensing, how to resolve landlord-tenant disputes, and what landlords can do to prevent vacancies. The Ottawa Real Estate Investors Organization is a group of about 400 investors and landlords from across the Ottawa area. The vast majority of landlords want to delivery a quality product. The tenant advocacy group ACORN has been pushing for landlord licensing as a way to improve property standards. The Ontario residential tenancies act of 2006 maps out clear property maintenance standards. In 2013, the city of Ottawa enacted the Property Standards Bilaw 2013-416 which sets out clear property standards. In the 71 page document, the requirements for landlords are very clear. If properties are not in compliance, it is an enforcement issue, not the lack of regulation. Layering another set of rules on top of the existing ones and imposing a tax that would ultimately be passed onto tenants is not a solution. Enforce the existing rules. Check it out.