$600 landlord licence deadline looms as some still protest new rules in Brampton

There are only a few weeks left before some landlords could get fined in Brampton and some are still protesting as the city prepares to share details on the first six months of its controversial rental licensing program.

Brampton’s Residential Rental Licensing pilot program has seen ongoing protests by local landlords opposed to the project which requires many landlords in Wards 1,3,4,5 and 7 to register with the city.

The city waived the initial $300 annual fee and then offered a discounted rate of $150 for a limited time, but as of Oct. 1 any rental property owner with up to four residential units can be fined $600.

Those fines could climb up to $1,200 if not registered.

Some landlords opposed to the new rules have held weekly protests in Brampton, and recently joined in marching with a group calling for extended post-graduation work permits for some 70,000 international students in Canada and temporary foreign workers who are facing deportation.

Brampton City Councillor for Wards 3 and 4 Dennis Keenan says he’s been the target of some of the protesters and has put forward a plan for the city to pause construction on all basement suites and additional rental units until next year.

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Keenan proposed the move after seeing multiple cases of what he called “slumlord squalor” in the city.

Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown and members of the city’s Rental Licensing Task Force are expected to give an update next week on how the first six months of the program have gone.

Nearly 2,000 registration were received from property owners in the pilot areas as of July, the city said.

The program was introduced as a way to hold both tenants and landlords responsible for issues like property standards concerns and rental unit safety. Brown has said there are an estimated 16,000 unregistered rental units in Brampton and at least four people have died in illegal suites during his time as mayor.

The RRL $300 sign-up fee for landlords was also waived for the entire run of the two-year pilot if property owners registered by June 30.

Landlords in the pilot area caught operating without a license will be subject to a $600 fine for the first offence, $900 for the second and $1,200 for every following infraction.

The pilot project also includes $250 fines for offences like failing to provide adequate waste containers or violating the city’s grass and weed cutting bylaw.