Darlene Wesley was by all means a good tenant. The senior from Hamilton, Ontario had never missed a rent payment to her landlord for over two decades. But, despite her virtues, she lost her residence due to an illegal renovation.
In February of 2023, Wesley and three other tenants were evicted out of their residences so owner Kevin Moniz could complete renovations — a legal process known as renoviction. Wesley notified Moniz in writing she would be returning to her residence as per Ontario’s Residential Tenancy Act (ORTA), but found out that the residencies previously occupied by her and the three other tenants were being rented out to other people.
Prior to the renovations, Wesley and the other affected tenants were paying $700 a month in rent, while the new tenants are paying $1,500 each month, one of them told the courts. Because Moniz clearly violated the ORTA, Ontario’s Rental Housing Enforcement Unit — created to uphold the rights of tenants — charged the landlord with four counts of “knowingly failing to give the tenants the right of first refusal for their units,” CBC News reported.
Justice of the Peace, Linda Crawford, found Moniz guilty on all four counts and fined him $100,000 to be paid in two weeks’ time. "In my view, there was quite a bit of foresight to renovate apartments and he made a decision to essentially flip them and rent them out for more than double what he had been getting before," Crawford stated.
Your tenant rights when it comes to renovictions
Under the ORTA, evicting a tenant so a landlord can renovate the premises is perfectly legal, so what exactly led to Moniz’s convictions?
Under the ORTA, tenants have a number of rights when it comes to renovictions, and a specific process needs to be followed for it to be legal. If a tenant’s rights are violated under the ORTA, then a renoviciton may be illegal.
Before evicting a tenant to renovate, the landlord must provide 120 days’ notice. The renovations need to be extensive enough to require vacant premises and a building permit. Tenants also have a legal shield known as a right of first refusal. When a tenant is notified a renovation is occurring, before they vacate the premises, they can notify the landlord that they have the right to their residence once the renovations are completed.
Under Hamilton’s new renovicition bylaw that came into effect in January, tenants now have additional protections. If a tenant chooses to exercise their right to the property once renovations are complete, their landlord must provide them with similar alternative housing arrangements or monetary payments in lieu of.
If a tenant is concerned their landlord may be completing renovictions in bad faith, they can challenge the process before Ontario’s Landlord and Tenant Board.
Advice for tenants facing renovictions
While there are many protections in place for tenants, renovictions can be a stressful time and understanding your legal rights can be quite complicated.
If you’re facing renovictions in Hamilton and not sure how to navigate the situation, make sure to follow these steps to ensure you aren’t taken advantage of and you can return to your residence.
- Provide notice of your right of first refusal: To be able to return to your residence following renovations, you need to give your landlord notice of such within 120 days of receiving notice of the renoviction. Doing so will also put your landlord on the hook to provide alternative housing for your or payments in lieu of.
- Make sure you see written proof: Under Hamilton’s new bylaw the landlord and affected tenants must sign a document stating their agreed terms and arrangements before the landlord can be issued a license to renovate the building. If you haven’t seen or signed any documents laying out rental arrangements during and after the renovations and your landlord is starting to renovate, that’s a major red flag.
- Get independent legal advice: Before signing any documents or moving out of your rental unit, get in touch with a real estate lawyer who isn’t acting for your landlord. This can help you know your rights in and out, especially with more complex details such as financial compensation in lieu of alternative housing arrangements.
- Contact city officials: Hamilton residents issued notice of renoviciton can email the city at [email protected] or call 905-546-2782 (select option 2) to make sure their landlord is in compliance with the city’s bylaws.
If you are outside of Hamilton, be sure to check your specific city’s bylaws on renovictions, or if you’re still unsure, consult the provincial body overseeing landlord and tenant rights.
Being evicted to have your property renovated can come with a lot of uncertainties. You might be wondering if your rent will increase, if you can challenge the renovations or what your rights are under the law and Hamilton’s new bylaw.
Following these steps — and contacting the City of Hamilton bylaw officers or Ontario’s Landlord and Tenant Board if your landlord is acting in bad faith — may save you the heartache of illegally losing your residence before it’s too late.
Sources
1. CBC: Hamilton landlord fined $100K for illegal renovictions that had ‘devastating’ impacts on tenants, court hears, by Samantha Beattie (May 28, 2025)
2. City of Hamilton: Renovation Licence and Relocation By-law
This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind.
