The City Council of Waterloo, Ontario will receive a staff report April 11 on a proposed property rental bylaw, which specifies floor area, compliance with building codes, fire safety rules and electrical safety regulations. It also requires inspections by certified HVAC technicians.
The City of Waterloo, Ontario announced this week its staff will table a report next Monday outlining a proposed property rental licensing bylaw.
If approved, the new bylaw would require people or corporations wanting to rent residential property to get their heating ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems inspected by a professional. It would also give city staff the ability to enter premises to investigate concerns related to building and property standards.
City Council will not make a decision April 11 but will be presented with the staff report. That report incorporates changes made to an earlier staff proposal presented to Council in January. Council is scheduled to hear delegations on the proposed new bylaw May 9.
The proposed bylaw was drafted as a result of a study published in June, 2009 outlining several concerns about residential property rental, including poor upkeep of properties and safety concerns when buildings are not maintained or do not comply with building codes.
Under the proposed bylaw, owners applying for licences to rent residential units must include an inspection certificate from a certified HVAC technician that confirms that the HVAC system is in proper working order. The applicant would also be required to sign a statement that the property is in compliance with applicable regulations, including, among others: the Building Code Act, 1992; the Fire Protection and Prevention Act, 1997; any regulations made under the Fire Protection and Prevention Act, 1997 or the Fire Code; the Electricity Act; and the Electrical Safety Code.
The proposed City of Waterloo bylaw for licensing, regulating and governing the business of residential rental units is available on the city Web site in PDF format.
The bylaw also stipulates floor area requirements and includes different classes of rental. For example, a Class A licence requires seven square metres per occupant for bedrooms and that no more than 40 per cent of the unit’s gross area can be bedrooms. Boarding houses cannot exceed 600 square metres or be more than three storeys in height. Boarding houses can only have one kitchen and cannot have water distribution systems to the bedrooms.
DCN DIGITAL MEDIA
Recent Comments
comments for this post are closed