Concern about apartment crackdown

The city of Hamilton is looking into licensing rental units, to crack down on the thousands of estimated illegal apartments in the city.

But some community groups say the proposed licensing could hurt renters, especially those using affordable housing. It’s estimated that there are about 23,000 illegal rental units. Some don’t meet zoning regulations, while others don’t meet specific fire codes or electrical safety requirements.

The city of Hamilton is attempting to crack down on these houses by creating a licensing system which would require landlords to operate up to certain regulations. Ward 3 councillor Bernie Morelli says there are substandard living conditions on the interior and exterior of some of these homes which negatively impacts the people living in the units, as well as other people living in the neighborhoods.

But Renee Wetselaar, the project director of The Affordable Housing Flagship says there is already a shortage of affordable housing in hamilton, and says by creating a licensing system those numbers would drop even further. She worries landlords may download the cost of the license onto tenants. Instead, she proposes an amnesty program to work with landlords to help them fix up units to help maintain current numbers of affordable housing.
Video: Melissa Raftis reports: