City cracking down on illegal boarding houses

City council's policy committee voted March 24 to address illegal housing arrangements such as rooming and boarding houses.

They instructed staff to investigate enacting a rental housing bylaw for single and semi-detached homes that are not the primary residence of the owner. The proposed bylaw would not affect those homeowners who rent out their basements or other parts of their houses to renters.

Bryan Gutjahr, Greater Sudbury manager of compliance and enforcement, addressing the councillors, said action was needed to stop the spread of illegal rooming and boarding houses in some parts of Greater Sudbury.

Gutjahr noted that under the current city zoning bylaw, rooming and boarding houses are to be located only in the downtown part of the city.

He said there are over 100 illegal housing arrangements in just New Sudbury alone.

He and city staff were requesting direction from city council on whether to enact a comprehensive rooming house bylaw or maintain the status quo.

In the past, such accommodation was regulated by zoning and noise bylaws and reliance on provincial acts such as building and fire regulations.

Staff stated in their report that complaints have been received when single detached homes are converted into rooming houses, especially in low density areas. Tenants rent a bedroom and share dining and bathroom facilities with other tenants. The landlord may or may not live in the premises, or even in the city.

“We get complaints that tenants do not do proper upkeep (of the home) or there are noise problems,” Gutjahr said.

Ward 1 Coun. Joe Cimino said while he supported some rooming houses, especially for those suffering from disabilities, he said he had also seen the other side where many complaints have arisen from neighbours.

“I have had (illegal rooming houses) in my ward. It took a long time to get rid of them,” Cimino said. He said the accommodation provided can also be substandard.

“I do not advocate throwing people into eight by eight (foot) windowless rooms.”

Under the provincial Municipal Act cities are allowed to to impose fees for licencing, which would help recover administration and enforcement costs of a bylaw. But if the license fee is too high that would drive rooming house operators underground.

Gutjahr said a working group comprised of staff and councillors would have to work out the details of what additional staffing costs would arise from enacting a new bylaw. Councillors Ted Callaghan and Joscelyne Landry-Altmann agreed to sit on the committee.

An advantage of a licensing system would be that premises would be inspected annually for compliance with fire and building codes, Callaghan noted.

“For parents of students attending the university or a college, they would be assured that their children would be living in accommodations that were inspected for meeting fire and building safety codes.”

Gutjahr noted bylaw officers can have difficulty inspecting a premise with the current system.

“We need a search warrant to enter the premises. Landlords often coach tenants not to allow us in. It means we cannot get enough evidence of an illegal use of the building.”

He said in one recent case it took a year to fine a property owner and return the use of the building back into a single family dwelling.

“That case was in my ward,” Callaghan said. “It took a lot of heavy lifting (to deal with it). (Illegal housing) affects property values in the area.”