Residential Tenancies Amendment Act (Vital Services), 2011 DiNovo, Cheri — Bill 187 (39th Parliament, 2nd Session)

Bill 187, 39-2

Ontario — Bills

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Bill 187, Residential Tenancies Amendment Act (Vital Services), 2011

DiNovo, Cheri

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[39] Bill 187 Original (PDF)

Bill 187 2011

An Act to amend

the Residential Tenancies Act, 2006 in respect of vital services

Note:

This Act amends the Residential

Tenancies Act, 2006 . For the legislative history of the Act, see

the Table of Consolidated Public Statutes – Detailed Legislative History at

www.e-Laws.gov.on.ca.

Her

Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Ontario, enacts as follows:

Section 216 of the Residential Tenancies Act, 2006 is

amended by adding the following subsection:

Notice of by-law to Ministry

(4) If the council of a local municipality passes a by-law

or an amendment to a by-law under this section, the council shall promptly

provide a copy of the by-law or the amended by-law, as the case may be, to the director

appointed under

section 223.1.

2. The Act is amended by adding the following

Part:

Part

xiii.1

vital services - no applicable municipal by-law

Director

223.1

(1) The

Minister shall appoint a director for the purposes of this Part.

Same

(2) In this Part,

"director"

means the director appointed under subsection (1).

Application

(3) This Part applies in respect of a rental unit if,

(

a) the

rental unit is located in unorganized territory;

(

b) there

is no vital services by-law that applies to the rental unit; or

(

c) there

is a vital services by-law that applies to the rental unit, but the prescribed

criteria apply.

Landlord to provide vital services

223.2

(1) Subject

to subsections (2) and (3), every landlord shall provide adequate and suitable

vital services to each of the landlord's rental units.

Interruption in provision of vital services

(2) A landlord may interrupt the provision of vital services

to a rental unit when it is necessary to do so to alter or repair the rental

unit, but any such interruption shall be for no longer than is necessary to

effect the alteration or repair.

Notice of interruption

(3) Except in cases of emergency, a landlord shall give

written notice to a tenant at least 24 hours before interrupting the provision

of vital services to the tenant's rental unit.

Exception where tenant obtains vital service

(4) Subsection (1) does not apply in respect of a vital

service and rental unit if the tenant has expressly agreed to obtain and

maintain the vital service.

Failing to pay supplier

(5) For greater certainty and without limiting the

generality of subsection (1), a landlord is in violation of his or her obligations

under subsection (1) if the landlord fails to pay the supplier of a vital

service and, as a result, the vital service is no longer provided to a rental

unit.

Duties of vital services suppliers

223.3

(1) No

person who supplies a vital service to a residential complex or rental unit

under contract with the landlord or the landlord's agent shall cease supplying

the vital service because the landlord has breached a contract for the supply

of the vital service unless the supplier has complied with the notice

requirement described in subsection (2).

Same, notice of cessation

(2) At least 30 days before ceasing to supply the vital

service, the supplier shall give notice to the director and the landlord, in

writing, that the supplier intends to discontinue supplying the vital service

to the residential complex or rental unit in question.

Same

(3) The supplier shall, at the same time as notice is

provided under subsection (2), make every reasonable effort to provide a copy

of the notice to every tenant who would be affected by the cessation.

Contents of notice

(4) The notice shall be in the form specified by the

director, if any, and shall contain,

(

a) the

name, address, telephone number and fax number of the supplier;

(

b) a

description of the vital service being supplied;

(

c) the

name, address and telephone number of the person with whom the supplier has a

contract for the supply of the vital service;

(

d) the

municipal address of the building to which the vital service is being supplied;

(

e) a

description of the nature of the landlord's breach of contract;

(

f) if

the breach of contract is non-payment of charges,

(

i) the

amount of those charges,

(ii) the

amount of any interest owing, and

(iii) the

amount of any related administrative fees;

(

g) the

date and time at which the supplier intends to cease supplying the vital

service; and

(

h) the

name, address and telephone number of a person who is authorized to direct that

the supply of a vital service to an address be continued or resumed and to whom

the director may issue an order under

section 223.4.

Director's order

223.4 The director may order a

supplier to resume or continue supplying a vital service to a residential

complex or rental unit if,

(

a) the

director is of the opinion that the supplier has ceased supplying the vital

service without fulfilling its obligations under

section 223.3; or

(

b) the

director has received notice under subsection 223.3 (2) that the supplier

intends to cease supplying the vital service, and the director intends to arrange

for the vital service to be provided under subsection 223.6 (1).

Inspection by director

223.5

(1) Subject

to subsection (2), the director or a person designated by him or her may, at

any reasonable time, enter and inspect a building or part of a building for the

purpose of determining compliance with

section 223.2 or 223.3 or for determining

compliance with an order issued by the director under

section 223.4.

Same

(2) Despite subsection (1), the director or his or her

designee shall not enter a rental unit unless,

(

a) he

or she has obtained the consent of the occupier of the rental unit after informing

the occupier that he or she may refuse permission to enter the unit; or

(

b) he

or she is authorized to do so by a warrant issued under

section 231.

Vital

services arranged by Ministry

223.6

(1) If

a landlord does not provide a vital service to a rental unit in accordance with

section 223.2, the director may arrange for the service to be provided and may,

for that purpose, enter into agreements with vital services suppliers on behalf

of the Ministry.

Same

(2) In deciding

whether to arrange for a service to be provided under subsection (1), the

director shall have regard to the prescribed criteria.

Lien

(3) The amount spent

by the Ministry under subsection (1) plus an administrative fee of 10 per cent

of that amount shall, on registration of a notice of lien in the appropriate

land registry office, be a lien in favour of the Ministry against the property

at which the vital service is provided.

Certificate as

evidence

(4) The certificate of

the director is proof, in the absence of evidence to the contrary, of the

amount spent by the Ministry under subsection (1).

Interim

certificate

(5) Before issuing a

certificate referred to in subsection (4), the director shall send an interim

certificate by registered mail to the registered owner of the property that is

subject to the lien and to all mortgagees or other encumbrancers registered on

title.

Appeal

(6) An affected owner,

mortgagee or other encumbrancer may, within 15 days after the interim

certificate is mailed, appeal the amount shown on it to the Deputy Minister.

Payments

transferred

223.7

(1) If

the director has arranged for a vital service to be provided to a rental unit,

he or she may direct a tenant to pay any or all of the rent for the rental unit

to the Ministry.

Effect of payment

(2) Payment by a

tenant of his or her rent to the Ministry under subsection (1) shall be deemed

not to constitute a default in the payment of rent due under a tenancy

agreement or a default in the tenant's obligations for the purposes of this

Act.

Use of money

223.8

(1) The

Ministry shall apply the rent received from a tenant toward the amount that it

spent to provide the vital service and the administrative fee of 10 per cent.

Accounting and

payment of balance

(2) The Ministry shall

provide the person otherwise entitled to receive the rent with an accounting of

the rents received for each individual rental unit and shall pay to that person

any amount remaining after the rent is applied in accordance with subsection

(1).

Immunity

223.9

(1) No

proceeding for damages or otherwise shall be commenced against the director, a

person acting under the authority of the director or an employee of the

Ministry for any act done in good faith in the performance or intended performance

of a duty or authority under any of sections 223.2 to 223.8 or for any alleged

neglect or default in the performance in good faith of the duty or authority.

Same, Crown

(2) Despite subsections 5 (2) and (4) of the Proceedings Against the Crown

Act , subsection (1) does not relieve the Crown of liability in

respect of a tort committed by any agent or servant of the Crown to which it

would otherwise be subject and the Crown is liable under that Act for any such

tort as if subsection (1) had not been enacted.

No interference

223.10 No person shall hinder,

obstruct or interfere with or attempt to hinder, obstruct or interfere with the

director or a person designated by the director under subsection 223.5 (1) in

the exercise of a power or performance of a duty under sections 223.2 to 223.9.

Section 234 of the Act is amended by

adding the following clauses:

(

z) contravenes

any portion of

section 223.2, 223.3 or 223.10; or

(z.1) fails

to supply a vital service in compliance with an order issued under

section

223.4.

4. Subsection 241 (1) of the Act is amended

by adding the following paragraphs:

7.1 prescribing

criteria for the purposes of clause 223.1 (3) (

c) and specifying that, where

such criteria exist, any provisions of an otherwise applicable vital services

by-law that would conflict with or overlap with the application of sections

223.2 to 223.10, do not apply;

7.2 prescribing

criteria for the purposes of subsection 223.6 (2);

Commencement

5. This Act comes into force on the day it

receives Royal Assent.

Short title

6. The

short title of this Act is the Residential Tenancies Amendment

Act (Vital Services), 2011 .

EXPLANATORY NOTE

The

Bill amends the Residential

Tenancies Act, 2006 to provide that, where no municipal vital

services by-law is applicable in respect of a rental unit, the following

applies:

1. The

landlord is required to provide adequate and suitable vital services to the

rental unit.

2. A

supplier of a vital service is required to give notice to the Ministry before

ceasing to supply the service because of a landlord's breach of contract.

3. Where

a landlord has failed to provide adequate and suitable vital services, the

Ministry may enter into agreements with suppliers to ensure the supply of vital

services to rental units and may, in such circumstances, direct a tenant to pay

his or her rent to the Ministry.

The

Bill grants the Lieutenant Governor in Council authority to specify that when

prescribed criteria are met, an otherwise applicable vital services by-law does

not apply in respect of a rental unit and the provisions set out in the Bill

apply instead.

Date Bill stage Activity Committee

April 21, 2011

First Reading

Carried

Debates and Progress

First Reading

April 21, 2011

Committee

Second Reading

Committee

Third Reading

Royal Assent

Acts affected - Bill 187

Most Ontario public acts are available electronically; to view copies of the Acts to be amended by this bill visit e-laws

Residential Tenancies Act, 2006

Legislative Assembly of Ontario

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Document details

Collection	Ontario — Bills
Citation	Bill 187, 39-2
Type	bill
Volume / chapter	p39 s2 bill 187 html
Language	en
Format	html
Source	PROVINCIAL
Identifier	62f820f162b6b606dc87640888608b6b0396036a

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