Brampton expanding its controversial landlord licensing program

A controversial oversight policy aimed at ensuring Brampton landlords operating in the city’s booming secondary rental housing market adhere to certain regulations, continues to rankle property owners and managers who feel they are being unfairly targeted.

With Brampton City council deciding in its June 18 meeting to proceed with the implementation of enhanced enforcement provisions under the Residential Rental Licensing (RRL) program in Wards 2 and 8 starting in January 2026—with the potential to add wards 6,9, and 10 following public consultations—critics of the pilot program claim their voices are being excluded.

Brampton’s local elected officials have for years failed to create proper rental housing stock, leading to the proliferation of secondary suites in houses across the city, which has led to a wide range of property standard issues.

(Alexis Wright/The Pointer)

The controversial RRL program, since its launch last year in Wards 1,3,4,5, and 7, has been vigorously opposed by a group of landlords, who filed a petition to eliminate the program after its launch, arguing sufficient rules were already in place. They also feel targeted as small-scale landlords, and question what many have described as a “money grab”. 

More than a half-dozen landlords The Pointer spoke with, who did not want their name used, also alleged questionable practices in Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown’s office, regarding the program; some accuse him of using it as a political tool, even suggesting he has tried to leverage financial support from the city’s large landlord community. Brown did not respond to a request for comment.

"So basically, this RRL will not be needed. And we are totally against this program in Brampton, because at same time, Brampton city is hungry for money," Azad Goyat, a founder of the Brampton Housing Providers Association (BHPA) representing landlords against the RRL program, said.

"To enforce this program, it needs additional work. It costs money. It cost $1.3 million. They are not collecting any fee, like they waived in 2024; they waived of people in 2025. Basically it's taxpayer money from where the money will come."

He said landlords being targeted under the threat of non-compliance with the pilot program’s rules have already followed requirements under pre-existing policies and regulations. "Don't target the legal people. We are law-abiding. The Brampton Housing Providers Association is not a slum association. I want to tell them clearly it's not a slum association. It is associations of compliant landlords who believe in compliance and request the mayor don't come behind the compliant but go behind the noncompliant."

The program aims to tighten adherence to strict rules pertaining to a range of requirements landlords have to follow, ensuring the safety of tenants and respect for their rights as renters. The City failed to provide data or evidence under its existing suite of regulatory oversight tools to justify the scheme, opponents allege. They have also questioned how only those landlords in certain parts of the city are subject to scrutiny under the RRL pilot program.  

Brampton’s licensing program for small landlords will be expanded into Wards 2 and 8 starting next year.

(City of Brampton)

Council decided to merge the RRL team and the Second Unit Task Force that was formed by the City in 2018, which consists of one Enforcement Supervisor and four full-time property standards officers (enhanced by adding two more officers from the existing staff) to address the rising volume of issues related to additional rental units (ARUs, often called secondary suites), into a single Rental Compliance Unit (RCU). It is supposed to address issues related to garbage, yard maintenance and other property standards. The City argues that pulling these efforts under one entity will make oversight more efficient and effective while avoiding overlap.

Council has approved $1,396,398 to hire additional staff, including one full-time supervisor, four full time property standards officers, two full time business licensing clerks, and ten part-time property standards officers to crack down on illegal residential units not compliant with municipal building, fire and property standards bylaws. To ensure implementation by January, hiring will begin this year.

The budget amendment also includes ancillary expenditures, including 9 pickup trucks, with $400,000 to be funded from revenues generated from the RCU’s work.

The RRL program has been implemented in Wards 1,3,5 and 7, requiring landlords renting four or fewer units to apply for a licence with the City, to ensure landlords follow existing bylaws to keep their properties safe and clean. 

According to the City’s published data, as of May, 26,743 ARUs were registered across the city, with 2,138 active investigations. From January 1 to April 30, the City issued 119 penalty notices to landlords for ARU-related violations, resulting in fines totalling $90,500. In 2024, 439 penalty notices were sent that resulted in overall fines of $354,750.  

During the council session on June 18, members agreed to begin rolling out the RRL program in Ward 2 immediately, starting with an education campaign. Councillor Michael Palleschi pushed to speed up the timeline. Robert Higgs, the director of enforcement and by-law services, confirmed that staff could begin the education campaign to encourage landlords to register their properties and comply with city’s property standards regulations immediately, if council approved it. With that approval now in place through a council vote, full enforcement is expected to follow the hirings, with a rollout around the fourth quarter of this year. 

Councillor Harkirat Singh says more time is needed to understand the impact of the Residential Rental Licensing program before the pilot plan is expanded.

(Alexis Wright/The Pointer)

While raising concerns about the claims being made by opponents of the program, Councillor Harkirat Singh said, “we are not saying no to RRL,” but he said he needs more time for the consultation process.

"And you know, before, I was actually thinking of bringing in Ward 9 as well, and then yesterday, we did a community meeting, and it didn't go too well, and I was shocked," he said at the June 18 council meeting, noting residents had also filed a petition to suspend the plan.

City officials and Brown were heavily criticized when it was clear the RRL pilot was launched before a number of concerns had been addressed. It was eventually postponed to work out some of the problems before it was later re-launched.

Singh detailed some of the complexities in Brampton. 

Council members, including him, have failed to create proper rental housing stock, leading to the proliferation of basement suites, illegal apartments, rooming houses and other makeshift housing alternatives that have put the safety of tenants at risk, while property standards have suffered across the city.

"If I could be honest, I really didn't know how to handle it, because we're talking about townhomes with five bedrooms…Like they were made in the early 2000s with only two parking spots, which includes a garage. So it's like, a really peculiar situation, and the whole street was up in arms.”

To justify expansion of the pilot program, staff have pointed to a survey that was commissioned by the City which showed mixed perceptions of the plan. Many Brampton residents who responded to the survey want to see stricter enforcement and regulations to crack down on non-compliant secondary suites and ARUs. A minority of respondents said the plan is not needed. 

Landlords The Pointer spoke with said Brown and other council members are to blame for failing to create more traditional rental units across the city, while secondary suites have become more and more common to meet the continued demand for rental housing in one of Ontario’s fastest growing cities.

The pilot program has faced scrutiny since its launch last year. While some residents welcomed the move to address property standards issues, like overcrowded driveways, overflowing garbage bins and the lack of compliance with fire, electrical and building codes; others felt it unfairly targets small landlords who are already struggling due to high mortgage rates and poor infrastructure in the city.

According to BHPA, Brown and some other council members are trying to penalize law-abiding, legal unit owners, who have already legally registered through the City’s Additional Residential Unit (ARU) program for secondary suites. 

A 2024 report to councillors suggested enforcement of the pilot program—even before expanding it city-wide—could be a challenge for Brampton's under-resourced bylaw enforcement department.

A review completed by an external consultant last year found the City has not invested adequately in its enforcement team to keep up with the rapid population growth. This has led to a department riddled with issues, including Iow morale; a lack of clear direction; standard operating procedures that are outdated or simply not followed; poor communication; and a significant gap in staff which hampers any effort to enforce existing bylaws. The consultant's report led to the hiring of 26 additional full-time employees and 14 part-time staff.

After reports of overcrowding, unkempt properties, overflowing garbage and other property standard issues, the RRL program was designed to hold landlords accountable to regulations.

BHPA has criticized the program since its launch, claiming Brown and the others on council who have supported the RRL pilot have created a double standard. 

“For example, if a customer was to break a window at a restaurant, it would be the patron who would be charged, not the restaurant owner. However, in the case of landlords and ARUs, it is the tenant's conduct that often leads to the property standards violation, but it is the landlord who would face the consequences under the RRL program,” a BHPA spokesperson told The Pointer last year. 

“The only recourse for landlords is the LTB (Landlord and Tenant Board), which leaves them sandwiched between the backlogged board and municipal fines.”

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