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‘Renoviction’ is a commonly used term to describe a situation wherein a landlord evicts a tenant in bad faith under the guise of completing renovations, and then re-rents the unit to another tenant at a higher rate, without meeting their obligations under the Residential Tenancies Act.
Situations such as these often lead to concerns or allegations that the landlord may be acting in bad faith and using the renovation as a pretext for an unlawful termination of the tenancy. However, not all such evictions involve bad faith. Rental properties may genuinely require significant repairs or upgrades after many years of use, and in some cases, completing these legitimate renovations may necessitate the temporary vacancy of the unit.
The City is engaging the public with respect to developing a Rental Renovation By-Law; a by-law that would require landlords (owner/operators of rental buildings) to apply for a Licence before beginning any repair or renovation work that requires a building permit and a tenant to move out.
Learn more
Review our Renoviction FAQ Widget and the council reports linked in the Documents Widget on this page to learn more.
Provide your input
A public survey is now open to gather input on experiences with evictions related to renovations or repairs in Sarnia. The public is encouraged to share their experiences and provide their input to inform the draft by-law. The survey can be accessed on this page and will take approximately 10 minutesto complete. The survey will close at 4 p.m. on May 22, 2026.
The information gathered from this survey will assist City Staff in the drafting of the by-law.
Public Input Session
A public information session will be held at Pat Stapleton Arena on May 13 at 5:30 p.m. The session will provide the opportunity to provide input on experiences to inform the draft by-law.
Next steps
Updates will be posted on this page as the project progresses. Once public comments from the forum and public meeting are received, a summary of feedback along with the proposed by-law will be presented to Council.
‘Renoviction’ is a commonly used term to describe a situation wherein a landlord evicts a tenant in bad faith under the guise of completing renovations, and then re-rents the unit to another tenant at a higher rate, without meeting their obligations under the Residential Tenancies Act.
Situations such as these often lead to concerns or allegations that the landlord may be acting in bad faith and using the renovation as a pretext for an unlawful termination of the tenancy. However, not all such evictions involve bad faith. Rental properties may genuinely require significant repairs or upgrades after many years of use, and in some cases, completing these legitimate renovations may necessitate the temporary vacancy of the unit.
The City is engaging the public with respect to developing a Rental Renovation By-Law; a by-law that would require landlords (owner/operators of rental buildings) to apply for a Licence before beginning any repair or renovation work that requires a building permit and a tenant to move out.
Learn more
Review our Renoviction FAQ Widget and the council reports linked in the Documents Widget on this page to learn more.
Provide your input
A public survey is now open to gather input on experiences with evictions related to renovations or repairs in Sarnia. The public is encouraged to share their experiences and provide their input to inform the draft by-law. The survey can be accessed on this page and will take approximately 10 minutesto complete. The survey will close at 4 p.m. on May 22, 2026.
The information gathered from this survey will assist City Staff in the drafting of the by-law.
Public Input Session
A public information session will be held at Pat Stapleton Arena on May 13 at 5:30 p.m. The session will provide the opportunity to provide input on experiences to inform the draft by-law.
Next steps
Updates will be posted on this page as the project progresses. Once public comments from the forum and public meeting are received, a summary of feedback along with the proposed by-law will be presented to Council.
