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1 This Act may be cited as the Protection of the Right to Adequate Housing Act . 2019, c. 29, s.
313 National Housing Strategy Act
2 The seventh paragraph of the preamble of the National Housing Strategy Act is replaced by the following: Whereas a national housing strategy would support the progressive realization of the right to adequate housing as recognized in the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, to which Canada is a party; Whereas, under international law, a key element of the right to adequate housing is security of tenure and protection against forced evictions; And whereas the United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights has underlined that the right to adequate housing is not to be interpreted narrowly but is to be regarded as the right to live somewhere in security, peace and dignity;
3 Section 4 of the Act is amended by adding the following after paragraph (a): (a.1) recognize that housing is not adequate if it is not affordable and its cost threatens or compromises an individual’s enjoyment of other human rights; (a.2) recognize that adequate housing as a fundamental human right must take priority over housing as a commodity and a vehicle for wealth and investment; 4 (1)
Section 5 of the Act is amended by adding the following after subsection (1): Consultations (1.1)
In maintaining the strategy, the Minister must consult with representatives of provincial and municipal governments responsible for housing and with Indigenous organizations and communities providing housing services, particularly with respect to the protection of affordable rental supply, the regulation of residential rents and the promotion of tenants’ rights. (2)
Subsection 5(2) of the Act is amended by adding the following after paragraph (b): (b.1) provide for measures that can be taken to prioritize the needs of tenants, particularly persons who are members of vulnerable groups, over the interests of investors in residential rental properties, including measures aimed at reducing financial incentives for those investors; (b.2) establish guidelines to promote efforts across Canada to increase the protection of tenants, including guidelines to (i) increase and strengthen rent control measures, (ii) address the issue of evictions made in bad faith, particularly evictions into homelessness of low-income households, (iii) deter unfair business practices, such as the use of data analytics by residential property owners that enables them to exchange sensitive information, including in respect of rental unit prices and vacancy rates, for the purpose of setting the price of their rental property units, (iv) deter residential property owners, in the provision of rental housing, from denying an individual occupancy of a rental unit or from differentiating adversely in relation to any individual, on a prohibited ground of discrimination within the meaning of the Canadian Human Rights Act , and (v) meet the challenges of enforcing penalties imposed on residential property owners for contraventions of residential tenancies legislation;
5 Section 13 of the Act is amended by striking out “and” at the end of paragraph (h) and by adding the following after that paragraph: (h.1) submit a report to the Minister on any recommendations for possible amendments to federal laws, policies and programs that would further the housing policy, including recommendations made in the course of consultations with civil society organizations; and
