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In other places, laws prohibit landlords from evicting vulnerable seniors. But not in Ontario. Here, the eviction has been deemed legal because the landlord’s son says he intends to move into the unit. It’s called an own-use eviction. No matter how many years a tenant pays rent, no matter their age or circumstances, a landlord can legally evict them if the landlord or a family member intends to move in, or if the unit is sold to someone who intends to live in it.

This rule captures the essence of in Ontario and much of Canada: landlords can have their cake and eat it too. They can use housing as a business that generates revenue. They can use housing as a financial asset that appreciates over time. Yet they continue to call it their home and reserve comprehensive private rights over it.

Ventullo paid rent for his unit for 18 years — almost three-quarters of the length of a typical 25-year mortgage. Now, he must pack up and leave because the landlord’s son wants “his� home back.

Many landlords misuse the own-use exemption to increase rents. Since rent control in Ontario only applies to occupied units (built before 2018) and not to vacant units, evicting tenants is a way to jack up rents. In Ventullo’s case, the court found the own-use eviction is in good faith.

In good or bad faith, these evictions are simply illegal in other places.

In , tenancy law prohibits the eviction of low-income seniors 65 years and older who have lived in the same unit for at least 10 years. In New York State, since the approval of the , landlords cannot apply for own-use evictions if their tenants are 65 years or older. In Germany, courts can indefinitely suspend an eviction on the grounds that it will result in immoral hardship on the tenants, due to critical illness, impending childbirth, and old age-related health risks.

The Ontario government has the authority to draft similar laws, but it won’t. Tenant protections have actually become weaker since the Conservative Party came to power in 2018.

And neither will Ottawa. In 2024, an election year, the federal government promised to draft a . The Federation of Metro Tenants’ Associations and other tenant groups actively participated in the consultation process and face-to-face meetings with the Minister of Housing. The blueprint for the bill was released last September, and it’s a nothing sandwich.

The City of ÎÚÑ»´«Ã½ is trying. A new bylaw will help prevent landlords from using renovations as an excuse to kick out tenants and hike up rents, known as renovictions. A good and proactive use of the city’s licensing authority, the new bylaw won’t address own-use evictions, which is a matter of provincial legislation.

And so is the state of housing policy in Canada.

Most governments across the country refuse to enact regulations that would save and improve lives. Instead, they continue to provide ever more financial and regulatory incentives to private developers and landlords, claiming that this will make housing more affordable, someday in the future. 

Selling dreams of the future while failing to act now is not just cynical but despicable when it concerns the senior population.

The Canadian population is aging, including those who rent. Ventullo’s story is dramatic, but it’s not an isolated case. And those cases will become more common as long as our laws protect profit in housing.