Landlord registration coming city-wide following deadly rental fire in Brampton

Brampton’s controversial landlord licensing program will be going city-wide starting next year, spurred in part by a deadly fire that killed three adults, a two-year-old toddler and an unborn baby in Brampton last week.

The city’s Residential Rental Licensing (RRL) pilot project was first launched in 2024, requiring landlords in certain wards with properties that have four or fewer rental units to obtain a license to operate.

The program was billed as a way to cut down on overcrowding and dangerous conditions in rental units, and to hold landlords and tenants responsible for property standards issues.

The RRL was set to expand to qualifying landlords in every ward except for 6, 9 and 10 starting next year, but Brampton City Council now plans to expand the program city-wide following a deadly fire at a rental last week.

Around a dozen people were at the home when the fire broke out on Banas Way around 2:15 a.m. on Nov. 20. Three adults, a two-year-old child and an unborn baby died as a result of the blaze, police say.

The cause of the fire is still under investigation.

Coun. Rowena Santos says the home was outside the RRL’s pilot area, and Mayor Patrick Brown has said Brampton building officials were previously refused entry to inspect renovations at the home, hinting at an illegal unit.

“This heartbreaking tragedy is a painful reminder that unsafe rental conditions are not limited to one neighbourhood or ward,” Santos said in a release. “Every resident in Brampton deserves to live in a home that meets basic safety standards. Today’s Council decision to move toward a city-wide rollout of the RRL program is the right step to protect lives.”

Brown said during a committee of council meeting on Wednesday that the city needs “to make sure that all housing conditions in the city meet bundling code and fire code.”

Santos put forward a motion that will see the RRL expand to every ward in the city, and calls on the province to fund new “Fire Prevention, Building Code compliance, and By-law Enforcement” due to provincially-mandated Additional Residential Units (ARUs) and as-of-right zoning.

She says ARUs are being “pushed into our city,” and that the province has an “obligation” to cover associated with “the consequences associated with more ARUs in Brampton.”

Brown previously said there are an estimated 16,000 unregistered rental units in Brampton, and that the pilot project was being expanded to other wards “because it’s an effective tool.”

Initial estimates showed the projected revenue of the pilot was $450,000, with a budget shortfall of $925,000. But that was before landlords protested the program, leading the city to waive the initial $300 annual fee.

Registration with the RRL comes at no cost to landlords. Along with the elimination of fees, Brampton is also offering a free smoke alarm to those who take part in the RRL.

For more information, visit www.Brampton.ca.