Lodging house review could expand zoning citywide in Brampton

Residents can have their say on upcoming changes to Brampton’s lodging house rules that aim to balance “community standards with the need for affordable housing,” the city says.

The city launched a review of its lodging house framework earlier this summer, with a report to Brampton City Council showing approximately 3,500 complaints related to rooming houses since 2020.

Lodging houses are residential units where four tenants rent separate rooms, only sharing access to common areas like the kitchen or bathroom. In one case, Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown said one home was found with 25 students living in a single basement apartment.

The city is looking to rejig its lodging house rules to improve community and resident safety, saying rooming houses are “vital for providing affordable accommodations.”

The report outlines three options for the future of rooming houses – one could see zoning regulations for lodging houses expanded citywide, another would limit to “strategic locations” like Urban Growth Areas, and the third would see rooming houses run exclusively by “approved operators” like non-profit organizations.

RELATED: ‘Go somewhere else’ Brampton mayor tells slum landlords

Residents can give their feedback on the lodging house review through an online survey, open until Oct. 3.

Questions include “how important is it for the city to regulate rental housing?” and “how important is it for the city to preserve affordability in rental housing options?”

Brampton’s residential landlord licensing program (RRL) requires any property renting four or more units to register with the city, while zoning bylaws set where lodging houses can be operated.

You can learn more about Brampton’s lodging house review and take the survey by visiting www.Brampton.ca.

The RRL was introduced last year as a pilot program in response to thousands of Brampton homes that had been turned into uncontrolled rooming houses where several tenants were living in unsafe conditions.