A one-stop shop for Durham renters

By Joel Wittnebel/The Oshawa Express

In an effort to aid renters and create dialogue with landlords, Durham Region is hosting its first in a series of planned tenant and landlord information sessions.

The meeting, set to be held from 2 to 4 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 21 at the Oshawa Community Health Centre, will provide renters in Durham with all the facts on rental agreements and their rights and responsibilities as tenants.

In Oshawa alone, nearly one third of the population – or approximately 18,000 households – are tenants. For Councillor Amy McQuaid-England, who first brought the suggestion of such a session to the region, it’s about building a community with renters.

“I think that we need to focus on making them welcome in our community and making them aware of how we can protect them,” she says.

The two-hour session is slated to include a panel discussion with representatives from the Durham Community Legal Clinic, the Durham Region health department and members of Oshawa’s municipal law enforcement and licensing services.

“(It’s) pretty much taking the tenant brochure and all the tenant advocacy we’ve been doing and putting it in a one-stop shop for tenants to learn,” McQuaid-England says.

Currently a pilot project, the information session could expand and take place in other areas of the region if successful.

The session will be held on the main floor of the Oshawa Community Health Centre in room 1A/1B.