More info for Oshawa renters

By Joel Wittnebel/The Oshawa Express

Once again, city council is pushing ahead with trying to get more information out to their population of renters.

With nearly 30 per cent of Oshawa’s homes being rentals, council has again passed a motion to help keep them informed about the possibility of their rent decreasing.

According to the Residential Tenancies Act (RTA) landlords are required to reduce a tenants rent if the property assessment on their property has received a property tax decrease of more than 2.49 per cent for two consecutive years.

Currently, the municipality is required to inform landlords and tenants of this decrease, but Councillor Amy England wishes to have that information clear for tenants.

Her motion, passed through the most recent meeting of the city’s finance committee, will see staff look into adding this information to the city’s website that is currently under construction to assist tenants, listing the properties that have seen such decreases as of 2016 (one of which exists in Oshawa) and “adding a clear notice on the front of envelopes being sent out with wording that shows in red letters a ‘rental decrease included,’ the motion reads.

“This term I’m just trying my best to make sure tenants are fully informed and anything that we can do to improve communication I think is a step forward,” England says.

A report is expected back to committee in November.