Let's Talk About Rental Housing

The City of Brantford is seeking insight from both renters and landlords about their experiences with rental housing in Brantford. The goal is to identify approaches that support housing stability for tenants while remaining sustainable for landlords/rental property owners.

Brantford City Council has directed staff to explore a range of municipal tools aimed to better protect rental housing within the community. Some of the tools being reviewed, include:

• Rental licensing or registration programs that require landlords/rental property owners to get a license or register their rental properties with the city, often to ensure compliance with safety and maintenance standards.
• Rental protection (or rental replacement) by-laws, a tool used to protect existing rental housing and support displaced tenants when properties with 6 or more existing residential units are proposed to be demolished or converted to another use. Often these circumstances are triggered by a proposal to redevelop a property.
• Rental renovation licensing by-law and programs that would require landlords/rental property owners to obtain a license when undertaking major repairs to a rental unit that requires tenants to move out. The goal of this tool is to make sure that the rules of the Residential Tenancies Act are followed and to potentially provide increased supports for displaced tenants.
• Possible financial incentives that could offer grants or tax relief to property to landlords/rental property owners for upgrades and improvements to existing rental units or to build more rental and/ or affordable rental units.

The information collected from the survey below will assist in making informed recommendations to Brantford City Council on how the City can address current issues and consider future policies and supports related to rental housing in Brantford.

If you are a landlord/rental property owner or currently rent housing, please provide your input by completing the Rental Housing Survey. The survey is open until 4:30 p.m. on Friday, November 14, 2025. Have a question for City staff? Please ask it using the Question and Answer tool.