Renovictions – what can we learn from the Canadian experience? 

The change in evidence requirements in NSW

On 19th May 2025 we celebrated the end of no grounds evictions with renters across NSW. 

Minister Chanthivong declared “We’ve listened to renters, owners, and industry experts to shape these changes, and we’ll continue working closely with stakeholders to ensure the transition is smooth and well understood.”

So it was with great shock and dismay that we discovered that the NSW Government quietly changed the evidence requirements for one of the prescribed grounds for termination – namely renovations/repairs. This change was made on 20th June – just one month after the law was changed to end no-grounds termination. The effect is to open this ground to potential exploitation. 

The Tenants’ Union have always been concerned that the prescribed ground to end a tenancy due to ‘significant repairs and renovations’ could be easily exploited. In our advocacy we called for strong evidence requirements to ensure that landlords would need to support their claim with real evidence – to show the legitimacy of the grounds. Our basic principle was that the evidence needed to show that the landlord had ‘skin in the game’ of the reason. That is, they could demonstrate they were taking the steps and spending the money that a person undertaking such would have to do anyway.

In the Regulations that commenced on May 19th the evidence that a landlord was required to provide for this ground was a written statement and a choice of one of 5 pieces of evidence, such as a quote from a licensed builder or tradesperson, development consent, or receipts from the purchase of building materials. This was intended to ensure that landlords seeking to repossess a property for significant renovation or repairs grounds were genuine – not simply a tactic to remove tenants without a genuine reason. 

One month later the evidence requirements were watered down. A landlord is now only required to provide a written statement as evidence that they are doing significant repairs or renovations and that the work is so significant that the tenant cannot live in the home during the duration. This happened without consultation.

‘Renovictions’ in Canada

If we look at other jurisdictions, such as some provinces and territories in Canada, we can see a similar ground to end a tenancy due to repairs or renovation being exploited by landlords where there is insufficient evidence requirements. 

‘Renovictions’ is the term that has been coined to refer to the practice of a landlord evicting a tenant from their home under the guise of needing to perform renovations or repairs when the real motive is to remove existing tenants and bring in new tenants at significantly higher rents. 

Another similarity between NSW and some areas in Canada is a lack of rent control in setting rents when a new tenant moves in. This appears to be a key motivator for certain landlords to misuse this ground. 

A spokesperson for the Coalition of Housing and Tenants Associations of Quebec, Cédric Dussaults, commented on the rise in renovictions: “Because there is an almost complete absence of oversight when a new tenant comes in, landlords have considerable financial interest in evicting their current tenant to get a new one in.”¹

The Hamilton Renoviction Bylaw

ACORN Canada (Association of Community Organisations for Reform Now) successfully lobbied for a bylaw to be introduced in the City of Hamilton in Ontario in January 2025 to provide better protection for tenants against renovictions. Between 2017 and 2022 the City had seen a 983% increase in the number of termination notices issued on the grounds of the landlord undertaking renovations or repairs. As well as helping to safeguard tenants rights the intention of the Bylaw is to preserve affordable housing in the city.  

Key features of the Hamilton Renoviction Bylaw include the following:

• Landlords are required to apply for a city renovation licence within seven days of issuing an eviction notice to a tenant. The licence fee is $715 per unit, and $125 to renew annually. 
• The city only allows the eviction and renovations to take place if the landlord has already secured all building permits to complete the work and provides an engineer's report confirming vacancy is necessary.
• The landlord also needs to make arrangements with any tenant who wants to return to their unit once the renovation is complete. These arrangements include providing the tenant with temporary accommodation, comparable to their current unit and rental rate, or a rental top up.
• After the renovation is complete, the landlord is required to adhere with the Residential Tenancies Act and allow the tenant to return to their unit at the same rent they were paying before the work was done. 
• If a landlord does not comply with the bylaw, they can be fined up to $500 per unit per day, plus administrative fines that will be determined by council. 

Other cities in Canada are now looking to implement similar by-laws as there is widespread recognition that provincial and territorial tenancy regulations are not sufficient to protect tenants from renovictions. 

At a time when other jurisdictions are working hard to try and strengthen evidence requirements for landlords wishing to terminate on grounds of renovation or repairs it is deeply troubling that the NSW Government has watered down evidence requirements for landlords in NSW. This change occurred without any consultation, and, to our knowledge, without any research or evidence to support the need for this change.

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