Organizing Works! Peel ACORN Celebrates Landmark Anti-Renoviction Bylaw After Years of Campaigning

Mississauga City Council has passed a historic anti-renoviction bylaw, marking a massive victory for tenant power and one of the strongest sets of protections in Ontario. This victory is a direct result of relentless organizing by Peel ACORN and follows a growing wave of municipal wins led by ACORN chapters across the province.

Renovictions—evictions carried out under the guise of renovations to bypass rent control—have plagued Ontario tenants. According to Ontario ACORN’s analysis of Landlord and Tenant Board (LTB) data, renoviction filings have surged a staggering 300% since 2017. In Mississauga, the human cost has been devastating. Families have been displaced, and affordable housing stock has been permanently destroyed. Most notably, the community stood in outrage when Chartwell renovicted 200 seniors from their retirement home—a catalyst that fueled ACORN’s demand for local action.

“This is a big win because tenants need to be protected. A lot of people were displaced and have suffered tremendously because of landlords’ greed. This sends a strong message that tenants have rights; it’s not all about landlords’ money. Mississauga’s renoviction bylaw is an example of what we can achieve when we persist, we push, and keep reminding the city and all levels of government that our rights cannot be trampled upon,” says Marcia Bryan, Chair of Mississauga-Cooksville ACORN. 

The ACORN Standard: Closing the Profit Loophole

Mississauga now joins the ranks of Hamilton, Toronto, and Waterloo in implementing the “ACORN Standard” for tenant protections. By passing this bylaw, the City is adopting key ACORN demands that remove the financial incentive for bad actor landlords to renovict:

• Temporary Accommodation: Requirements for landlords to provide comparable housing during renovations.
• Rent Gap Payments: Ensuring tenants aren’t out of pocket if they must pay higher rent elsewhere during the work.
• Moving Cost Coverage: Removing the financial burden of relocation from the tenant.

This victory in Mississauga is the latest domino to fall in ACORN’s province-wide campaign to end the housing crisis through municipal bylaws where the provincial government has failed to act. It proves once again that when low-to-moderate income neighbors stand together, they can take on the biggest landlords in the country and win.

Peel ACORN will continue to monitor the implementation of this bylaw to ensure no tenant is left behind.