ACORN Pushes City of Calgary Toward Landlord Licensing
Posted February 20, 2026
Calgary ACORN members gathered outside City Hall — braving freezing temperatures — to demand the creation of a proactive landlord licensing system that will ensure safe and healthy housing for renters.
Members shared their experiences living with substandard conditions; pests, mould, unsafe temperatures and more. These aren’t minor inconveniences, but serious health and safety issues that renters live with every day.
Provincial enforcement is failing to adequately protect renters so the City of Calgary must step up. While municipal landlord licensing for fire safety already exists, tenants continue to face unsafe living conditions with little accountability for landlords.
The action received media coverage from the Calgary Herald, CBC, and QR Calgary radio. In response to the rally, Mayor Jeromy Farkas stated in the Calgary Herald that he’s open to engaging with ACORN about landlord licensing and exploring what the city can do — an important step forward driven by tenant organizing.
Voluntary compliance is not enough. A strong, enforceable landlord licensing program would finally give the City the tools needed to prevent unsafe housing conditions before they reach crisis levels. ACORN members will continue organizing until the City takes action to protect tenants and hold bad landlords accountable.
