Where I stand on tenants, landlords and rental housing
Here is every answer I've given on the record about tenants, landlords and rental housing, word for word, from candidate questionnaires and my replies to residents.
Don't see your question? Search below, or ask me directly and I'll answer it on the record.
Urban League Ward 9 debate questions (2026-09-17 debate)
Bad faith renovictions by landlords have resulted in tenants being evicted from their rental homes. In 2025 council approved a Rental Unit Repair Bylaw. Is it enough? What else can London do to address this issue?
London already has a tool for renovictions. The Rental Unit Repair Licence has been in force since March 1, 2025. A landlord serving an N13 for renovations needs a building permit first, and has to apply for that licence within seven days.
But here's what people miss on evictions generally. The bigger risk to tenants isn't a landlord adjusting rent to cover rising costs, insurance, taxes, maintenance. It's a landlord who can't afford to keep the unit on the market at all, or a unit that falls apart because there's no money left to maintain it. Block every legitimate path to a workable rent, and there will be no more units left for renters to live in. That helps no one.
Same logic applies to safety enforcement; nobody should be trapped in a home that's genuinely unsafe. But push too hard over minor, fixable issues, and landlords pull units off the market instead of fixing them. That only shrinks the supply, and there is no avoiding the laws of supply and demand.
The law has to work for both sides. Tenants need stability. Landlords need viability. Enforce the licence, and apply safety standards with reasonable judgment.
ACORN London Municipal Election Candidate Survey on Tenant Protections
Is there anything else you would like to share regarding housing affordability, tenant protections, rental housing quality, homelessness prevention, or other housing-related priorities?
Most of my answers come back to one idea. Renters do best when there’s a For Rent sign on more than one street to choose from and the rent isn’t climbing to cover City Hall’s spending. I’ll hold the line on property taxes and cut the red tape that keeps new rental housing from getting built and rented out.
My goal is for the market to provide every kind of home, from a bedroom rental to a high-rise apartment, to dynamically meet the demand of those seeking them.
ACORN London Municipal Election Candidate Survey on Tenant Protections
Do you commit to supporting the implementation of a Landlord Registration Program in London that shifts from a purely complaint-based system to proactive enforcement while being self-funding?
Other: I'd support a self-funded registry covering multi-building and medium/high-density landlords, with proactive inspections only for repeat offenders.
I’d support a registry that pays for itself, covering landlords who rent out more than one building they don’t live in, or any apartment building or other medium- or high-density rental. For those landlords it replaces the current rental licence, so the fee they already pay goes toward it.
Enforcement starts with tenant complaints. Once a building piles up substantiated complaints, it moves onto scheduled inspections, and the owner pays for those return visits until the building earns a clean record.
London and District Labour Council questionnaire
What are your ideas about addressing the affordability and housing crisis in London? What is your position on a renoviction bylaw?
London's rental unit repair licence requires a landlord issuing an N13 renovation notice to apply for a City licence within seven days, backed by a building permit and a qualified professional's report confirming the unit genuinely needs to be empty. It's been in force since March 2025. The City's own review found only seven applications for the special licence so far, which tells me it's catching bad-faith cases without choking off legitimate repairs. I support keeping it. The problem it targets is a landlord using a fake renovation to end-run an eviction the Landlord and Tenant Board would never approve. That's exactly the kind of narrow, provable harm that justifies a rule.
On affordability more broadly, my read is that London's own approvals process is a real part of the cost problem. Every month a housing application sits waiting for a decision adds carrying costs that get passed straight into the price of the unit. I want faster, more predictable approvals and fewer site-specific exceptions granted off-plan, so a builder can price a project accurately. A subsidy program only stretches to cover a handful of units, while faster approvals lower the cost of every unit that gets built. On the other side of supply and demand is demand itself, which council can only move secondarily. Making London a place fewer people want to live, just to bring prices down, would be treating a symptom of failure as if it were a policy win. My focus stays on supply, where council actually has the tools to help.
ACORN London Municipal Election Candidate Survey on Tenant Protections
What specific actions would you take in your ward to improve housing quality for low- and moderate-income residents, including renters?
The best protection is being able to walk away from a bad situation, and that goes both ways. A tenant setting a bucket under a leaking ceiling every time it rains should have somewhere better to move, and a homeowner thinking about renting out a basement apartment should feel confident it won’t turn into a costly gamble.
When renting is mutually beneficial, more people open up units, and more quality housing becomes available to the tenants who need it.
I’d push for property standards orders against registered rental buildings to be searchable by address, so a family can check a building’s track record before they sign a lease.
And when a tenant reports a problem, I’ll push bylaw enforcement to deal with it swiftly and effectively.
ACORN London Municipal Election Candidate Survey on Tenant Protections
A Landlord Registration Program, modelled after successful approaches elsewhere, would require landlords to register their properties, helping the City identify and address issues more efficiently. Such a program can be self-funded through fees and would not require new taxpayer dollars beyond startup. Do you support exploring and implementing a Landlord Registration Program in London?
Other: Yes for landlords renting out multiple buildings or any medium/high-density building, with lighter rules for homeowners
London’s rental licence already covers the homeowner with a basement apartment, while apartment towers are exempt. I’d flip that around. Any landlord who rents out more than one building they don’t live in, or even a single apartment building or other medium- or high-density rental, should be registered, so the City knows who owns it and who to call when the heat goes out. Where a landlord already holds the current rental licence, the registry should replace it, so nobody pays for two layers of paperwork. Enforcement stays complaint-driven, but once a building crosses a set number of substantiated complaints, it moves onto scheduled inspections until it stays clean through a probationary period. Someone earning a living from rental housing should meet a higher standard than a homeowner renting out a basement apartment to help pay the mortgage. Making it easier for that homeowner to rent means more homes on the market.
ACORN London Municipal Election Candidate Survey on Tenant Protections
As a Ward Councillor, would you actively champion and vote in favour of a strong Landlord Registration Program with proactive enforcement at City Council? Please explain your position.
For any landlord who rents out more than one building they don’t live in, or even a single apartment building or other medium- or high-density rental, I’d vote in favour of a registry so there’s a name and contact info on file when mould starts creeping across a bathroom ceiling or cockroaches start appearing.
For enforcement, I’d keep it responsive: tenant complaints get a fast inspection and strong consequences for non-compliance, and a building that keeps generating substantiated complaints goes onto scheduled inspections until it earns a clean record. That puts the City’s attention on the worst offenders and keeps the homeowner renting out a basement apartment free of new red tape.
Council of Canadians (London Chapter) questionnaire
The City of London employs Property Standards Officers to inspect rental properties, document conditions, and enforce municipal property standards by-laws. Would you support expanding their role to document evidence of suspected bad-faith evictions or landlord fraud, preserve that evidence, and refer well-documented cases to London Police or the appropriate provincial authorities for investigation?
This exposes a real problem: two levels of government both claiming the same job.
Property Standards Officers enforce municipal by-laws, property condition, permits, the renovation-eviction licence process. Determining "bad-faith eviction" or "landlord fraud" is a legal finding, and that authority already sits with the Landlord and Tenant Board under the Residential Tenancies Act, backed by the province's own Rental Housing Enforcement Unit and the police for anything criminal.
Layering a City investigation function on top of that doesn't fix the problem, it just gives London two agencies doing the same job with no clearer answer for tenants. Pick one. Either it stays provincial, where the legal authority already exists, or it moves to the municipal level, and if it moves, the funding moves with it. The Province downloading enforcement onto the City without downloading the money to pay for it is how you end up with an unfunded program and the same complaints a year from now.
Ottawa looked at this exact proposal and rejected it for the same reason. I'd rather push the province to actually enforce the powers it already has than build a duplicate program the City can't properly fund.
ACORN London Municipal Election Candidate Survey on Tenant Protections
Would you champion this program at City Council / as Mayor?
Other: I’d vote in favour of a registry built the way I’ve described, but I won’t lead a push for burdening good landlords the same as bad ones.
A big part of my platform is cutting red tape, so every new rule that comes to Council has to show it’s worth the burden it adds. The registry I’ve described can pass that test, because it replaces the current rental licence for the landlords it covers and leaves the homeowner renting out part of their home alone. If it comes to Council built that way, it gets my vote.
Vote Compass candidate questionnaire
London should do more to prevent landlords from evicting tenants in order to raise rents.
Somewhat disagree. Landlords facing rising costs, insurance, taxes, maintenance, etc., need a legitimate way to bring rent to a workable level. Block that path entirely, and eviction becomes their only option left, which helps no one. The bigger risk to tenants isn't landlords adjusting rent. It's landlords who can no longer afford to keep units on the market at all, or units that deteriorate because there's no money left to maintain them. The law needs to work for both sides. Tenants need stability, landlords need viability, and the bills still have to get paid either way.
ACORN London Municipal Election Candidate Survey on Tenant Protections
What are the top 2–3 priorities in your campaign platform? How do these address the needs of low- and moderate-income Londoners?
First, taxes. I won't support a property tax rate increase during my term after the 20% increase over the past 3 years, and my proposed PACT bylaw cuts council's own pay whenever taxes go up beyond inflation. Any increase comes out of a paycheque, and renters pay it too, because a landlord's expenses show up in the rent.
Second, roads that actually move. Every hour a worker sits in gridlock, or detours around what seems like never-ending construction, is an hour taken from home or the job.
Third, safety at home. When a car or a bike gets hit overnight, somebody has to find the deductible, or the money for a new bike, before the next shift. And nobody should feel like a victim in their own neighbourhood.
ACORN London Municipal Election Candidate Survey on Tenant Protections
Tenants in London often face challenges getting repairs for issues like mould, pests, or lack of heat because enforcement only kicks in after formal complaints. Would you support moving to a proactive system where the City regularly inspects rental properties, especially multi-unit buildings, to catch problems early?
Undecided
I’m leaning against it. Sending inspectors through every rental building on a schedule means a bigger bureaucracy and new fees. Someone has to pay for that, and it's likely to land on taxpayers and tenants.
A complaint-driven system can work if the enforcement behind it is efficient and effective. When a tenant reports mould or a dead furnace, the inspection should happen quickly, and there must be strong consequences for non-compliance. Where a building keeps generating complaints, that’s where I’d send inspectors through top to bottom.
ACORN London Municipal Election Candidate Survey on Tenant Protections
What gaps do you see in the current Council’s approach to rental housing maintenance and by-law enforcement? How would you push for improvements if elected?
A homeowner renting out a basement apartment needs a licence and an inspection before the first tenant moves in, while an entire apartment tower down the street doesn’t need a licence at all. That’s backwards. I’d push bylaw enforcement to focus on the large buildings that keep generating complaints, inspect them top to bottom, and follow through with strict enforcement.
Vote Compass candidate questionnaire
London should strictly enforce safety rules for rental housing, even if this means some units can no longer be rented out.
Somewhat disagree. Safety rules exist for good reason. No one should be trapped in a home that's genuinely unsafe, and I support enforcing a real floor on that. But strict enforcement with no judgment can backfire: push too hard over minor, fixable issues, and some landlords will simply pull units off the market rather than fix them, shrinking supply when London needs more housing, not less. The goal is safe housing and available housing. Enforce real safety standards, but apply them with reasonable judgment, not a rigid rulebook that empties the rental market.
London and District Labour Council questionnaire
Do you support a change in provincial law that would allow London to charge a vacancy tax for commercial buildings? How will you approach downtown landlords to revitalize economic activity and build a livable city?
My focus for downtown is on what actually gets a vacant storefront filled: cutting the cost and time it takes a small business to open in the first place. A landlord leaves a unit empty when the return on finding a new tenant doesn't clear the cost and delay of permits, inspections, and zoning approvals stacked on top of the lease itself. That's the first cost I'd go after.
Beyond that, downtown revitalization comes back to the basics every other part of the city needs too: reliable transit that actually gets people downtown, streets that are easy to park on or walk to, and predictable approvals for the businesses and housing that bring foot traffic back. Feeling unsafe downtown, from open drug use, disorder, and streets that don't get cleaned, keeps people and customers away as much as any permit delay does. Public drug use is already illegal. I expect the law enforced downtown, as it should be everywhere else in this city. An empty storefront is a signal that opening a business downtown currently costs too much, in dollars and in safety. Fixing both is what fills the space.
Urban League Ward 9 debate questions (2026-09-17 debate)
What specific actions would you support to increase affordable and supportive housing in our city?
By the City's own numbers, council endorsed 600 new highly supportive housing units, over three years, back in April 2024. As of the City's own most recent report, 169 of those units are actually built and occupied.
I'd use City land first, the way our own Official Plan already says surplus land should be evaluated for affordable housing before anything else.
And I want to be clear about what I'm not proposing. Turning single-family streets into rental complexes, three, four, five units crammed onto one lot, run by a landlord who doesn't live there and doesn't answer to the neighbours, isn't the kind of housing policy I'll support.
What I do support is family taking care of family. London and the province both already allow a homeowner to add a basement suite or a small backyard suite on their own property, so a parent or an adult child can live right there with the family instead of getting shipped off to a facility they don't want to be in. I'd protect and expand that option specifically, while keeping the line clear against turning ordinary neighbourhoods into rental blocks.
And supportive housing has to come with the services that make it actually work: health supports, case management, security. Without that, it's just a different kind of failure in a nicer building.
Both council and the public need to see the numbers. Units approved, units built, units occupied, and units still safe and stable a year later.
London Chamber of Commerce questionnaire
What changes would you support to increase housing supply and affordability and create neighbourhoods with access to employment, services, transportation and public amenities?
The fastest way to add supply without a subsidy is to cut what City Hall charges and how long it takes.
Price is set by both supply and demand. City Hall barely touches demand: population growth, interest rates, and investment flows are out of the realm of council, but the City has a big effect on how much gets built and how fast. That's where affordability actually gets decided. A City-mandated rent cap does the opposite of what it promises: it shrinks the rental supply landlords are willing to add, making the shortage worse. But every dollar and month City Hall cuts from the cost of building is a dollar that doesn't get passed through to the renter or buyer.
Growth belongs where the London Plan already designates density: downtown, transit villages, and corridors, rather than retrofitted into established single-family neighbourhoods through the one-off exceptions Council keeps granting against its own secondary plans.
Complete neighbourhoods need the roads, water, wastewater, and transit capacity in place before approval, paid for by the growth creating the need rather than by existing taxpayers.
Climate Action London questionnaire
It is a high priority that the City of London meet the goal in the London Plan that 25% of new housing, in aggregate, (and 40% for secondary plans) is affordable to low- and moderate-income households. London has been falling short on this goal therefore it should commit to all means available to the City to increase the number of new affordable units including leverage of public lands, financial incentives to developers by reducing fees, expedited approval timelines and concierge service team for affordable developments and use of the Canada Housing catalogue of pre-approved designs. Additionally, the City should prevent private developers from turning affordable rental units into expensive ones.
Neither agree nor disagree. I support faster, more predictable approvals and reforms, like pre-approved house designs, that cut building costs for every applicant. Both lower the cost of a unit, market or below-market, without a subsidy or a special track for anyone.
New homes are welcome where roads, water, wastewater, drainage, transit, emergency services, and parks can support the added population. Where that capacity is missing, the infrastructure plan has to come first, with a clear funding source. Existing residents should not be left paying the bill or living with worse service. Growth should pay for the infrastructure it requires.
The London Plan already requires 25% of new housing to be affordable for low- and moderate-income households, the City's incentive program already waives development charges for units locked into a 25-year income-restricted agreement, and Council has since assigned a dedicated staff concierge to walk those specific applications through approvals. That's already more interference in the market than I would like to see.
Moving forward, I will support cutting fees and speeding up approvals across the board, and let the market dictate what class of housing needs more supply to meet demand. Developers already agree to a 25-year affordability term in exchange for the City's fee exemption and concierge service. I do not support the City going further and locking those units, or any others, into a permanent rent cap: this drastically lowers incentives to provide rental units, and leads landlords to abandon necessary maintenance once the capped rent stops covering the cost of upkeep.
ACORN London Municipal Election Candidate Survey on Tenant Protections
How would you address concerns about large property owners who leave key downtown buildings vacant or in disrepair, impacting the local economy and community vitality?
A vacant building costs its owner money every month, so most owners would rather fill it. What keeps a building boarded up is the time and cost of permits, inspections and zoning approvals stacked on top of finding a tenant. I’d cut that friction: fast-track permits, and pre-approved designs for adaptive reuse, so turning an empty building into shops or apartments is quicker and cheaper than leaving it sitting. Where an owner lets a building fall apart, the property standards bylaw already applies to every property in the city, vacant or not, and I’d expect it enforced. And downtown has to feel safe and clean, because nobody signs a lease on a street they don’t want to walk down.
ACORN London Municipal Election Candidate Survey on Tenant Protections
If elected, what would be your single highest priority in your first year as Mayor / Ward Councillor?
Holding the line on property taxes. I'll vote no on any rate increase, and I'll bring the PACT bylaw forward so council's own pay drops whenever taxes outrun inflation. With their own pay on the line, a tax increase becomes a little less appealing.
Constituent concerns (ward9.online/concerns/)
Garbage at the Wonderland Path townhouses?
On the garbage, Wonderland Path is a rental complex owned by Valour Group, so outdoor bins there are their decision and their cost. They can be reached at 1-833-582-5687 or [email protected].
If garbage is piling up, it can be reported to 519-661-4660 or service.london.ca, and the City can, and should, order the owner to clean it up. (Answered publicly at ward9.online/concerns/#concern-23.)
Urban League Ward 9 debate questions (2026-09-17 debate)
Affordable space for creating, rehearsing, performing and exhibiting remains a significant issue for artists and cultural organizations. What role, if any, should the City play in making affordable cultural spaces available?
Public space should be available to Londoners for the uses they need, at a price the City can sustain without overburdening taxpayers.
That can mean identifying underused City space, clear lease terms, and planning rules that make adaptive reuse easier. It doesn't mean the City becomes the landlord for every group that wants a room, or locking in subsidies with no review date.
ACORN London Municipal Election Candidate Survey on Tenant Protections
Why are you running for Mayor / Ward Councillor in this election? What motivated you to put your name forward at this time?
Year after year, decision after decision, we're left helpless watching our own councillor side with city staff over objections from the community on a variety of issues, but mainly rezoning and development.
Our friendly neighbourhoods are becoming cold and sterile. Cars, yards, and homes get hit overnight, or even in broad daylight. Taxes keep climbing. We're stuck in gridlock and perpetual construction. It's time for a change, and I'm ready to bring a fresh perspective to City Hall.
ACORN London Municipal Election Candidate Survey on Tenant Protections
What experience or background do you bring that distinguishes you from the other candidates running in your race?
I've drafted the proposed Pay Accountable to City Taxpayers bylaw, which cuts city council's pay whenever taxes rise faster than inflation, and I published it open-source for anyone to read and suggest amendments to.
I work in diverse fields, from growing and selling berries and fresh produce, to developing apps and helping people with their computers.
And every promise, and every published statement I've made during this campaign, is public and searchable on my website, so you can hold me to my word.
London Emergency Services Campus candidate questionnaire
You may add up to 150 words identifying a material omission, correcting the premise, or explaining a position not adequately covered by these questions. Evidence supporting particular facilities, or showing that changing course would cost more, is welcome.
Two items are missing from the public record. The first is the consultant’s feasibility study behind the site and the budget, since CTV reported in July 2025 that council approved the Manning Drive site without seeing it. I’d like to see that released.
The second is revenue. P-57 says the consultant projected a net gain of $243,000 by year 12 from renting training space, assuming 75 percent use of the key spaces, and that London Fire could become a regional training centre for surrounding departments. Neighbouring services that train here should pay their share, and council should see that rental plan before it approves Phase 2.
Sources: CTV News London, July 2025 · Business Case P-57 (revenue projection; regional training centre)