Windsor to tackle rental property concerns without city-wide licensing

Two bylaw officers will be dedicated to visiting neighbourhoods, educating landlords and tenants, and identifying problem properties before complaints are filed.

Windsor council is moving away from a city-wide rental licensing program and instead will focus on proactive enforcement, education and outreach. Administration told council that expanding licensing across the city would require about 34 new staff and more than $4 million annually. Instead, two bylaw officers will be dedicated to visiting neighbourhoods, educating landlords and tenants, and identifying problem properties before complaints are filed.

Council paused the residential rental licensing pilot program in April 2025, which required landlords in Wards 1 and 2 to register rental units and undergo inspections aimed at improving housing and fire safety. Ward 1 coun. Fred Francis said the pilot confirmed concerns council has been hearing for years.

“The fact that we are able to highlight over a 1,000 violations tells us that there is an issue. And that’s clear as day, that there’s an issue and how do we go about tackling that,” Francis said. Ward 6 coun.

Jo Anne Gignac was disappointed to see pilot program go away. “The pilot project was a hard fight. It was a hard fight,” she said.

“It kind of breaks my heart to see it disappearing not knowing that we’re going have effective tools to be able to address concerns that we’ve had for years in this chamber.” Ward 2 coun. Frazier Fathers said he wanted the new strategy rolled out as quickly as possible.

“I just really want to emphasize to administration the need for speed on this, because there is, you know, folks waiting, and there are people at risk in the community,” said Fathers. Council approved the new approach Monday and directed administration to report back on tenant protections and ward-by-ward results.