Don Valley Community Legal Services (DVCLS): Demoviction Research

Project Type: 

  • Public Legal Education (presentations, workshops, podcasts, brochures, blogs, etc.)
  • Research (memoranda used for internal purposes only)

Fields of Law: Municipal Law, Housing (Landlord and Tenant) Law

Positions Available: 1

This is a joint project in which University of Toronto students may work with students from Lincoln Alexander Law School (TMU) and Osgoode Hall Law School (York University).

 

About Don Valley Community Legal Services (DVCLS):

Don Valley Community Legal Services (DVCLS) is a community legal resource centre. The Clinic serves persons of modest income in their catchment area on an individual, case-by-case basis. The Clinic also serves the community generally by providing outreach, legal education and community organizing to agencies, individuals and other groups in the community.

 

Project Details:

Demovictions are becoming an increasingly pressing and widespread problem in the city of Toronto. Demovictions happen when a landlord demolishes the residential complex and/or the rental units therein. In addition to displacing (a) tenant(s), demovictions remove affordable rental units from Toronto. To respond to this problem, DVCLS is exploring ways of advocating for the City of Toronto to create new regulations and policies around demovictions. This is especially challenging because regulations must be created via municipal bylaws, since the authority to change housing laws rests with the province.

The student will work with DVCLS’ Housing team to support their advocacy efforts against demovictions:

  • Conduct research and comparative analysis on other jurisdictions (e.g. New Westminster) to see if their policies may be applicable to Toronto.
  • Monitor and summarize in an objective way how Bill 23, More Homes Built Faster Act, 2022 affects demovictions. The summary will be used by DVCLS for their own advocacy efforts.
  • Note: The students will not participate in political or advocacy initiatives. Instead, DVCLS will determine if the deliverables can support their advocacy efforts.
  • Work with the Housing Team on deputations to the City of Toronto’s Housing and Planning Committee on Demoviction policy, and public legal education presentations to tenants

 

Will the student(s) be expected to show up for regular shifts each week, or is the schedule flexible?

The schedule is flexible.

  

Requirements and Expectations:

Some knowledge of housing issues is helpful.