Belleville Chamber of Commerce CEO Jill Raycroft and Quinte Region Landlord Assocation's Robert Gentile are both sounding the alarm on concerns regarding provincial regulations on rental housing providers. Photo: Submitted
The Quinte Region Landlords Association has formed a province-wide alliance to sound the alarm about proposed regulations that threatens both rental housing providers and tenants.
Ontario’s Bill 10, the Protect Ontario Through Safer Streets and Stronger Communities Act, 2025, has rattled rental housing providers by proposing to hold them liable for the illegal drug activities on their properties, and puts the onus on them to prove they didn’t know about it.
It carries penalties of up to $250,000, property seizure, and possible jail time.
The Bill 10 section causing alarm is “The Measures Respecting Premises with Illegal Drug Activities Act, 2025”, which is part of Schedule 8. It passed in 2025 but has not yet come into force.
In a statement released Tuesday, QRLA President Robert Gentile said privacy laws prevent landlords from monitoring what goes on in people’s private residences, and they don’t have power to police or enforce drug laws.
“These are completely unrealistic duties to thrust upon housing providers, it puts all of us at legal risk, and will only drive-up evictions of high-risk tenants.” he said.
Gentile added the QRLA jumped into action on this issue last year and has been quietly rallying stakeholders across Ontario to respond, calling Bill 10 a serious threat to landlord and tenants.
Members of the informal alliance include; other landlord associations, the Ontario Alliance to End Homelessness, The Ontario Non-Profit Network, Housing Rights Canada, the John Howard Society, Addictions & Mental Health Ontario, End Homelessness Ottawa, Federation of Rental Housing Providers of Ontario, Guelph & Wellington Poverty Elimination
Collaborative.
QRLA is calling on all rental housing stakeholders to join the alliance and speak out on Bill 10. The QRLA has created a special Bill 10 information webpage along with an advocacy toolkit and link to the government’s online feedback form, which has a March 8 deadline.
The Quinte Region Landlord Association represents approximately 300 housing providers supplying over 2000 rental housing units in the Quinte region.
